Albert Finney RIP

Albert Finney, who forged his reputation as one of the leading actors of Britain’s early 60s new wave cinema, has died aged 82 after a short illness, his family have announced. In 2011, he disclosed he had been suffering from kidney cancer. Having shot to fame as the star of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Finney received five Oscar nominations, but never won, and refused a knighthood.

Born in Salford in 1936, Finney grew up the son of a bookmaker as part of what he called the “lower middle class”. Encouraged by his headmaster at Salford Grammar school, Finney got a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he found himself in the same class as Peter O’Toole and Alan Bates. Having established himself as a theatre actor, Finney capitalised on the late-50s surge of interest in “northern” material, and found himself cast, first, in a small role in the film adaptation of John Osborne’s The Entertainer (set in Morecambe) and then as the lead in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, as rambunctious factory worker Arthur Seaton.

Sad news indeed. Son of a bookie as I recall.

Salford lad , turned down the backslapping that is the knighthood , was great in Big Fish.

RIP Mr Finney.

Arthur Seaton incarnate to his final small, but characterful role in James Bond Skyfall

Turned down a CBE and a Knighthood 'for snobs'

RIP

Also turned down lead role in Lawrence Of Arabia when virtually cast.

Oscar Nominated four times for best actor but never won. Nominated once for best supporting actor for Erin Brockovitch - should have won but that bloke from Traffic won it.

A fine actor over a very long career - RIP.     

Cue lots of good stuff on the TV as a tribute - I hope the BBC show A Rather English Marriage - him and Tom Courtney and Joanna Lumley.   If you remember "Oh Reggie, its huge" you'll remember it. Oh and Tom Jones - that eating sequence is rather good.  That'll be on soon.

to quote the pale fountains ' remember Arthur Seaton said 'he wont be beaten ' .

Saw him in the bar at The Bradford Alhambra, mid 80s when he was filming The Dresser.

top actor and loved his racing

"Stop that train!!"

Loved him in Miller's Crossing too

A very fine actor indeed, that's sad to read.

Let’s put this into perspective,actor dies 82..football player found at the bottom of the sea,people feel sad , mrs Giliigham a school crossing keeper for 35 years gets run over and killied,no mention ,unbelievable,... I can act and kick a bag of wind

The difference is we knew Albert, we didn't know Mrs Gilligham.

His performance in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning was superb. I like those whom like Steven Hawking turn down the gimmicks. When you look at some of the 'A' listers now they pale into insignificance against one of Britain's finest. RIP.

One of the very best....Thanks for the Memories

I am sorry to hear Albert Finney has died.

He was a star of the British New Wave of Cinema in the 1960's. Yes he made his name in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning...and he was also very good in Tom Jones, not long after that.
Yes I give my respects as well Kenny, I liked him as an actor.

In deference to conditor I will say r.i.p to Mrs Gilligham. , seems very tragically runover.

Although I did not actually know her.

Salford lad, wouldn't be surprised if he knew do wah diddy

I really hope he did cooperman

I don't think Conditor's post adds any perspective at all.

There is nothing unimportant about the deaths of Mrs Gillingham or Emiliano Sala of course, and nothing particularly important about the death of Albert Finney either, although many will post out of affection as they will of the other two.

Perspective is not qualitative - it's merely a point of view.

RIP

I will never forget Cold Lazarus

I think he was A Ham . Rip , piece of pork .

^Very classy.

No mentions in his obit of Gumshoe.
He’s a bingo caller and gets involved in some crime shenanigans.
Can’t remember exactly but I can picture him in trench coat and hat.

A bit much to compare a British actor who had been well-known for over 50 years to an Argentinian footballer who nobody in this country had heard of a few weeks ago.
Finney one of my heros. Great actor and a fine man for turning down a knighthood unlike so many of his one-time "radical" contemparies in the theatre,literature and rock music.
R.I.P.

We all admire gifted actors, but lets not forget they are born with their gifts.
Their looks, the tone of their voices, the attraction they have to the public were all bestowed by chance, they didn't have to work for any of them.

And the end product is they simply read lines that someone else has written.

That brilliant line out of Saturday/Sunday for instance in the opening scene, where Finney is working on his lathe - ''nine hundred and fifty four - nine hundred and fifty bloody five, another few more and that's the lot for a Friday.''

Riveting stuff at the time and still is, but Finney didn't write it, someone else did that.

Mikael D'Haguenet , It's just my opinion . I encourage and respect opinion's . Don't you ? . I disagree , with many of the opinions , here. But i'll fight for the right , for those opinions , to be heard . . That's Classy . Classy is not making some clever arSEd , little quip . By the way , I think that british actors , with a few , exceptions , are sh1t .

RIP Albert.
Liked him as the psychotic killer in Night Must Fall. The scene with the hat box always cracked me up:
from 38:30 to 41:44:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6P8yRdwZSo

By the way . I've got more than a smidgen of an idea , regarding who I believe are good actors . Many years ago , I was trained , as an actor . I was trained by the scottish actress , she's a screenwriter now , Andrea Gibb , and by other brilliant people . I feel I know , what I'm talkin about . I think marlon brando is sh1t , too .

In the RP
At one point he was leasing shares from Seattle Slew

John Gosden was a good friend
Liked his gambling
Albert
Gosden Named one of his hosses after the Actor

^^So much for education, which is a poor replacement for common sense.

Culvin, it's not your opinion of Finney's acting abilities I find questionable - I called Alan Rickman a ham on here when he died. It was the rather unnecessary 'RIP piece of pork' I thought was classless.

i thought finney was one of the best actors around.

he was so good he didnt get noticed because he was always the character
and never finney.

plenty great films for tv to show us again as tribute.

I don't recall many of his films, but thought he was good in the Jason Bourne one. And was that him in Skyfall last night?

RIP.

Yes I remember him in  Gumshoe, racing cert.

From 1971, I liked that film.

I own't give the plot away.

Dr Crippen
09 Feb 19 12:15
Joined: 16 Apr 02 | Topic/replies: 37,614 | Blogger: Dr Crippen's blog
That Saturday Nigh and Sunday Morning film was made in 1960.
And represented a pretty good insight into working class life at the time.

Finney played a young man with a limited education doing a low skilled job in a factory.
He went out drinking every night, met a girl and they decided to get married and buy a house.

Which a young uneducated couple could do in those days.

Yes Dr Crippen, the 1960's was a time of hope, the 1950's had been grim, because although we won the war

it had bankrupted us and cost us our Empire. A large number of who seemed to move here.

I am not sure that hope has been justified, but life always look better when we are young.

Mikael D'Haguenet , On reflection , I accept that part of what I said , was harsh , and you were right to pull me up on it . Thank you , Mikael .

I liked him in Miller's crossing a very very good film.

A good actor who made it seem easy.perhaps that's the real compliment about Finney.