I heard the news last night, but after my sixth ten hour shift in a row at my day job, my sleep addled brain couldn't, or just downright refused, to process the information. But now, with a healthy amount of sleep backing me up, it hit me like a freight train: Richard Attenborough, five days before his 91st birthday, has passed away. The world of cinema has lost another legend. And that is exactly what Richard Attenborough was. A legend. No matter what aspect he tried his hand at, he added so much to the cinematic landscape. It was in the last years of his teens, that he made the jump from the stage to the screen with an uncredited role 1942's In Which We Serve. It would be five years later that Brighton Rock would deliver his breakthrough role as psychotic hoodlum Pinkie Brown.
After over twenty years in front of the camera, 1969's Oh! What a Lovely War would mark his first time in the director's chair, and his directorial efforts over the the years included Magic, A Bridge Too Far, Chaplin, Shadowlands, and, of course, Gandhi, which he deservedly won an Oscar in 1982 for Best Director alongside Ben Kingsley for Best Actor. But for all his achievements, there are two roles that I will remember him for above all else: Kris Kringle in the Miracle on 34th Street remake, and John Hammond in Jurassic Park. With these roles, this soft spoken, good natured grandfather type became Richard Attenborough to me, and his deep chuckle as he regaled people with his plans to bring dinosaurs to life has stayed with me to this very day.
For all you have done for the world of cinema, and for me personally, I salute you Sir, and for his friends and family, the thoughts of everybody here at The Movie Bit are with you during this hard time.
