Oscar winning British actor Sir John Mills died yesterday morning at the age of 97, a trustee for his estate said. "Sir John died this morning at around 5.30am
He'd been ill for about a month with a chest infection," the trustee said. "He remained remarkably lucid until the end."
Mills, who was born in February 1908 in Felixstowe, southeast England, made his name in a number of overtly patriotic films in the 1940s and 1950s including The October Man, Scott of the Antarctic and Dunkirk.
He won an Oscar for his supporting role in the 1971 film Ryan's Daughter. His career declined after that but he continued to act well into his 90s, appearing as recently as 2003 in Bright Young Things, directed by British comedian Stephen Fry.
Mills, who married twice, is survived by his second wife Mary Hayley Bell, one son and two daughters.