British film director Guy Hamilton, known for his work on four key James Bond movies, has died at the age of 93.
The film-maker worked with Sean Connery on Goldfinger and Diamonds are Forever and Roger Moore on Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun. An “incredibly saddened” Moore has paid tribute on Twitter.
Incredibly, incredibly saddened to hear the wonderful director Guy Hamilton has gone to the great cutting room in the sky. 2016 is horrid.
— Sir Roger Moore (@sirrogermoore) April 21, 2016
Hamilton’s credits also included a number of other key films from the 50s through to the 80s. He worked with Michael Caine on Battle of Britain and Harry Palmer thriller Funeral in Berlin and with Harrison Ford on the 1978 adaptation of Force 10 from Navarone.
He also directed two Agatha Christie adaptations: The Mirror Crack’d with Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple and Evil Under the Sun with Peter Ustinov as Poirot.
He started his career as a director’s assistant, working alongside Carol Reed on three films, including The Third Man, where he also acted as Orson Welles’s double in a number of scenes. He was also close to directing two superhero films but turned down Batman and was replaced on Superman.
He also picked up a Bafta nomination for best British screenplay for James Mason comedy A Touch of Larceny.
