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Actor Paul Scofield Dead at 86
British star of stage and screen won Oscar for A Man for All Seasons
By Jason Farago
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Posted Mar 20, 08 7:25 AM CDT
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(Newser)
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Paul Scofield, the British actor who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons, has died at the age of 86. His agent told Reuters that the actor, who eschewed Hollywood stardom for smaller film roles and a robust theater career, had been suffering from leukemia. "Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's," Richard Burton once said.
Scofield joined the Royal Shakespeare Company during World War II, playing Hamlet in Moscow as part of the first English-language company to visit the Soviet Union. In recent years he appeared in the films Quiz Show and The Crucible, but theater remained his first love; fellow actors considered his 1962 performance as King Lear the best of its time.