Peter Finch
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Peter Finch (September 28, 1916 - January 14, 1977) was an English-born actor with strong Australian connections.
Born Frederick George Peter Ingle-Finch in London, he lived as a child in France and India, and finally in Australia, his parent's native country. There he grew up in Sydney. After finishing school, he worked in several badly-paid jobs until he tried acting. He began in 1935 playing theater roles, and also working in radio. In 1938, he appeared in his first movie, Dad and Dave Come to Town. Thereafter he played again on stage, where he was noticed by Laurence Olivier and encouraged to return to London. Finch returned the favor by having an affair with Olivier's wife, Vivien Leigh. Despite his stage experience, Finch suffered from stage fright and turned to films. His first role in a British-made film was in Eureka Stockade 1949 (set in Australia).
Finch's Hollywood debut was in The Miniver Story in 1950, but his first major role was 1956 in A Town Like Alice. In 1972, his role of the homosexual Jewish doctor in Sunday Bloody Sunday earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role.
He also won an Oscar nomination for his over-the-top portrayal of a crazed television anchor man in the 1976 film Network. He died of a stroke during a promotional tour for the film. He nevertheless won the Oscar, the first time the Best Actor award had been made posthumously, and he was the first Australian actor to win the award. It was accepted by his widow.
Finch also won five Awards of the British Film Academy.
Peter Finch was married three times. His fist wife was Tamara Tchinarova and his second wife Yolande Turner. Both marriages ended in divorce. His third wife was Eletha Finch. He had four children from his three marriages.
He is interred in the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.
Some references say his original name was William Mitchell. This is not correct. He was once arrested for drunkenness in Rome and, when asked for his name, he gave a fictitious one in order to protect his professional reputation. When his real identity was later revealed, some commentators made the incorrect assumption that William Mitchell must have been his legal name.
Filmography
1977 Raid On Entebbe (TV movie)
1976 Network
1974 The Abdication
1973 England Made Me, A Bequest to the Nation & Lost Horizon
1972 Something to Hide
1971 Sunday, Bloody Sunday & Krasnaya palatka
1968 The Legend of Lylah Clare
1967 Far from the Madding Crowd
1966 10:30 P.M. Summer & Judith
1965 The Flight of the Phoenix
1964 First Men in the Moon, Girl with Green Eyes & The Pumpkin Eater
1962 I Thank a Fool
1961 No Love for Johnnie & The Sins of Rachel Cade
1960 The Trials of Oscar Wilde & Kidnapped
1959 The Nun's Story & Operation Amsterdam
1957 Windom's Way, Robbery Under Arms & The Shiralee
1956 The Battle of the River Plate & A Town Like Alice
1955 Josephine and Men, Make Me an Offer, Passage Home, Simon and Laura & The Dark Avenger
1954 Father Brown & Elephant Walk
1953 The Heart of the Matter & The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan
1952 The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men
1950 The Miniver Story & The Wooden Horse
1949 Train of Events & Eureka Stockade
1946 A Son Is Born
1944 The Rats of Tobruk, & Red Sky at Morning
1938 Dad and Dave Come to Town