British Actor Nigel Hawthorne Dies

Sir Nigel Hawthorne, the veteran British actor whose memorable stage and screen roles ranged from a control-freak politico to insane royalty, died Wednesday at age 72.

Left: Nigel Hawthorne in "Yes, Prime Minister"

While his distinguished career spanned five decades, Hawthorne's biggest success came late in life, gaining acclaim for his role as the smooth civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby on the BBC's long-running political satire, Yes, Minister. In 1995, he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his lead role in The Madness of King George, chronicling the fall into insanity of England's King George III. The original stage production also earned him an Olivier Award in 1992.

Most recently, Hawthorne costarred with Whoopi Goldberg in the TNT movie Call Me Claus, playing Santa Claus. And despite his failing health, Hawthorne helped promote the movie's release to home video.

Hawthorne was born in Coventry, England, in 1929, but was raised in South Africa. While he began his acting career in a Cape Town theater production and then moved to London at the age of 22, Hawthorne was a late bloomer, not experiencing major success until he neared middle age.

In a 1999 interview, Hawthorne said it was theater figure Joan Littlewood who pushed him to take risks and led him to rethink his philosophy toward acting. "Instead of putting on funny noses and funny voices and 'acting,' the more I was myself, the more I understood who I was and the more I presented this fallible absurd being that we all are, the more successful I would be," he told Scripps Howard News Service.

International recognition finally came while in his fifties, when he starred in 1980's Yes, Minister. The long-running series (and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister) aired through 1987 and was shown in more than 50 countries. The role earned Hawthorne five British Academy Awards , and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher once invited him to tea at Downing Street and asked to shoot a scene with the cast.

"I'm always astonished the people still remember that show," he once told London's Sunday Times. "In America, people come up to me and say, 'Hi, Sir Humph!' I can walk down Whitehall today and every policeman on the beat will say good morning to me."

His big-screen credits also included Amistad, The Object of My Affection, Demolition Man and Gandhi. On stage, Hawthorne picked up a Tony Award in 1991 for his portrayal of writer C.S. Lewis in Shadowlands. The thespian was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1999.

Hawthorne also happened to be gay, but he was uncomfortable taking the role of gay activist, and he even bristled at tabloid reports about his 20-year relationship with theater manager Trevor Bentham.

"Ian McKellen always said I should come out. But why?" he told the Times. "I feel that too much fuss is made about being gay. I've been a homosexual all my life. My partner and I don't want to stand up and say we're gay, because we think that's wrong. The best way to get people to accept you is to move about the community and show them there's nothing to be afraid of."

Hawthorne is survived by Bentham. Funeral arrangements were not immediately known.