Richard Todd, best known for his role in classic war film The Dam Busters, has died at the age of 90, after a battle with cancer.
Todd, a war hero in his own right, was also known for playing dashing heroes like Robin Hood and Rob Roy.
Born in Dublin in 1919, Todd was one of the first British soldiers to parachute into France on D-Day.
A spokesman for his family said he died peacefully in his sleep on Thursday at his home near Grantham in Lincolnshire.
Earlier this year, he celebrated his 90th birthday with a quiet gathering near his home.
A spokesman said he "had been suffering from cancer, an illness that he bore with his habitual courage and dignity.
"His family were with him throughout."
Director Michael Winner, who worked with Todd in 1978 thriller The Big Sleep described him as "a splendid person and a very, very good actor."
"Richard Todd was the most wonderful type of British stiff upper lip acting," he said.
"He was a good friend and wonderful to work with, utterly professional, very quiet, just got on with it."
Tragedy
Made in 1955, The Dam Busters told of the development of the bouncing bomb used during World War II to destroy the Ruhr dams in Germany.
Todd played Wing Commander Guy Gibson, leader of the 1943 mission codenamed Operation Chastise.
The actor, who was made an OBE in 1993, was last seen on screen in a 2007 episode of ITV drama Heartbeat.
In later life, he experienced personal tragedy when two of his sons committed suicide.
Todd's other movies include the Alfred Hitchcock thriller Stage Fright and the 1962 war film The Longest Day.
He also appeared in four episodes of Doctor Who in the 1980s, opposite Peter Davison's Doctor.
In 1950, he was nominated for the best actor Oscar for his work opposite future US president Ronald Reagan in The Hasty Heart.
'Daring deeds'
It was around this time that he first worked for the Disney studio, an association that led him to be named a "Disney Legend" in 2002.
Todd would later make light of his roles in The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men, The Sword and the Rose and Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue - selected as the Royal Film in 1953.
"My image was all daring deeds, until my swash began to buckle a bit," he remembered.
The actor, whose full name was Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd, began acting on stage in 1937.
With the outbreak of World War II, however, he volunteered for duty, serving with distinction in the Army, the Infantry and the Parachute Regiment.
Todd's youngest son Seamus shot himself in 1997 at the age of 20.
Eight years later, Todd's eldest son Peter also took his own life after suffering depression.
FILMOGRAPHY
# "Heartbeat" .... Harold Beecham (1 episode, 2007)
... aka Classic Heartbeat (UK: rerun title)
- Seeds of Destruction (2007) TV episode .... Harold Beecham
# "Holby City" .... Ron Archer (1 episode, 2004)
... aka Holby (UK: informal short title)
- We'll Meet Again (2004) TV episode .... Ron Archer
# "The Royal" .... Hugh Hirst (1 episode, 2003)
- Kiss and Tell (2003) TV episode .... Hugh Hirst
# "Midsomer Murders" .... Charles Edmonton (1 episode, 2003)
- Birds of Prey (2003) TV episode .... Charles Edmonton
# "Silent Witness" .... Professor Newman (1 episode, 2000)
- The World Cruise (2000) TV episode .... Professor Newman
# "Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased)" .... Cecil Waterman (1 episode, 2000)
- Mental Apparition Disorder (2000) TV episode .... Cecil Waterman
# "Virtual Murder" .... Judge Rawcliffe (1 episode, 1992)
- Last Train to Hell and Back (1992) TV episode .... Judge Rawcliffe
# Incident at Victoria Falls (1992) (TV) .... Lord Roberts
... aka Sherlock Holmes and the Incident at Victoria Falls
... aka Sherlock Holmes: Incident at Victoria Falls
... aka Sherlock Holmes: The Star of Africa
... aka The Star of Africa
# "Murder, She Wrote" .... Col. Alec Scofield (1 episode, 1989)
- Appointment in Athens (1989) TV episode .... Col. Alec Scofield
# Murder One (1988) .... Hunter
# Jenny's War (1985) (TV) .... Gen. Benjamin Cutler
# "The Last Place on Earth" .... Mr. Barnes (2 episodes, 1985)
- Minor Diversions (1985) TV episode .... Mr. Barnes
- Poles Apart (1985) TV episode .... Mr. Barnes
# House of the Long Shadows (1983) .... Sam Allyson
... aka House of Long Shadows
# "Doctor Who" .... Sanders (4 episodes, 1982)
- Kinda: Part 4 (1982) TV episode .... Sanders
- Kinda: Part 3 (1982) TV episode .... Sanders
- Kinda: Part 2 (1982) TV episode .... Sanders
- Kinda: Part 1 (1982) TV episode .... Sanders
# Las flores del vicio (1979)
... aka Bloodbath (USA)
... aka El cielo se cae (Spain)
... aka Las flores del vicio (El cepo) (Spain)
... aka The Sky Is Falling
# Home Before Midnight (1979) .... Geoffrey Steele
# "Matt and Jenny" .... Cowall Lamont (1 episode)
... aka Matt and Jenny on the Wilderness Trail
- Episode #1.22 (????) TV episode .... Cowall Lamont
# The Big Sleep (1978) .... Commander Barker
# No. 1 of the Secret Service (1977) .... Arthur Loveday
... aka Her Majesty's Top Gun (UK: video title)
... aka Tell the Other Guy to Move Over! I'm Number One.
# "Boy Dominic" .... Capt. Charles Bulman (14 episodes, 1974-1976)
- Hangman's Hollow (1976) TV episode .... Capt. Charles Bulman
- Charles and Emma (1974) TV episode .... Capt. Charles Bulman
- Lady Bulman Regets (1974) TV episode .... Capt. Charles Bulman
- Ghost in Greenwich (1974) TV episode .... Capt. Charles Bulman
- Friends of the Family (1974) TV episode .... Capt. Charles Bulman
(9 more)
# "Dominic" (1976) TV mini-series .... Capt. Charles Bulman (unknown episodes)
# "Thriller" .... George Tulliver (1 episode, 1974)
- The Next Scream You Hear (1974) TV episode .... George Tulliver
# Asylum (1972/I) .... Walter
... aka House of Crazies
# Dorian Gray (1970) .... Basil Hallward
... aka Dorian Gray (UK) (USA)
... aka Das Bildnis des Dorian Gray (West Germany)
... aka Il dio chiamato Dorian (Italy)
... aka The Evils of Dorian Gray
... aka The Secret of Dorian Gray
# Subterfuge (1968) .... Col. Victor Redmayne
# "The Danny Thomas Hour" .... Stafford (1 episode, 1968)
- The Last Hunters (1968) TV episode .... Stafford
# Last of the Long-haired Boys (1968) .... Trigg
... aka Peter Everett's The Last of the Long Haired Boys (UK: complete title)
# "Theatre 625" .... Edmund Gurney (1 episode, 1967)
- The Magicians: Edmund Gurney and the Brighton Mesmerist (1967) TV episode .... Edmund Gurney
# The Love-Ins (1967) .... Dr. Jonathan Barnett
# Blood Bath (1966) (uncredited)
... aka Track of the Vampire (USA: TV title)
# The Battle of the Villa Fiorita (1965) .... Darrell
... aka Affair at the Villa Fiorita
# Operation Crossbow (1965) .... Wing Cmdr. Kendall
... aka The Great Spy Mission (UK) (USA: reissue title)
... aka Code Name: Operation Crossbow
# Death Drums Along the River (1963) .... Inspector Harry Sanders
... aka Sanders (USA)
... aka Sanders of the River (UK: alternative title)
# Coast of Skeletons (1963) .... Inspector Harry Sanders
# The Boys (1962/I) .... Victor Webster
# The Longest Day (1962) .... Maj. John Howard
# Le crime ne paie pas (1962) .... Col. Roberts William (segment "L'homme de l'avenue")
... aka Crime Does Not Pay (USA)
... aka Gentle Art of Murder (UK)
... aka Il delitto non paga (Italy)
# "BBC Sunday-Night Play" .... Michael Carrington (1 episode, 1962)
- Member of the Family (1962) TV episode .... Michael Carrington
# The Very Edge (1962) .... Geoffrey Lawrence
# The Hellions (1961) .... Sam Hargis
# Don't Bother to Knock (1961) .... Bill Ferguson
... aka Why Bother to Knock (USA)
# The Long and the Short and the Tall (1961) .... Sgt. 'Mitch' Mitchem
... aka Jungle Fighters (USA)
... aka The Long, the Short and the Tall (International: English title)
# Never Let Go (1960) .... John Cummings
# "ITV Play of the Week" (1 episode, 1960)
... aka Play of the Week (UK: short title)
- Carrington V.C. (1960) TV episode
# "ITV Television Playhouse" .... Stephen Mason (1 episode, 1960)
- The Man Who Could Find Things (1960) TV episode .... Stephen Mason
# Danger Within (1959) .... Lt. Col. David Baird, M.C.
... aka Breakout (USA)
# Intent to Kill (1958) .... Dr. Bob McLaurin
# The Naked Earth (1958) .... Danny
# Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958) .... Williams, alias Ward McKenzie Prescott Jr.
# Saint Joan (1957) .... Dunois, Bastard of Orleans
# Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst (1957) .... Lt. Cmdr. Kerans, RN
... aka Battle Hell (USA)
... aka Escape of the Amethyst
... aka Their Greatest Glory
... aka Yangtze Incident
# D-Day the Sixth of June (1956) .... Lt. Col. John Wynter
# Marie-Antoinette reine de France (1956) .... Comte Axel von Fersen
... aka Maria Antonietta (Italy)
... aka Maria Antonietta regina di Francia (Italy)
... aka Marie Antoinette Queen of France
... aka Marie-Antoinette
... aka Shadow of the Guillotine (USA)
# The Virgin Queen (1955) .... Sir Walter Raleigh
# The Dam Busters (1955) .... Wing Commander Guy Gibson, V.C., D.S.O., D.F.C.
# A Man Called Peter (1955) .... The Rev. Peter Marshall
# Secrets d'alcôve (1954) .... Capitaine Davidson (segment "Billet de logement, Le")
... aka Il letto (Italy)
... aka The Bed (USA)
... aka The Secrets of the Bed (International: English title)
# "BBC Sunday-Night Theatre" .... Heathcliff (1 episode, 1953)
- Wuthering Heights (1953) TV episode .... Heathcliff
# Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue (1953) .... Rob Roy MacGregor
# The Sword and the Rose (1953) .... Charles Brandon
... aka When Knighthood Was in Flower (UK) (USA: TV title)
# Venetian Bird (1952) .... Edward Mercer
... aka El Alaméin
... aka The Assassin (USA)
# 24 Hours of a Woman's Life (1952) .... The Young Man
... aka Affair in Monte Carlo (USA)
# The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) .... Robin Hood
... aka The Story of Robin Hood (Philippines: English title) (USA: alternative title)
# Lightning Strikes Twice (1951) .... Richard Trevelyan
# Flesh & Blood (1951) .... Charles Cameron/Sutherland
# Portrait of Clare (1950) .... Robert Hart
# Stage Fright (1950) .... Jonathan Cooper
... aka Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright (UK: complete title)
# The Hasty Heart (1949) .... Cpl. Lachlan 'Lachie' MacLachlan
... aka Hasty Heart (USA: poster title)
# The Interrupted Journey (1949) .... John North
# For Them That Trespass (1949) .... Herbert Edward Logan
# A Yank at Oxford (1938) (uncredited) .... Extra in sporting event
# Old Bones of the River (1938) (uncredited) .... Extra in crowd scene
# Good Morning, Boys (1937) (uncredited) .... Extra in crowd scene
