Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 17, 1991 TAG: 9104170303
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LONDON LENGTH: Medium
Lean, 83, fell ill in January after announcing a date for the filming of "Nostromo," based on Joseph Conrad's novel. The project absorbed his final years.
He died Tuesday as his home in London, said his attorney, Tony Reeves. Stephen Silverman, a biographer of Lean, said he died of pneumonia.
Peter O'Toole, who played T.E. Lawrence in "Lawrence of Arabia," said, "David could have been anything. He could have been a field marshal, he could have been an archaeologist, a musician. He was one of those extraordinarily gifted Brits."
Lean was born March 25, 1908,in Croydon, south of London, and got into the movie business in 1928 as a number-board boy at Gaumont studios.
He displayed an aptitude for editing, and was put in charge of Gaumont Sound News, for which he also wrote scripts.
In 1942, his reputation as a technician led to his partnership with Coward directing "In Which We Serve," an award-winning World War II drama of the Royal Navy.
"The Bridge on the River Kwai" in 1957 was Lean's first great success. The film won seven Academy Awards, including best director.
"Lawrence of Arabia," in 1962, won seven Oscars, including best director, and made O'Toole a star.
"Lawrence" was Lean's favorite of his films, but his greatest commercial success came three years later with "Dr. Zhivago." The film won three Oscars.
Lean was knighted in 1984, and was honored with a life achievement award from the American Film Institute in 1990.
"He brought the art of storytelling to its finest level, combining the epic and the intimate in a way that has been rarely achieved," said American Film Institute director Jean Firstenberg.
by CNB