The RIP Thread

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He now has 2.02K subscribers!

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Sad news that Sabine passed away from cancer as she was a legend at the Nurburgring race track.


( https://www.msn.com/en-au/motoring/n...?ocid=msedgdhp )

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Only 51 ?

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Yaphet Kotto, Bond Villain and ‘Alien’ Star, Dies at 81
By Ellise Shafer
March 15, 2021 10:32pm PT



Yaphet Kotto, an actor known for his performances in “Alien,” the James Bond film “Live and Let Die” and the television series “Homicide: Life on the Street,” has died, his agent Ryan Goldhar confirmed to Variety. He was 81.

Kotto’s wife, Tessie Sinahon, first posted about Kotto’s death on Facebook Monday night.

“I’m saddened and still in shocked of the passing of my husband Yaphet of 24 years. He died last night around 10:30pm Philippine time,” she wrote. “…You played a villain on some of your movies but for me you’re a real hero and to a lot of people also. A good man, a good father, a good husband and a decent human being, very rare to find. One of the best actor in Hollywood a Legend. Rest in Peace Honey, I’m gonna miss you everyday, my bestfriend, my rock.”

In 1973’s “Live and Let Die,” Kotto pulled double-duty portraying the corrupt Caribbean dictator Dr. Kananga as well as his drug pushing alter ego Mr. Big. Described in the novel as a monstrously obese kingpin with yellow eyes, gray skin and a head twice the size of a normal man, Kotto’s dapper version of the character dispensed with the physical grotesqueries and added a charismatic dose of stylish villainy.

Kotto also famously played technician Dennis Parker in 1979’s “Alien” and William Laughlin alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 action film “The Running Man.” He had a strong career in television as well, playing Al Giardello in the NBC series “Homicide: Life on the Street” from 1993 to 1999.

Kotto was born in New York City on Nov. 15, 1939, and began studying acting at the age of 16 at the Actors Mobile Theater Studio. By 19, he made his professional theater debut in “Othello,” and continued on to perform on Broadway in “The Great White Hope.” Kotto’s first few film projects included “Nothing But a Man” in 1964 and “The Thomas Crown Affair” in 1968. In 1969, Kotto held a guest-starring role as Marine Lance Corporal on “Hawaii Five-O.”

After landing the role in “Live and Let Die,” Kotto also nabbed roles in 1974’s “Truck Turner” and 1978’s “Blue Collar” as Smokey. Following his starring turn in “Alien,” Kotto went on to hold a supporting role as Richard “Dickie” Coombes in “Brubaker” in 1980 and starred alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1987 action film “The Running Man.”

Kotto also made a strong impression in 1989’s “Midnight Run” as Special Agent Alonzo Mosely.

Kotto’s other TV roles include an appearance on “The A-Team” in 1983, “For Love and Honor,” “Murder She Wrote,” “Death Valley Days” and “Law & Order.”

One of Kotto’s last and longest roles was that of Al Giardello on “Homicide: Life on the Street,” for which he also holds several scriptwriting credits. He also starred in “Homicide: The Movie” in 2000, and most recently voiced Parker in the “Alien: Isolation” video game.

He is survived by his wife and six children.

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Before all the CSIs, Chicago PD etc, there was Homicide: Life on the Street.

[Frothy Afterbirth]

Henry Darrow, ‘The High Chaparral’ Actor, Dies at 87
By Antonio Ferme



Henry Darrow, the first Hispanic actor to portray Zorro on television who also starred in TV series “The High Chaparral,” has died. He was 87.

According to his former publicist, Michael B. Druxman, Darrow died Sunday at his home in Wilmington, N.C.

Throughout the 60s, Darrow appeared in television series such as “Wagon Train,” “Bonanza,” “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea,” “Gunsmoke” and “Daniel Boone.” Additionally, he appeared in the first season of “Harry O” and won a daytime Emmy for his role on the soap opera “Santa Barbara.”

Darrow also took part in many stage productions such as “The Alchemist” and “Dark of the Moon.” He caught the attention of “Bonanza” creator David Dortort while appearing in the 1965 stage production of “The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit” at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles, where he was immediately offered a role in the Western series “The High Chaparral” He played Manolito Montoya, a roguish man who would rather make love than war, on 97 episodes of the series from 1967 to 1971.

In addition to starring in Disney’s “Zorro and Son,” which ran for five episodes, Darrow provided the voice of Zorro and Don Diego for Filmation’s animated series “The New Adventures of Zorro.” In the early 1990s, he replaced Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Zorro’s father, Don Diego, in a reincarnation of the series that starred Duncan Regehr.

Making his big-screen debut in the 1959 comedy “Holiday for Lovers,” Darrow appeared in films such as “The Hitcher,” “Summer and Smoke,” “The Glass Cage,” “St. Helens,” “The Hitcher,” “Runaway Jury,” “Walk Proud” and “Soda Springs.”

Darrow co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee in 1972 alongside actors Ricardo Montalbán, Edith Diaz and Carmen Zapata and was a founder of Nosostros.

He was born Enrique Tomás Delgado in New York City on September 15, 1933, the first son of Puerto Rico immigrants Gloria and Enrique Pío Delgado. After playing a woodcutter in a school play at the age of eight, Darrow concluded that it was his destiny to become an actor. He and his family returned to Puerto Rico in 1946, where he rediscovered his cultural roots. After serving as president of his high school class, Darrow went on to attend the University of Rio Piedras as a political science and theater major.

Darrow’s fluency in two languages helped earn him supplementary income as an interpreter, which he combined with his scholarship funds and moved to Los Angeles. He attended the Pasadena Playhouse and met his first wife, Lucy. They went on to have two children, Denise (Dee-Dee) and Tom.

He is survived by is wife, Lauren.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

George Segal, longtime movie star and grandfather on ABC's 'The Goldbergs,' dies at 87
Bill Keveney USA TODAY
Published 9:42 p.m. ET Mar. 23, 202 Updated 8:35 a.m. ER Mar. 24, 2021


Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

George Segal, a longtime leading man in movies who can be currently seen as the lovable grandfather on ABC's "The Goldbergs," died Tuesday. He was 87.

Segal's wife, Sonia Segal, issued a statement announcing her husband's death via Sony Pictures Television, which produces "The Goldbergs."

“The family is devastated to announce that this morning George Segal passed away due to complications from bypass surgery,” Sonia Segal said. The statement did not say when the surgery took place or offer any other details.

Segal, born Feb. 13, 1934 in Great Neck, Long Island, New York. He received an Academy Award nomination for best supporting actor for his portrayal of Nick in 1966's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," the film adaptation of a play headlined by Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor.

Segal's "Goldbergs" colleagues, identified as the show's "family" in a statement forwarded by Sony, offered their sentiments regarding "the loss of our dear friend, George," who also famously entertained late-night TV audiences with his expert banjo-playing skills.

“He was kind, sweet, beyond talented and funny. George was the true epitome of class and he touched all of our lives so deeply. It was an honor and a privilege to have him as a colleague and friend all of these years," the statement said. "He will be missed by all. Pops, we will miss your banjo playing and your infectious laugh. Rest in peace.”

Sony offered its condolences, remembering Segal as a "true icon" who "brightened the screen whenever he was on camera" and ABC Entertainment said the actor's "talent has left an indelible mark and we’re grateful for the laughter and joy he has given us all."

Segal's friend and manager, Abe Hoch, also issued a statement mourning Segal's passing.

"I am saddened by the fact that my close friend and client of many years has passed away. I will miss his warmth, humor, camaraderie and friendship. He was a wonderful human,” Hoch said.

He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017.

The actor, who rose to film stardom in the 1960s and was an A-list star in the 1970s, won over a new generation of fans in recent years as Albert "Pops" Solomon, the wise and wryly funny grandfather of Adam, Barry and Erica on "The Goldbergs." He filmed some episodes that remain to be broadcast.

"The Goldbergs" creator Adam F. Goldberg, who based the series on his own family, honored Segal via Twitter.

"Today we lost a legend. It was a true honor being a small part of George Segal’s amazing legacy. By pure fate, I ended up casting the perfect person to play Pops. Just like my grandfather, George was a kid at heart with a magical spark. I think these memories say it all..." he wrote in a tweet accompanied by photos of Segal.

"The Goldbergs" capped a long, successful acting career for Segal. After graduating from Columbia University and serving in the U.S. Army, he studied acting with Lee Strasberg and Uta Hagen, gaining a foothold on the New York stage.

After a series of TV guest-starring appearances, Segal broke through on the big-screen in Stanley Kramer's "Ship of Fools," a 1965 best picture Oscar nominee that featured Vivien Leigh, José Ferrer and Lee Marvin. He followed up with 1965's "King Rat," 1966's "The Quiller Memorandum" and 1967's "The St. Valentine's Day Massacre." He further burnished his resume with TV adaptations of Arthur Miller's "Death of a Salesman" (1966) and John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" (1967).

After a spate of starring roles in the 1960s, he firmly established himself as a leading man in the following decade, starting with Carl Reiner-directed "Where's Poppa?" in 1970 and followed by 1972's "The Hot Rock," where he shared marquee space with Robert Redford, 1973's "Blume in Love" and 1974's "California Split," which also starred Elliott Gould. He played the romantic lead against such Oscar-winning luminaries as Barbra Streisand in 1970's "The Owl and the Pussycat," Glenda Jackson in 1973's "A Touch of Class" and Jane Fonda in 1977's "Fun with Dick and Jane."

Segal remained a big-screen presence in supporting roles in later films, including 1989’s “Look Who’s Talking,” 1995’s “The Babysitter” and 1996’s “The Cable Guy,” in which he played the father of Matthew Broderick’s character.

Segal had a long career in TV before "The Goldbergs," which premiered in 2013, including a six-season run on the NBC comedy "Just Shoot Me!" (1997-2003).

As the news spread Tuesday night, other actors paid tribute on social media.

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" star Edward Asner, a Segal contemporary, hailed "Where's Poppa?" as "one of the biggest laughs I have ever had in a movie. He was a great actor. Too many of these types of posts lately. RIP George!"

Segal remained a big-screen presence in supporting roles in later films, including 1989’s “Look Who’s Talking,” 1995’s “The Babysitter” and 1996’s “The Cable Guy,” in which he played the father of Matthew Broderick’s character.

Segal had a long career in TV before "The Goldbergs," which premiered in 2013, including a six-season run on the NBC comedy "Just Shoot Me!" (1997-2003).

As the news spread Tuesday night, other actors paid tribute on social media.

"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" star Edward Asner, a Segal contemporary, hailed "Where's Poppa?" as "one of the biggest laughs I have ever had in a movie. He was a great actor. Too many of these types of posts lately. RIP George!"

And Michael McKean, who knows a thing or two about comedic acting, acknowledged Segal and his memorable career. "George Segal has gone now. A career that kept going for 50+ because he loved it and he was great at it. RIP," he tweeted.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Richard Gilliland, 'Designing Women' Actor and Husband of Jean Smart, Dies at 71
10:40 AM PDT 3/25/2021 by Mike Barnes



Lorimar Productions/Courtesy Everett Collection

He also was a regular on such series as 'Operation Petticoat,' 'McMillan & Wife' and 'Just Our Luck.'

Richard Gilliland, a busy character actor whose credits included a recurring role on the CBS sitcom Designing Women, where he met his future wife, Emmy winner Jean Smart, died March 18 in Los Angeles after a brief illness, a publicist announced. He was 71.

The Texas native starred as Sgt. Steve DiMaggio on NBC's McMillan & Wife in 1976-77 and as Lt. Nick Holden on ABC's adaptation of Operation Petticoat in 1977-78, and he was a series regular on ABC's Just Our Luck in 1983 and the CBC's Heartland in 1989.

Gilliland also had recurring roles on other shows including Party of Five, The Waltons, thirtysomething, Dark Skies and Desperate Housewives and guest-starring appearances on Criminal Minds, Dexter, Becker, Scandal, Joan of Arcadia, The Practice and Crossing Jordan, among many other shows.

In 1986, Gilliland arrived on Designing Women in its first season as J.D. Shackelford, the boyfriend of Annie Potts' Mary Jo Shively, and he went on to work on 17 episodes of the series through 1991.

"I met him when he was kissing someone else," Smart said with a laugh during a 2017 interview. She said she asked castmember Delta Burke to find out if he were married.

Smart, who portrayed Charlene Frazier Stillfield on the series, said she "lured" Gilliland into her dressing room under the pretext of needing help with a crossword puzzle. They married in June 1987 in the rose garden of the home of Designing Women actors Dixie Carter and Hal Holbrook.

The couple also worked together on the stage in It Had to Be You and Love Letters, on the Fox series 24 — he was Captain Stan Cotter in the fifth season, she was the first lady — and in the telefilms Just My Imagination and Audrey's Rain.

He was slated to work alongside his wife this summer in Breaking News in Yuba County, a film directed by Tate Taylor.

Richard Morris Gilliland was born on Jan. 23, 1950, in Fort Worth. He attended the prestigious Goodman School of Drama in Chicago and played Jesus in Godspell for a year opposite Joe Mantegna as Judas before coming to Los Angeles.

He also acted on stage in L.A., Chicago and off-Broadway in Cops, Beyond Therapy, I Remember You, Little Egypt and Amadeus (as Salieri) and in films including Bug (1975) and Airplane II: The Sequel (1982).

Survivors also include children Connor and Bonnie, sisters Ann, Holly and Wendy and brother John. Donations in his memory can be made to the M.I.T. Institute for Medical Engineering and Science.



Taylor Hill/Getty Images

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Jessica Walter, Tart-Tongued Matriarch of ‘Arrested Development,’ Dies at 80
By Michael Levenson
March 25, 2021Updated 10:51 p.m. ET


Lisa O'Connor/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Jessica Walter, whose six-decade acting career included roles ranging from an obsessed radio fan in Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut, “Play Misty for Me,” to the cutting, martini-swilling matriarch of the dysfunctional Bluth family on “Arrested Development,” died at her home in Manhattan on Wednesday. She was 80.

Ms. Walter’s death was confirmed by her publicist, Kelli Jones, who did not specify a cause.

Over a long and wide-ranging career, Ms. Walter found consistent work as a versatile performer with more than 150 credits that included tart-tongued turns in television comedy series and serious roles in dramatic Hollywood movies and New York stage productions. She was often cast as — and relished playing — off-center women capable of silencing men with a withering glance, a piercing remark or the sharp point of a knife.

“Lucky me, because those are the fun roles,” she told The A.V. Club in 2012. “They’re juicy, much better than playing the vanilla ingénues, you know.”

She began her career with minor parts in 1960s television shows like “Flipper” and “The Fugitive” before gaining notice for her role as an American wife who leaves her husband, an English racecar driver, in the 1966 John Frankenheimer movie “Grand Prix.” The film earned Ms. Walter a Golden Globe nomination in the category “new star of the year” in 1967.

Five years later, she was nominated for another Golden Globe for playing Evelyn, a devoted fan with a homicidal streak who becomes obsessed with disc jockey portrayed by Mr. Eastwood in his 1971 movie “Play Misty for Me.”

In 1975, she won an Emmy for her role as the title character, a detective, in the NBC mystery “Amy Prentiss.” She was also nominated for Emmy Awards for “The Streets of San Francisco” in 1977, “Trapper John, M.D.” in 1980 and “Arrested Development” in 2005.

She appeared in numerous Broadway productions, including “Advise and Consent,” Neil Simon’s “Rumors,” “A Severed Head,” “Night Life” and “Photo Finish.” In 2011, as her star rose, she played the fur-wrapped dowager Evangeline Harcourt in a Roundabout Theater Company revival of “Anything Goes,” which won several Tony Awards.

In recent years, she became a cult figure, beloved for her poisonous put-downs and side-eyed glances as the fabulously wealthy and diabolical mother Lucille Bluth on “Arrested Development.” The zany, self-referential sitcom about a narcissistic family was critically adored when it debuted in 2003, and it introduced Ms. Walter to a new generation. She said she could hardly get on a subway car or a bus without being stopped by a fan.

“You know, you look a lot like that woman that plays Lucille Bluth,” they would tell her.

“I say, ‘You know, I’ve heard that,’” she told The New York Times in 2018. “You know, Lucille is in my DNA now.”

The show was also the source of some anguish for Ms. Walter. In 2018, she revealed that she had been verbally harassed on the set by Jeffrey Tambor, who played her husband and who had been fired that year from the Amazon show “Transparent” amid allegations of sexual harassment and verbal abuse. He denied the allegations of sexual misconduct but admitted that his temper had been an issue, and he conceded that he had blown up at Ms. Walter.

“I have to let go of being angry at him,” Ms. Walter said through tears in the 2018 interview with The Times, as Mr. Tambor sat a few feet away. In “almost 60 years of working,” she said, “I’ve never had anybody yell at me like that on a set and it’s hard to deal with, but I’m over it now.”

During the interview, another star of the show, Jason Bateman, painted Mr. Tambor’s behavior as typical. His comments drew a blistering reaction online, and Mr. Bateman later apologized, saying he was “incredibly embarrassed and deeply sorry to have done that to Jessica.”

Jessica Walter was born in New York City on Jan. 31, 1941. Her father, David Walter, was a musician and a member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra and the New York City Ballet Orchestra. Her mother, Esther Groisser, was a teacher. Ms. Walter attended the High School of Performing Arts.

She was married twice, first to Ross Bowman, a Broadway stage manager, and in 1983 to the Tony-winning actor Ron Leibman, who died in 2019.

Ms. Walter’s survivors include her daughter, Brooke Bowman, and a grandson.

Ms. Walter and Mr. Leibman performed together in a 1986 production of “Tartuffe” at the Los Angeles Theater Center.

More recently, they had also voiced characters on the FX animated comedy series “Archer,” about an agency full of misfits who undertake James Bond-like missions but spend an inordinate amount of time drinking, having sex with one another and disparaging people. On the show, Ms. Walter voiced Malory, a ruthless mother with more than a passing resemblance to Lucille Bluth.

A full obituary will be published later.

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[Frothy Afterbirth]

Prince Philip, husband of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, dies at 99

In his active years, Philip helped set a new course for the monarchy under a young queen, championing Britain itself.

April 9, 2021, 7:02 AM EDT / Updated April 9, 2021, 9:44 AM EDT
By Rachel Elbaum



LONDON — Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth II's husband and the longest-serving consort of any British monarch, has died at age 99.

A statement posted on the royal family's website Friday morning said: "It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

"His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss."

His death was met with a flood of tributes from across Britain and the world. In accordance with tradition, a framed notice containing the news was also placed on the railings outside Buckingham Palace.

Philip spent 65 years supporting the queen, retiring from his public role in 2017 and staying largely out of the view since. In his active years, he helped set a new course for the monarchy, championing Britain itself, as well as environmental causes, science and technology.

His passing comes as the royal family confronts new challenges, most recently the intense publicity that followed the departure of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, from both the United Kingdom and official royal duties.

Philip’s relationship with Elizabeth began as a story of young love.

“We behave as though we had belonged to each other for years,” then-Princess Elizabeth wrote in a letter to her parents shortly after they married.

Over the years, the queen acknowledged Philip’s deep influence on her, calling him her “strength and stay” in a speech on their 50th wedding anniversary in 1997.

“I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know,” she said at the time.

The intensely private prince will likely be remembered for his early efforts to help modernize the royal family’s image during a time of great change for Britain and the world, especially at the outset of Elizabeth’s reign in 1952. He also developed a reputation for the occasional brusque comment and crass, if not racist, jokes.

“The queen inherited from her father a model of monarchy that was very hands off, old-fashioned and slightly invisible,” said Sarah Gristwood, a historian and the author of “Elizabeth: The Queen and the Crown.”

“It wasn’t equipped to deal with a new media age, and Prince Philip played a huge role in moving it forward then.”

Philip helped bring the royals to life on television rather than through radio reports. He was the first member of the royal family to do a televised interview and he presented a show on a royal tour of the Commonwealth. He is also said to have had a hand in televising the queen’s coronation in 1953 and in organizing a groundbreaking 1969 television documentary about the family.

“He helped create the model of the British royal family that has enabled it to continue forward into the 21st century,” Gristwood said. “We may have lost sight of that now, but I hope we’ll remember him for it.”

Despite being born into a royal family, Philip’s early childhood was not typically royal.

Born June 10, 1921, on the Greek island of Corfu, he was the only son of Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, and Princess Alice of Battenberg. Greece's king, Philip's uncle, was forced to abdicate when Philip was a baby, and the family fled to Paris, with Philip famously carried to safety in a crib made from an orange box.

At age 7, he moved to England, where he lived at Kensington Palace, now home to Prince William. Philip lived there with his paternal grandmother, Victoria Mountbatten, and later attended Gordonstoun, a boarding school in Scotland.

At 18, Philip joined the Royal Navy and graduated from the Britannia Royal Naval College as a top cadet. He saw active duty from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean, and in 1945 at the end of World War II, he was in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese surrendered.

Philip’s military career was truly central to his character, unlike perhaps other royals, according to Ashley Jackson, a professor of imperial and military history at King's College London.

“It’s easy to look at the military career of a royal male and see it as a rite of passage, but with Philip one needs to look beyond that,” he said. “He joined when he wasn't anywhere near marrying the future queen. This was a career path for a Greek prince,” he added. “This wasn’t a brief dalliance in the military. It’s important to note that he’s clearly an exceptional officer.”

Then known as Philip Mountbatten, he first met his cousin Elizabeth in 1934 at a family wedding. The two are both great-great-grandchildren of Queen Victoria.

The couple exchanged letters while Philip was overseas during the war, only occasionally seeing each other. They would go out driving in Philip’s "tiny MG" sports car, as well as dancing at London nightclubs.

The pair married in Westminster Abbey on Nov. 20, 1947, with around 2,000 guests in attendance and another 200 million listening to the ceremony on the radio.

Before the wedding, Philip wrote to Elizabeth: "To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty."

Philip renounced his Greek royal title and became a British citizen. Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, also gave him a new title: the Duke of Edinburgh.

Two years later, the couple moved to Malta, where Philip assumed command of a battleship, the last active command in his military career. Far from Britain, the couple were able to live the life of a naval officer and his wife.

But any freedom Elizabeth and Philip had was cut short by the declining health of her father. King George VI died in 1952, while Elizabeth, just 25, was in Kenya on a royal tour with Philip. They were relaxing at a wildlife-viewing lodge in the African wilderness when they were informed of the king’s death. Philip broke the news to Elizabeth during a walk on a farm.

From that moment on, he became the queen's "consort," the title given to the official companion of the monarch. In that role, Philip, who met every post-war U.S. president apart from Donald Trump, sought to portray himself as working tirelessly in support of his wife.

In a 2011 interview with the British broadcaster ITV, Philip explained why he gave up an active naval career: ''Being married to the queen, it seemed to me, my first duty was to serve her in the best way I could.''

He championed causes that caught his imagination, and helped found the Royal Academy of Engineering, which promotes engineering excellence and education, and served as the first president of the World Wildlife Fund.

He created the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, a series of challenges to encourage young people to take up adventures in the outdoors, and had a hand in restoring both Windsor Castle after a devastating fire, and Westminster Abbey. He also promoted the use of the English language outside Britain in the years after the breakup of the British empire.

What’s more, he made the operations of the royal estates more efficient, according to royal biographer Ingrid Seward, who wrote “Prince Philip Revealed.”

“Philip modernized everything but slowly as he had opposition from the old guard who wanted to keep it as it was,” she said. “For instance the Buckingham Palace kitchens, which were almost half a mile from the dining room, took him years to change.”

Even after the couple’s children took on official duties in support of the queen, Philip remained one of the most active royals until his retirement.

He did, however, occasionally make comments deemed racist or insensitive, garnering much unwanted attention to the royal family.

A remark about British students getting "slitty eyes" during a visit to China in the 1980s became symbolic of his often unguarded manner.

One of his grandsons, Prince William, has spoken fondly of his grandfather's characteristic bluntness, saying in 2004 that he “will tell me something I don't want to hear and doesn't care if I get upset about it. He knows it is the right thing to say."

After retiring from public life in August 2017, Philip continued to draw attention, most notably by crashing his car close to the Sandringham Estate in January 2019. He sent a letter of apology to a woman in the other car who was injured in the wreck, and he gave up his driving license. He also drew criticism when he was photographed soon after driving without a seat belt.

Unlike many men of his generation, Philip took an active role in raising his children. Prince Charles was born in 1948, and his sister, Princess Anne, two years later. There was a nearly 10-year gap before Prince Andrew was born in 1960, and Prince Edward arrived in 1964.

“For a masculine man, who is proactive, who had probably a stellar naval career ahead of him, to take on what is traditionally a wife’s role for someone of his generation, well, it’s an amazing achievement that he managed to do it so graciously,” Gristwood said.

Eight grandchildren also survive Philip: Peter and Zara Phillips; Prince William and Prince Harry; Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie; and Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn. He had 10 great-grandchildren.

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