LONDON (AP) – 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 today 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.
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 an audition, he was handed a script and asked to read.
Hoskins began getting television and film roles in the 1970s, and 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 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.
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.
