Charles Gray, actor, 71

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

British Actor Who Played Bond's Enemy Blofeld Dies

LONDON (Reuters) - Charles Gray, the British actor best known for his
portrayal of the cat-loving but otherwise villainous Ernst Stavro Blofeld in
the James Bond film ''Diamonds Are Forever,'' died on Tuesday, his agent
said on Wednesday.

Gray, who was 71, specialized in smooth, unsympathetic roles and played the
bald, scarred Blofeld to perfection.

Blofeld was the head of SPECTRE, the Special Executive for Counter
Espionage, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, a shadowy private organization
which specialized in holding the world to ransom and devising increasingly
more intricate ways of trying to kill Bond.

Gray, who died in hospital, also starred in ``The Mirror Crack'd'' an Agatha
Christie adaptation, and the wartime drama ''Night of the Generals.''

He also gained a curious type of fame when he provided a voice for actor
Jack Hawkins, who had his larynx removed in an operation for throat cancer.

His death follows that of veteran actor Desmond Llewelyn, who played the
gadgetry expert known as Q in a series of Bond films. Llewelyn, 85, died
shortly after appearing in his last Bond film -- ``The World is Not
Enough.''

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