Distinguished actor Richard Todd, best known for his role in the classic war film 'The Dam Busters', has died at the age of 90.
His spokeswoman said that Todd, who had been suffering from cancer, died last night.
She said in a statement: "He had been suffering from cancer, an illness that he bore with his habitual courage and dignity. His family were with him throughout."
He was one of the first British officers to land in Normandy on the day of the Allied invasion and was involved in the daring operation which he would later help portray on screen.
During the war, he served as an officer in the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry as well as serving as a paratrooper in the British 6th Airborne Division.
On D-Day he met Major John Howard, who led the airborne assault on Pegasus Bridge, which signalled the start of the operation.
In 'The Longest Day', Todd played Major Howard with, ironically, another actor playing Todd.
He had an astonishing range as an actor and, in his prime, was one of the biggest box-office draws of the British cinema.
Todd, who made his first film in 1948, achieved nationwide fame for his role in the film classic 'The Hasty Heart', which is still regarded as being among his own greatest personal successes.
Richard Andrew Palethorpe Todd was born in Dublin on June 11 1919, the son of a British officer. He grew up in Devon and attended Shrewsbury public school.
His interest in the theatre led him to small roles in stage productions in England and Scotland. In 1939, he was a co-founder of the Dundee Repertory Theatre.
After the war, he gained fame in the London stage version of 'The Hasty Heart', which took him to Broadway. He returned to England to appear in the film version, and was nominated for the best actor Oscar in 1949.
Later he was to appear in the film The Dam Busters as Wing Commander Guy Gibson, the role for which he is perhaps best known, a depiction of the daring British raid against the Ruhr dams.
He was probably best known in America for his role as the United States Senate chaplain Peter Marshall in 'A Man Called Peter'.
Todd was the first choice of author Ian Fleming to play James Bond, but because of other commitments he had to turn it down. The role went to Sean Connery.
In 1953, he appeared as Heathcliff in the BBC TV adaptation of 'Wuthering Heights'. Other TV successes included in 'Virtual Murder', 'Silent Witness' and 'Dr Who' .
He also had a major role in 'Yangtse Incident/Battle Hell', the true story of a British ship stranded in the Red Chinese Yangtse River in 1949.
Todd appeared in scores of other films including Alfred Hitchcock's 'Stage Fright', as Sir Walter Raleigh in 'The Virgin Queen', opposite Bette Davis, as Robin Hood in 'Robin Hood And His Merrie Men', and in 'Breakout/Danger Within', a tale of the escape of British prisoners-of-war from an Italian prison camp near the end of the Second World War.
He was still acting well into his 80s, including appearing as himself in 1994 in 'D-Day Remembered, A Musical Tribute From The QEII'.
Todd's autobiography 'Caught In The Act' was written in 1986. He was named a Disney Legend in 2002.
He was twice married, first to Catherine Grant Bogle (1949-1970) and then to Virginia Mailer (1970-1992).
Both marriages, which each produced two children, ended in divorce.
Two of his sons, one from each marriage, subsequently committed suicide.
