David Niven

He died in Switzerland in 1983 of Motor Neurone Disease, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. He also provided the voice of an animated Colonel Sanders character in a series of commercials for fried chicken restaurant chain KFC. Late in life, he gained critical acclaim for his memoirs of his acting career, The Moon's A Balloon (1971) and Bring On the Empty Horses (1975). His television appearances include a season as an SNL cast member (1985-1986), the role of real-life gunslinger John Wesley Hardin in the mini-series Streets of Laredo, and a starring role in the awkwardly-titled The Brotherhood of Poland, New Hampshire (2003). He won an Academy Award for his performance in Separate Tables (1958). Randy has appeared in several of the National Lampoon's Vacation movies, was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in The Last Detail (1973), won a Golden Globe for his portrayal of Presidenty Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years (1987), and was featured (with Margaret Colin) in two science fiction movies, the unsuccessful Martians Go Home and very successful Independence Day. He resumed his career afterwards with roles such as Phileas Fogg in Around the World in Eighty Days and James Bond in the unofficial series spoof Casino Royale. It was the first of several roles he has had which were directed by Bogdanovich and/or based on the writings of Larry McMurtry.

During World War II he served in the British army, rising to the rank of colonel in the British Commandos and landing at Normandy. He was discovered by Peter Bogdanovich while a student at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, and got his first exposure (in more ways than one) in The Last Picture Show, when escorting Jacy Farrow (played by Cybill Shepherd) to late-night indoor skinny dipping at a swimming pool. Arriving in Hollywood during the 1930s, he first worked as an extra in westerns, then had a walk-on part in the 1935 version of Mutiny on the Bounty and progressed to leading man in MGM comedies such as Bachelor Mother (1939). In a career that spans over thirty years, he has appeared in over ninety movies. Niven often claimed that he was born in Kirriemuir in Scotland which he believed sounded more romantic than London. Randy Quaid (born October 1, 1950) is an actor and the elder brother of fellow actor Dennis Quaid. After attending Stowe as a boy Niven trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, which gave him the "officer and gentleman" bearing that was to be his trademark.

His father died during the Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 and his mother remarried Sir Thomas Comyn-Platt. He was born in London, England, the son of William Edward Graham Niven and Henrietta Julia de Gacher. David Niven, born James David Graham Niven (March 1, 1910 - July 29, 1983), was an English actor who achieved the unusual distinction of success in both the British and the Hollywood film industry. Tres Amores - 1934.

Without Regret - 1935. Splendor - 1935. A Feather in Her Hat - 1935. Barbary Coast - 1935.

Mutiny on the Bounty (uncredited bit part) - 1935. Thank You, Jeeves - 1936. Dodsworth - 1936. Beloved Enemy - 1936.

Rose-Marie - 1936. Palm Springs - 1936. The Charge of the Light Brigade - 1936. We Have Our Moments - 1937.

The Prisoner of Zenda - 1937. Dinner at the Ritz - 1937. Three Blind Mice - 1938. Four Men and a Prayer - 1938.

Bluebeard's Eighth Wife - 1938. The Dawn Patrol - 1938. Wuthering Heights - 1939. The Real Glory - 1939.

Eternally Yours - 1939. Bachelor Mother - 1939. Raffles - 1940. The First of the Few) - 1942.

Spitfire (a.k.a. The Immortal Battalion - 1944. The Way Ahead - 1944. The Perfect Marriage - 1946.

A Matter of Life and Death (a.k.a. Stairway to Heaven) - 1946. Magnificent Doll - 1946. The Other Love - 1947. The Bishop's Wife - 1947.

Enchantment - 1948. Bonnie Prince Charlie - 1948. Kiss in the Dark - 1949. A Kiss for Corliss - 1949.

The Elusive Pimpernel - 1950. The Toast of New Orleans - 1950. Soldiers Three - 1951. The Lady Says No - 1951.

Happy Go Lovely - 1951. Appointment with Venus - 1951. The Love Lottery - 1953. The Moon is Blue - 1953.

Happy Ever After - 1954. The King's Thief - 1955. Carrington, V.C. - 1955. The Birds and the Bees - 1956.

Around the World in Eighty Days - 1956. The Silken Affair - 1957. My Man Godfrey - 1957. The Little Hut - 1957.

Oh, Men! Oh, Women! - 1957. Separate Tables - 1958. Bonjour Tristesse - 1958. Happy Anniversary - 1959.

Ask Any Girl - 1959. Please Don't Eat the Daisies - 1960. The Best of Enemies - 1961. The Guns of Navarone - 1961.

Il Giorno Pił Corto - 1962. La Cittą Prigioniera - 1962. The Road to Hong Kong - 1962. Guns of Darkness - 1962.

55 Days at Peking - 1963. The Pink Panther - 1963. Bedtime Story - 1964. Where the Spies Are - 1965.

Lady L - 1965. Eye of the Devil - 1967. Casino Royale - 1967. Prudence and the Pill - 1968.

The Impossible Years - 1968. The Extraordinary Seaman - 1969. Le Cerveau - 1969. Before Winter Comes - 1969.

The Statue - 1971. King, Queen, Knave - 1976. Old Dracula - 1974. Paper Tiger - 1975.

No Deposit, No Return - 1976. Murder by Death - 1976. Candleshoe - 1977. Death on the Nile - 1978.

A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square - 1979. Escape to Athena - 1979. The Sea Wolves: The Last Charge of the Calcutta Light Horse - 1980. Rough Cut - 1980.

Better Late Than Never - 1982. Trail of the Pink Panther - 1982. Curse of the Pink Panther - 1983. and showing his shortcomings." David Niven, spontaneously commenting on the streaker who crossed the stage while he was hosting the Academy Awards in 1974.

"The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping.. "I don't think his acting ever quite achieved the brilliance or the polish of his dinner-party conversations." -- John Mortimer. Can you imagine being wonderfully overpaid for dressing up and playing games? It's like being Peter Pan" -- David Niven. "It really is amazing.