Leslie Phillips, a legend from the movies 'Carry On' and 'Harry Potter', passed away at the age of 98 after a long illness.
The sad passing of the beloved veteran actor was announced on Tuesday when his agent, Jonathan Lloyd, stated that he had passed away "peacefully in his sleep" the previous night.
Leslie Phillips Dies at 98
Leslie Phillips, who had previously survived two strokes, died on Monday after a protracted illness. The iconic actor is most known for his role in 'Carry On', although he has appeared in numerous movies, including 'Harry Potter', where he played the sassy sorting hat. He was 90 at the time of two strokes, which were only six months apart.
Following the success of 'Carry On', Leslie Phillips went on to star in 'Midsommer Murders', 'Tomb Raider', and 'Doctor in the House'. At the youthful age of 14, the seasoned actor made his West End stage debut, as per Mirror.
The sophisticated Leslie Phillips played police officers, military officials, reverends, and judges in more than 170 roles on large and small screens, always with an eye on women.
He was, however, closely associated with the low-budget 'Carry On' and 'Doctor' series for audiences in the 1950s and 1960s, which he took over from Dirk Bogarde in the latter. He separated himself from his playboy portrayals in the 1980s to add seriousness to Steven Spielberg's 'Empire of the Sun' and Oscar-winning 'Out of Africa' by Sydney Pollack in 1987.
Leslie Phillips also costarred with Peter O'Toole in 'King Ralph' in 1991, and for his performance as Ian, O'Toole's character's longtime friend, in Venus, he got late-career accolades and his only BAFTA nomination in 2006. According to Hollywood Reporter, his career also includes the Bruce Willis-starring 'The Jackal' in 1997 directed by Anthony Hopkins, 'Saving Grace,' 'Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,' and 'Color Me Kubrick.'
The Sorting Hat, the magical Hogwarts headgear that selects which of the four school houses incoming students will enter, is a character whom the majority of Harry Potter fans certainly wouldn't identify from a bar of soap but whose voice they would instantly remember.
Leslie Phillips' Tragic Personal Life
But while being a character most known for his lighthearted comedy, he had a tragic personal life. After their divorce, Leslie Phillips maintained contact with his ex-wife Penny Bartley, who perished in a home fire in 1981. And in 2011 he was shaken by the suicide of his second wife, the former 'Bond Girl' Angela Scoular. But in December 2013, he fell in love once more and married Zara Carr, his third wife.
In 2015, after having a stroke, Carr revived him mouth-to-mouth after he went "black and blue" during a seizure. Paying homage to her late husband, Carr said: 'I've lost a beautiful husband and the audience has lost a very magnificent showman."
Leslie Phillips , a legendary actor who was born in Tottenham, was still active until suffering a stroke. He appeared in a number of British TV dramas, including as 'Revolver', the 'Ruth Rendell Mysteries', and 'Agatha Christie's Marple'. He was born on April 20, 1924, from a working-class family. In the 1930s, he made his first performances in motion pictures. He is said to be the only actor who performed at Pinewood Studios within the first week after it opened in 1936 who is still alive.
Per Daily Mail, Leslie Phillips was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Artillery during World War II and moved to the Durham Light Infantry in 1944.
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