SIR NIGEL HAWTHORNESir Nigel Hawthorne, who died on December 26, 2001, at the age of 72, was an immensely gifted performer who did not receive true recognition for his work until later life, when he appeared in the BBC television series “Yes, Minister”.As the suave, shielded, inspired and calculating civil service permanent secretary Sir Humphrey Appleby, Sir Nigel caught the nation’s eye when the series was screened on television in 1980. He was 51 at the time.He continued to play the character until the programmes follow up series, “Yes, Prime Minister” came to an end in 1988.Perhaps his finest performance came in the film adaptation of Alan Bennett’s “The Madness of King George”, in which he played King George III, a role which earned him an Oscar nomination.Nigel Hawthorne was born on April 5, 1929, in Coventry, England, though he spent his childhood in South Africa withhis three siblings.Sir Nigel's authoritarian father had dreams of his son either following him into medicine, or forging a career in the military, but neither appealed to his son, who had developed a passion for acting.After dropping out of Cape Town University at the age of 19 Sir Nigel returned to England and looked for work as a professional actor, eventually finding a job as an assistant stage manager in Buxton, Derbyshire.A brief return to South Africa followed in the early 1960s, where he gained further acting experience, before returning to London and securing a role as Field Marshal Haig in the premiere of “Oh What a Lovely War”.It was not until 1977 that he was provided with his big break, when offered the role of Sir Humphrey Appleby in political TV sitcom “Yes, Minister”, earning him four BAFTA awards and making him a household name.Indeed at this time he was invited for tea with then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, who loved the programme and in particular Sir Nigel's portrayal of a conniving civil servant.The triumph of Sir Humphrey provided Sir Nigel with opportunities he had strived for throughout his career, one such example seeing him act with the Royal Shakespeare Company, a body he had been unsuccessfully trying to join for years.His role as King George III in the stage version of Alan Bennett’s “The Madness of King George” was transferred to the big screen in 1994 after Bennett refused to employ anyone other than Sir Nigel for the leading role, a performance regarded by many as his finest.For all of his success Sir Nigel remained an insecure character, though he did mellow in later life as his career blossomed, once stating; "I didn't really know who I was, until I was middle-aged."Awarded the Commander of the British Empire in 1987 before he was Knighted in 1999, Sir Nigel also won a further BAFTA for “The Madness of King George”, despite missing out on what would have been a much deserved Oscar.After being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, for which he received surgery, it was felt Sir Nigel was recovering well, but he died from a heart attack on Boxing Day, 2001, at his Hertfordshire home.
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