Terence Stamp dies aged 87

Superman actor and Sixties icon starred in dozens of films

- ELLIE HARRISON

British actor Terence Stamp, a stalwart of cinema known for starring in Sixties classics and portraying supervillain General Zod in the Superman films, has died aged 87.

The Oscar-nominated actor, who starred in more than 60 films across his career, including Far from the Madding Crowd, The Limey and The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, died yesterday morning, his family said.

“He leaves behind an extraordinary body of work, both as an actor and as a writer, that will continue to touch and inspire people for years to come,” the family said. “We ask for privacy at this sad time.”

Stamp was born in London’s East End in 1938, the son of a tugboat stoker. He survived the Blitz during the Second World War, and straight after leaving school, pursued a career in advertising.

He later decided he wanted a career change, and won a scholarship to attend the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art. Soon afterwards, Stamp performed in a national tour of Willis Hall’s play The Long the Short and the Tall alongside another East End actor, Michael Caine. The pair ended up moving in together, and would hang out in London’s Soho with fellow British star Peter O’Toole.

Stamp’s first film performance came in his early twenties, as the title character in 1962’s historical adventure movie Billy Budd. It earned him an Oscar nomination and proved to be his big break.

The role was followed by turns in many classic Sixties films, including Term of Trial (opposite Laurence Olivier), The Collector, Modesty Blaise, Far from the Madding Crowd, Teorema and Ken Loach’s first feature film Poor Cow.