[Deathwatch] Sir Nigel Hawthorne, actor, 72

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Wednesday December 26 7:53 AM ET 

Actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne Dies at 72

LONDON (Reuters) - Veteran actor Sir Nigel Hawthorne has died at the
age of 72, his agent said.

Hawthorne died of a heart attack at home on Wednesday morning at around
9:30 a.m. He had been receiving treatment for cancer.

``It was a heart attack, maybe brought on by the strain of it all. He
had been battling pancreatic cancer for nearly two years,'' his agent,
Ken McReddie, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Hawthorne, who began acting in the 1950s and was knighted in 1999, was
``a brilliant actor and a wonderful friend,'' said McReddie, who was
his agent for more than 30 years.

Hawthorne was nominated for an Oscar in 1996 for his lead role in ``The
Madness of King George'' and had a long career in television, film and
on the stage.

He was perhaps best known for his role as Sir Humphrey Appleby, a suave
and crafty civil servant to the prime minister, in the long-running
satire ``Yes Minister.'' The program was shown in more than 50
countries.

Born in Coventry on April 5, 1929, Hawthorne was brought up in South
Africa after his family emigrated.

He did not find fame and success as an actor until relatively late in
life, when pushing 50.