Albert Finney

Albert Finney was an English actor who had a successful career in theatre, film and television. He was nominated for five Academy Awards, six Golden Globes, nine BAFTAs, three Emmys and four Screen Actors Guild Awards. He won two BAFTAs, two Golden Globes, one Emmy and one Screen Actors Guild Award. He also received a British Academy Fellowship in 2001. Finney was born in Salford, Lancashire, England on 9 May 1936. He was the son of Alice (née Hobson) and Albert Finney, Sr., who was a bookmaker. He attended Tootal Drive Primary School and Salford Grammar School. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1956 and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. Finney made his film debut in The Entertainer (1960), directed by Tony Richardson, who had previously directed him in the theatre. He rose to prominence with his role as Arthur Seaton in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960), a film that captured the mood of the British working class in the post-war era. He earned his first Oscar nomination for his performance as the titular character in Tom Jones (1963), a comedy-adventure film based on the novel by Henry Fielding. Finney continued to play diverse roles throughout his career, ranging from a psychopathic murderer in Night Must Fall (1964) to Audrey Hepburn's husband in Two for the Road (1967). He also starred as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (1974), Ebenezer Scrooge in Scrooge (1970), Daddy Warbucks in Annie (1982), Winston Churchill in The Gathering Storm (2002), Ed Masry in Erin Brockovich (2000), Edward Bloom Sr. in Big Fish (2003) and Kincade in Skyfall (2012). Some of his other notable films include The Dresser (1983), Under the Volcano (1984), Miller's Crossing (1990) and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007). Finney never abandoned his stage career, appearing in numerous plays by William Shakespeare, Anton Chekhov, Samuel Beckett, John Osborne and others. He won a Tony nomination for Luther (1964) and A Day in the Death of Joe Egg (1968). He also won an Olivier Award for Orphans (1986) and was part of the original cast of Art (1996). Finney was married three times: to actress Jane Wenham from 1957 to 1961, with whom he had a son, Simon; to French actress Anouk Aimée from 1970 to 1978; and to travel agent Penelope Delmage from 2006 until his death. He declined a CBE in 1980 and a knighthood in 2000, saying that he did not believe in titles. He also never attended the Oscars ceremony, calling it "a waste of time". Finney died on 7 February 2019 at the age of 82 after a short illness. He passed away peacefully with his family by his side at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at London's Royal National Theatre, where he had performed many times.