Actor Terence Stamp, star of Superman films, dies aged 87
The Oscar-nominated actor starred in films ranging from Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season In Hell in 1971 to The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert in 1994 in which he played a transgender woman.
The family said in a statement to Reuters that Stamp died on Sunday morning.
"He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come," the family said. "We ask for privacy at this sad time."
Born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker, he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two before leaving school to work initially in advertising, eventually winning a scholarship to go to drama school.
Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From The Madding Crowd in 1967. He also dated the model Jean Shrimpton and was chosen as a muse by photographer David Bailey.
After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, he appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s.
He dropped out of the limelight and studied yoga in India before landing his most high-profile role, as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980.
He went on to appear in a string of other films, including Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton.
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
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Terence Stamp, actor who played Superman villain Zod, dies at 87
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Terence Henry Stamp was born in London's East End on July 22, 1938, the son of a tugboat coal stoker and a mother who Stamp said gave him his zest for life. LONDON - English actor Terence Stamp liked to recall how he was on the verge of becoming a tantric sex teacher at an ashram in India when, in 1977, he received a telegram from his London agent with news that he was being considered for the Superman film. 'I was on the night flight the next day,' Stamp said in an interview with his publisher Watkins Books in 2015. After eight years largely out of work, getting the role of the arch-villain General Zod in Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980) turned the full glare of Hollywood's limelight on the Londoner. Buoyed by his new role, Stamp said he would respond to curious looks from passers-by with a command of: 'Kneel before Zod, you bastards', which usually went down a storm. 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In 2002, Stamp married for the first time at the age of 64 – to pharmacist Elizabeth O'Rourke, who was 35 years his junior. They divorced in 2008. Asked by the Stage 32 website how he got film directors to believe in his talent, Stamp said: 'I believed in myself. 'Originally, when I didn't get cast I told myself there was a lack of discernment in them. This could be considered conceit. I look at it differently. Cherishing that divine spark in myself.' REUTERS
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AsiaOne
6 hours ago
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Actor Terence Stamp, star of Superman films, dies aged 87, Entertainment News
LONDON — Terence Stamp, who made his name as an actor in 1960s London and went on to play the arch-villain General Zod in the Hollywood hits Superman and Superman II, has died aged 87, his family said on Sunday (Aug 17). The Oscar-nominated actor starred in films ranging from Pier Paolo Pasolini's Theorem in 1968 and A Season in Hell in 1971 to The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert in 1994 in which he played a transgender woman. The family said in a statement to Reuters that Stamp died on Sunday morning. "He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come," the family said. "We ask for privacy at this sad time." Born in London's East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker, he endured the bombing of the city during World War Two before leaving school to work initially in advertising, eventually winning a scholarship to go to drama school. Famous for his good looks and impeccable dress sense, he formed one of Britain's most glamorous couples with Julie Christie, with whom he starred in Far From the Madding Crowd in 1967. He also dated the model Jean Shrimpton and was chosen as a muse by photographer David Bailey. After failing to land the role of James Bond to succeed Sean Connery, he appeared in Italian films and worked with Federico Fellini in the late 1960s. He dropped out of the limelight and studied yoga in India before landing his most high-profile role — as General Zod, the megalomaniacal leader of the Kryptonians, in Superman in 1978 and its sequel in 1980. He went on to appear in a string of other films, including Valkyrie with Tom Cruise in 2008, The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon in 2011 and movies directed by Tim Burton. [[nid:721135]]
