LONDON — British actor Bob Hoskins, whose varied career ranged from noir drama “Mona Lisa” to animated fantasy “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” has died aged 71.
A family statement released Wednesday by publicist Clair Dobbs said Hoskins died in a hospital after a bout of pneumonia. He had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2012.
A versatile character actor capable of menace, quiet poignancy and Cockney charm, Hoskins appeared in some of the most acclaimed British films of the past few decades, including gangster classic “The Long Good Friday.” His Hollywood roles included “Mermaids” and “Hook.”
Helen Mirren, who starred alongside Hoskins in “The Long Good Friday,” called him “a great actor and an even greater man. Funny, loyal, instinctive, hard-working, with that inimitable energy that seemed like a spectacular firework rocket just as it takes off.”
“I personally will miss him very much, London will miss one of her best and most loving sons, and Britain will miss a man to be proud of,” Mirren said.
Born in 1942 in eastern England, where his mother had moved to escape wartime bombing, Hoskins was raised in a working-class part of north London. He left school at 15, worked at odd jobs and claimed he got his break as an actor by accident — while watching a friend audition, he was handed a script and asked to read.
“I got the lead in the play,” Hoskins told the BBC in 1988. “I’ve never been out of work since.”
Hoskins initially worked in theater, but began getting television and film roles in the 1970s. He came to attention in Britain as star of “Pennies from Heaven,” Dennis Potter’s 1978 TV miniseries about a Depression-era salesman whose imagination sprouts elaborate musical numbers. It was later turned into a movie starring Steve Martin.
His movie breakthrough came in 1980 thriller “The Long Good Friday,” playing an East End gangster hoping to profit from redevelopment of London’s docks. It contained one of his most memorable speeches, a Cockney-accented dismissal of American culture: “What I’m looking for is someone who can contribute to what England has given to the world: culture, sophistication, genius. A little bit more than an ‘ot dog, know what I mean?”
The film, which also featured a young Pierce Brosnan, is ranked 21 in the British Film Institute’s list of the top 100 British films of the 20th century.
Hoskins specialized in tough guys with a soft center, including the ex-con who chaperones Cathy Tyson’s escort in Neil Jordan’s 1986 film “Mona Lisa.” Hoskins was nominated for a best-actor Academy Award for the role.
His best-remembered Hollywood role was as a detective investigating cartoon crime in 1988 hit “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” one of the first major movies to meld animation and live action.
He worked in films big and small, mainstream and independent. Some were acclaimed (U.K. underdog hit “Made in Dagenham”), some panned (Spice Girls vehicle “Spice World”).
He appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s musical “The Cotton Club,” starred alongside Cher in “Mermaids,” played pirate Smee in Steven Spielberg’s Peter Pan movie “Hook” and was FBI boss J. Edgar Hoover in “Nixon.”
In 2012 Hoskins announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was retiring from acting.
His last role was as one of the seven dwarves in “Snow White & The Huntsman,” starring Kristen Stewart.
“We are devastated by the loss of our beloved Bob,” said a statement from wife Linda and children Alex, Sarah, Rosa and Jack.
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- British actor Bob Hoskins arrives for the World Premiere of “Made in Dagenham” in London in 2010. Bob Hoskins, whose varied career ranged from “Mona Lisa” to “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?” has died at age 71. A family statement released Wednesday by agent Clair Dobbs said Hoskins died in a hospital after a bout of pneumonia. In 2012 Hoskins announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and was retiring from acting.
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