The actor Richard Todd, best known for his role in the classic war film The Dam Busters, has died at the age of 90.
His spokeswoman said Todd, who had been suffering from cancer, died last night.
She said in a statement: "He had been suffering from cancer, an illness that he bore with his habitual courage and dignity. His family were with him throughout."
Richard Andrew Palethorpe Todd was born in Dublin on 11 June 1919, the son of a British officer. He grew up in Devon and attended Shrewsbury public school.
His interest in the theatre led him to small roles in stage productions in England and Scotland. In 1939 he was a co-founder of the Dundee Repertory Theatre.
After the war he gained fame in the London stage version of The Hasty Heart, which took him to Broadway. He returned to England to appear in the film version, and was nominated for the best actor Oscar in 1949.
Later he was to appear in the film The Dam Busters as Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the role for which he is perhaps best known, a depiction of the daring British raid on the Ruhr dams.
He was probably best known in America for his role as senate chaplain Peter Marshall in A Man Called Peter.
Todd was the first choice of author Ian Fleming to play James Bond, but because of other commitments he had to turn it down. The role went to Sean Connery.
In 1953 he appeared as Heathcliff in the BBC adaptation of Wuthering Heights. Other TV successes included in Virtual Murder, Silent Witness and Dr Who.
He also had a major role in the Yangtse Incident/Battle Hell, the true story of a British ship stranded in China in 1949.
Todd appeared in scores of other films including the Longest Day, Alfred Hitchcock's Stage Fright, as Sir Walter Raleigh in The Virgin Queen, opposite Bette Davis, as Robin Hood in Robin Hood and his Merrie Men, and in Breakout/Danger Within, a tale of the escape of British POWs from an Italian prison camp near the end of the second world war.
He appeared as himself in 1994 in D-Day Remembered, A Musical Tribute from the QEII. He was still acting well into his 80s.