Albert Finney, R.I.P.

British actor Albert Finney passed away yesterday of a chest infection. He was 82.

An alumnus of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, Finney would make his debut on the London stage in 1958. Two years later, Finney would make his debut on the silver screen alongside Laurence Olivier in The Entertainer. The year 1960 also saw him in his first lead role in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. That film would label Finney among a cadre of British actors known as "angry young men."

International superstardom would come in his third film Tom Jones. Released in 1963, it would become one of the few comedies to ever win a Best Picture Oscar. Finney would receive the first of his four Oscar nominations for Best Actor. That year he was beaten out by Sidney Poitier in Lillies of the Field. Finney also failed to win Best Actor for his portrayal of Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express as well as in back to back years in the early 1980's for The Dresser and Under The Volcano. He would also receive a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Erin Brockovich starring Julia Roberts, but again did not win the statue. Finney also appeared in films such as Miller's Crossing, Before The Devil Knows Your Dead and the various Bourne films with Matt Damon. Millennials will likely best remember Finney's portrayal of Daddy Warbucks in the 1982 film Annie. His final film appearance was in the 2012 James Bond film Skyfall. Here is an interview Finney did in promoting this film.

Many lament the fact that Finney never won an Oscar. This very evening, I saw the 1974 film Harry & Tonto starring Art Carney at the Film Forum in NYC. Before screening the film, a video clip of Carney's Best Actor Oscar win was played. This was the year Finney was nominated for Murder on the Orient Express. The other three actors who didn't take home an Oscar that night were Jack Nicholson for Chinatown, Al Pacino for The Godfather, Part II and Dustin Hoffman for Lenny. That's some competition. One must be awfully good to be mentioned among the company of those actors. I'm equally sure Nicholson, Pacino, Hoffman and Carney were honored to be in Finney's company as well. R.I.P.