Farewell to a Hollywood legend: Sir John Hurt, who starred in The Elephant Man and Harry Potter, dies aged 77 after a battle with cancer as tributes pour in to 'the most gentlemanly of gentlemen'  By Rachael Burford and Jj Nattrass and Anthony Joseph for MailOnline and Jessica Chia For Dailymail.com 01:05 GMT 28 Jan 2017, updated 11:43 GMT 28 Jan 2017 +33 Facebook Twitter e-mail SMS WhatsApp 1.7k comments The Elephant Man star had a career that spanned more than six decades He beat pancreatic cancer in 2015, but continued to suffer from health problems Hurt is survived by wife Anwen Rees-Myers and his two sons Alexander and Nick He was two-time Oscar nominee; he won a Golden Globe and four Bafta awards He was known for his portrayals of the famously misunderstood and roles ranged from a mad Roman emperor to a pimp on the road to stardom Hurt was infamous for his wild lifestyle in earlier years and married four times  Tributes for the actor poured in from Mel Brooks, Elijah Woods, Bonnie Wright, Chris Evans, Stephen Colbert and Stephen Fry  The actor's website, Facebook and Twitter accounts have all been closed down Sir John Hurt, who won Oscar nominations for the Elephant Man and captured the hearts of millions for his roles in Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, has died. The star, one of Britain's most treasured actors, died aged 77 at his home in Norfolk after a long battle with pancreatic cancer, it was revealed today. His widow, Anwen Hurt, today said it will be 'a strange world' with out the actor, whose death has prompted an outpouring of grief from the showbusiness industry, with director Mel Brooks and J K Rowling among those paying tribute. Mrs Hurt added: 'John was the most sublime of actors and the most gentlemanly of gentlemen with the greatest of hearts and the most generosity of spirit. He touched all our lives with joy and magic and it will be a strange world without him.'  Sir John was well known for roles including Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant, the title role in The Elephant Man and wand merchant Mr Ollivander in the Harry Potter films. +33 Sir John Hurt, the two-time Oscar nominated star of the Elephant Man, has died, aged 77 after battling with cancer  +33 The Derbyshire-born star has been an enigmatic and much-beloved presence on the screen for more than six decades. He is survived by his wife of 12 years Anwen Rees-Myers (pictured together at Wimbledon last year)  +33 In July 2015 he received a knighthood (pictured) +33 He said he wished his parents had been alive to see him presented with the honour. Pictured, Hurt with his wife Mel Brooks hailed him as a 'truly magnificent talent' while Harry Potter author JK Rowling called him 'immensely talented and deeply beloved'.  Hurt bounced back from pancreatic cancer in October 2015 and signed on to appear in a West End production of The Entertainer, only to pull out on the advice of his doctors after he was taken to the hospital with an intestinal complaint.  Despite revealing that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the summer of 2015, Hurt was matter-of-fact about his mortality. Speaking to the Radio Times, he said: 'I can't say I worry about mortality, but it's impossible to get to my age and not have a little contemplation of it. 'We're all just passing time, and occupy our chair very briefly,' he said.  In the autumn of 2015, Hurt announced he was in remission and vowed to continue working. Despite the all-clear, Sir John continued to endure periods of ill health. He suffered intestinal complaints and was forced to withdraw from a West End production of The Entertainer last July. Hurt, whose death was confirmed by his agent Charles McDonald on Saturday, is survived by wife Anwen Rees-Myers, and sons, Alexander and Nick, from his third marriage with Jo Dalton. He died on Wednesday, January 25, but had been working on a number of films set for release this year. In one, That Good Night, he plays a once-famous writer who is terminally ill, perhaps channelling his own experiences. He is also due to star in a film called Darkest Hour, about the early days of the Second World War. Hurt was due to play Neville Chamberlain alongside Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill, although the movie has not yet finished filming.  +33 His acting aspirations were almost shattered by his headmaster as a young boy, but he plucked up the courage and successfully auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London The English actor, born in Derbyshire in 1940, became a critical and commercial success in films like Midnight Express, Alien and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.  The son of a vicar and an engineer, Hurt spent what he described as a lonely childhood at an Anglo-Catholic prep school before he enrolled at a boarding school in Lincoln. His acting aspirations were almost shattered forever by his headmaster's insistence that he did not stand a chance in the profession. He left school to go to art college but dropped out, impoverished and living in a dismal basement flat. He finally plucked up enough courage to apply for a scholarship and auditioned successfully for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, although he later recalled being so hungry he could hardly deliver his lines.  Hurt played a wide range of characters over the course of 60 years, from a mad Roman emperor to a pimp on the road to stardom; a circus freak, to a heroin-addicted prisoner. He was best-known for his portrayals of the famously misunderstood and he took an instinctive approach to his craft, believing that method acting was for people with no imagination. Hurt once told the British film critic Geoff Andrew: 'The only way I can describe it is that I put everything I can into the mulberry of my mind and hope that it is going to ferment and make a decent wine. 'How that process happens, I'm sorry to tell you I can't describe.'  +33 Hurt had recently starred in Oscar nominated biopic of President John F. Kennedy’s widow, Jackie +33 The film is currently showing in cinemas HURT'S FINAL ROLE AS AN AGING MAN BATTLING TERMINAL ILLNESS +33 The Good Night, starring John Hurt, will be released this year John Hurt will give the world a glimpse of his own experience battling terminal illness in one of his final roles, set for release after his death. In The Good Night, Hurt plays a once-famous screen-writer in his seventies who is desperate to fix his relationship with his son and make sure he is not a burden to his wife before he dies. The character knows his condition is terminal and Hurt will bring a little of his own experience to the role after being diagnosed with cancer in June 2015. Afterwards, he told the Radio Times: 'I can't say I worry about mortality, but it's

Comments