Totally agree. For someone who was as well known and respected as Sir Alex you'd think someone would show some care for his and his wife's gravestones.
Wow that headstone!!! To say he was a sir!!! That’s crazy how unassuming it is?! I am really shocked it looks like a poor mans grave and he must have left a fortune behind. Very shocked at his grave very shocked, unkept doesn’t he have any relatives how very sad. In America there graves are amazing for such talented actors!! Such a shame! Thank you for this!! 👍👏👏👏👏❤️
Sir Alec was an icon, so it's quite sad to see the poor state of their headstone. Surely the Movie Industry could do something given how much revenue he earned them If it was closer, I'd do it myself. Thanks for sharing Paul
People may be shocked at such a simple, almost pauper's headstone. Perhaps this is the way Sir Alec wanted it --- he was an unassuming and humble man with a great gift, but he knew that this made him no better than anyone else when it comes time to take the final journey we all must take. Perhaps this is why he has an _everyman's_ grave --- an unassuming and humble grave. Rest in Peace Sir Alec and thank you for _Herbert Pocket, Fagin, The D'Ascoyne family, George Bird, Benjamin Disraeli, Henry Holland, Sidney Stratton, Father Brown, Professor Marcus, Col. Nicholson, Capt. William Horatio Ambrose, Gulley Jimson, Major Jock Sinclair, Prince Faisal, Marcus Aurelius, Lt. Zhivago, Pope Innocent III, George Smiley and Obi-Wan Kenobi_ (among many others!!!)
Agreed. It's only been there for what, 22 years? Looks like it's been there for 50. There must be someone left that looks after it? Anyway, great video. Love Alec.
A humble headstone for such a brilliant Actor. I would have expected a little more lavish stone & size. I think someone should alert them the words are wearing off, how sad. One of the greatest actors of his era and still as an older man with Star Wars. A brilliant man. RIP. 🌺
@@Diamondmine212 bet his son got quite a financial windfall once his father passed , could have at least spent a bit of it on a decent headstone for his father ,absolute shame
Hello Paul. Also, Sir Alec Guinness acted in an earier film, the black and white film called The Lady Killers. He starred alongside actor Peter Sellers. It is my favourite film!
I really liked his eary movies such as 'Oliver' in which he played Fagan and 'Kind hearts and coronets' in which he played multiple roles. A great actor.
Good shout and thanks for your efforts. Just as others have commented, that's a humble grave for Sir Alec Guinness CH CBE. Probably the world's greatest character actor but definitely one of the most popular stars. The word prolific really seems apt for Sir Alec, and he did his bit in WW2 as well. Just for starters he was George Smiley; Fagin; Colonel Nicholson; Obi Wan Kanobe. There is a Blue Plaque but quite frankly the man deserves a much better monument.
The last time I visited a grave yard was at least 20 years ago when I went to see my Nan's resting place, which had also deteriorated, not just from vandals but from a family who didn't care about its upkeep. This is I'm sure the reason for Alec's and his wife's deteriorated headstones, because people simply stop caring and becomes just another 'chore'. The thing which strikes me though, watching your clips on here yesterday evening and again now, is something which struck me in my early 20's when taking a leisurely stroll around the large grounds of that graveyard, in how many husbands and wives were buried together in the same plots. For some, myself included, it gives a much needed ponderous assessment of one's life and the reality of it belonging to all life and all those living during our own time of life, beyond the daily quagmire of nonsenses and worries we think are important, because it reminded me how I once contemplated walking around at a time when I was at a deeply complex crossroads in my own life from being lost, unhappy and confused - wondering what was real, what wasn't real, and what true life was really about, what more was there beyond the mundanity, the abuse, the hatred, the loneliness, and what definitive purpose I had from a turbulent start. Being in a graveyard when one is going through that may seem to some to be asking for trouble, but it actually provides a rare opportunity at solemnity to ask oneself some very poignant questions, and find even more worthwhile answers. The dead do not speak nor answer, but the community they come to form offers the living a very worthwhile reflection of one's own mortality, and how despite these people now being just remains, each had their own personality, their own plans, likes and hobbies, idiosyncrasies, their own flaws, their own joys, their many transformations through birth, growth, decay and death which each brought them here, to lay beneath these stones. It occurred to me then as it did now, especially after watching the Buster Merryfield clip, how those two people side by side were once total strangers who never even knew each other existed; once babies and then children, teenagers and then adults, who'd meet by chance, courted, married, set their life together, had children and retired, then passed away, who now rest beside one another once more not even knowing one another, but what for the love of their life scribed on their stones, for what will be many lifetimes longer than their actual living life. It also struck me how many were buried with their own children, which again creates the very provocative thought that they were once altogether as a family, kids running about in the garden, parents working or doing households things, eating together at the table, going for walks, going to school, cuddling by the fire in winter, all the things we ourselves do from day to day and take for granted, to then shifting to the next reality of ending up in a row together deep within the ground, each in wooden boxes, identified only by concrete stones with names given to them by their forebears, being read and identified by passers-by. I think everybody should visit graveyards privately as a reason to rekindle the touch on life with all its meaning, and take in the entirety of who is there and who they were and how long they carved their presence into the history of our world, to jolt them back to a sense of reality itself and realise that one day, despite people's beliefs and fears, will each end up being a scribed memory on a piece of rock, being read by the respectful and reflective walkers by looking more introspectively at their own lives and their own purpose, or fearing they have wasted too much time, or, running out of it. This to me is what's missing in this modern world, the living life in blindness to death, which ignores the mortality within us all, for if we truly gave death its worthy time and attention, the value of life would be so much greater.
Great actor.. I never knew he was buried in Petersfield. I was a Police officer some years ago in Petersfield, Whitehill & Bordon. I grew up in South Harting and went to school in Midhurst.. RIP Sir Alec
@@UnusualThings1 History it seems is all around us.. Small world too, my parents are in Gosport. Good videos though mate, your channel will grow fast 👍🏼
@@woooster17 That’s cool, been to Gosport many times. Thank you, I’m going to keep researching and getting out to as many as I can and also any other unusual things that may be of interest to people. 🙏
Well I'm so shocked... I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the headstone of both of them...there's just no words.. but Paul.. you do an amazing job of keeping the public aware of these awesome actors have ended up xx always with the respect they all deserve xx
You didn’t seem yourself today Paul…hope your ok. I agree with other people here, who were surprised at how unkempt both gravestones and even flowers appeared. Such a shame. I did search to see if he had any children, he had three marriages and three children, the eldest of which is Matthew who is 82, and two daughters, one it said played a part in Star Wars too! Sir Alec also has a grandson who is a Professional football player..I don’t know who he plays for, but has the unusual name “Nesta Guinness-Walker!! So that’s my little contribution to Unusual Things Paul. Thanks for doing this search….I’m glad Sir Alec and wife are together , as you said she died not long after him, but I noticed on her stone she died just two days after her birthday!…such a brilliant and adaptable Actor! You forgot to mention his playing the part of Head Mistress in the Belles of St Trinians film, which was so good, and also Lady Agatha in “Kind Hearts and Coronets”…..another great film. If you havnt seen Belles of St Trinians Paul, do try and watch it….very funny film. Thanks again Paul! Best wishes! 🙋♀️😘🥰👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
love your videos mate its very depressing but also fascinating I'm not in for looking at grave sites but it's also a morbid curiosity especially the great stars you do a tremendous job and alot of research involved hat off to yer
This would have been very much what Sir Alec would have wanted, in life he was never one to seek the limelight and tried very hard to just be the person he was, so it makes sense that his gravestone and that of his wife would be much as anybody elses would be and not overly flash or over the top...it is simple and does the job perfectly just like the man himself.
Hi, Paul looks cold mate, well one of the great actors of all time, l remember him in the Dickens classic Great Expectations and the Malta Story and many more films when he was interviewed he always came across as a modest man which to me is a mark of greatness you just have to do is see his wife's and his headstones very modest and when he did Star Wars he was perfect for the part you can't see anyone else doing it, he is sadly missed not only for his acting but also as a person.
Sir Alec Guinness play Jacob Marley in Scrooge one of my all time favourite films, he was an outstanding actor, I loved the old black and white films with him in it, even St Trinians he was awesome. Brilliant actor and very humble guy, every Christmas I watch his version of Scrooge it’s awesome, I never get bored of watching him. Great actor and extremely funny. Miss him very much 🙏🏻🙏🏻😂😂😂👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼
Alec Guiness also starred in numerous Ealing comedy films from the late 1940's and fifties.My absolute favourite being 'The Lady Killers' 1955.Great actor.
An early couple of his films worth seeking out are "Kind hearts and coronets" in this he plats a multitude of characters, the other is "The card" this was filmed in Stoke on Trent especially Burslem.
Amazing home unkempt his grave is. Given that his estate still earns a fortune. He was on a percentage for Star Wars. A larger one than Mark Hamil (being the more famous actor).
Hello Paul you have a cold. Well these headstones have deteriorated badly haven’t they . Did he have any children. No one to care for their headstones. Very sad. Great actor. Thankyou Paul❤ hope your feeling better not so jolly today!
Myself and my friend where travelling to Portsmouth from Tyne and Wear last year to travel to Spain on a motorbike holiday and the plan was to visit on the way but unfortunately the weather turned bad which was a shame because sir Alex was a part of our childhood growing up but hopefully in the future I’ll be able to see for myself RIP sir Alex
Such an amazing actor, I really loved watching some of his old films kind hearts and coronets, The Card, Last holiday and my favourite The lady killers. Such a shame his resting place looks a bit sad. 😞💐💐💐
My favorite movies with Sir Alec Guinness are ''Great Expectations'', ''The Ladykillers'', ''Bridge on the River Kwai'', ''Tunes of Glory'', ''Murder By Death'' and of course the Star Wars trilogy.
Ahh Paul probably the saddest video I’ve seen sir Alec Guinness was one of my most favourite of actors in Star Wars especially so sad but you are awesome xx
Wow, considering what an acting giant he was that is such a modest grave. His and his wife's headstones are only 23 years old but they look so much older. When he was asked to be in Star Wars (1977) he was offered a 1.5% cut of the profits as a sweetener by George Lucas to get him onboard. Twentieth Century Fox involved thought the film would die a quick death but as we now know it was a monster hit and although Guinness thought the dialogue and the script was rubbish, he was amazed at how popular the film would become and how successful. There's a great interview with Michael Parkinson where he said that he earned more money from that one role than he earned from all his previous films put together. It also gave him the financial security to take interesting if not well paid roles like George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy about three years later. In the 2011 film version, Gary Oldman (who plays George Smiley) actually wore the same glasses that Guinness did in the TV series 30 years earlier. This was intentional as Oldman wanted to acknowledge Guinness in some way. As you say Paul, Sir Alec's filmography should be checked out. He rarely gave a bad performance and aside from Shakespeare and classic literature adaptations he proved himself a master of dark comedy in Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Card (1952), The Ladykillers (1955) and The Horses Mouth (1958). He was such a flexible actor he could easily turn his hand to convincing performances in everything from Charles Dickens to War Movies. He also did two years as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy during the war and participated in the invasion of Sicily in 1943 and was a fan of the TV series The Simpsons. A great actor who led an interesting life.
Golders Green Crematorium could well be worth a visit. Obviously there are no graves to visit but the cloister walls have many memorials to the famous, just a thought.
I've seen every film he ever made several times and the ones I simple detest are the ones where he plays Obi Won Kenobi as much as he did acting in them !Yes,they certainly made money for him so that was a motive, but they are not for me.
I visited that beautiful graveyard a few years ago and couldn’t find the headstone. An old man led me astray on that dark misty evening in January. He said, that is not the headstone you are looking for, move along. Real strange feeling even now these years later.
Hi Paul,thanks a lot for sharing these great videos with us here.Please try to visit the final resting place of Sir Alan Bates(died in 2003) on occasion.It is located in All Saints' Church in Bradbourne,U.K.He was one of my top 5 actors really.Best wishes and cordial greetings from William in Bruges,Belgium
Kind hearts and Coronets. One of his lesser known films. I could win a pub quiz or two but nothing to write home about. Also The ladykillers with Peter sellers. I'm still at a loss as to what Peter sold.
“This is not the grave you are looking for” sorry couldn’t resist He was a great British actor, in Bridge over the river Kwai after he was locked in a cooler for weeks he simulated having bad legs, his son had polio which he said had enabled him to do this accurately
Sir Alec Guinness Grave Stone Head almost unreadable . A power wash would make a difference. Surprised it hasn't been done. That's not good. Looks so poor looking. A far cry from Hollwood. Thanks for the video. Appreciated👍
Did your know he was charged with cottaging under another name. He became very well off after starwars as he had a percentage of the merchandise in which he negotiated.
How about doing the grave of Sir Philip John Denton Toosey who Sir Alec Guinness Played In The Film The Bridge on the River Kwai i Think It Would Make a good Interesting Story / video love the video's Keep up the good work
" Just pausing to say, that it is not the custom in London to place the knife in ones mouth, for fear of accidents.....hardly worth mentioning im sure but its best to do as others do". Superb actor, the scene in Great Expectations when Joe visits Pip has Sir Alec, Sir Bernard Miles and Sir John Mills in one scene. Granted theyre not yet all " Sirs" but just shows the calibre of actor at the time. Always understood that he detested Star Wars, but made no secret that he loved the money it made after some clever negotiation regarding rights and merchandise. Top actor from a time just out of reach now but a totally different era. Somehow, the grave reflects a man who despite being an absolute Titan in his craft, always seemed happier in the background. Not many folk can claim to have acted all the parts in one film ( Kind Hearts and Coronets) and have a career spanning so many decades. War hero to boot, a life well lived. Great video !
How sad that these graves are allowed to get in such a state 😢 I have just found your channel and have been binging last 3 hours, and it's somewhat common for these stars graves to look this way? Is it environmental? I'm from sunny Queensland in Australia so it takes a lot longer for our cemeteries to start showing graves in this condition? Sorry, rambling now 😅
Shocked that his family have allowed his gravestone to deteriate.they look ancient and unloved.he did great things in his life and obviously earned huge amounts of money. Those who benefit from it should show respect and tend to the graves. My opinion anyway but people today aren't nice sadly.
@juliefarmsworth, I would be surprised his son turned up at his funeral ! His mothers, yes he would turn up at that one. Anyway, Matthew certainly became a millionaire from his father's Will and also selling the house and all the private diaries to the British Museum with certain stipulations.....certainly made him money. Plus he made a lot from his mother's Will. Says a lot about fami!y secrets,too.
