Albert Finney, who portrayed Ebeneezer Scrooge passed away February 7, 2019 at the age of 82

British actor Albert Finney, the Academy Award-nominated star of films from “Tom Jones” to “Skyfall,” has died at the age of 82. Finney’s family said Friday that he “passed away peacefully after a short illness with those closest to him by his side.”

Although Finney rarely discussed his personal life, he told the Manchester Evening News in 2012 that he had been treated for kidney cancer for five years, undergoing surgery and chemotherapy.

The son of a bookmaker, Finney was born May 9, 1936, and grew up in northern England on the outskirts of Manchester. He took to the stage at an early age, doing a number of school plays and – despite his lack of connections and his working-class roots – earning a place at London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He credited the headmaster of his local school, Eric Simms, for recommending that he attend the renowned drama school.

“He’s the reason I am an actor,” Finney said in 2012.

To Christmas movie fans, Finney was best known for his starring role in the 1970 film “Scrooge” a musical version of A Christmas Carol in which he won a Golden Globe. The film received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Song for “Thank You Very Much.”

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