CHARIOTS OF FIRE Actor Ian Holm Dies at 88
By Tess Farrand, Associate Content Editor
CHARIOTS OF FIRE Actor Ian Holm died at 88 of an illness related to his Parkinson’s disease.
“It is with great sadness that the actor Sir Ian Holm CBE passed away this morning [June 19th] at the age of 88,” said Holm’s agent. “He died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer. The agent added, “Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.”
In addition to CHARIOTS OF FIRE, Holm played in: THE LORD OF THE RINGS as Bilbo Baggins; ALIEN alongside Sigourney Weaver; and in many more renowned movies, television programs and plays.
The Guardian reported on Holm’s early days, “Holm was born in 1931 in Essex, where his father was superintendent of the West Ham Corporation psychiatric hospital; he later described his childhood there as ‘a pretty idyllic existence.’”
Holm became a classically trained Shakespeare stage actor but In between acting gigs on stage, Holms started a family.
Holms is survived by his five children: Harry, Jessica, Barnaby, Sara-Jane, and Lissy and eight grandchildren.
In 2003, Holm married artist Sofie de Stempel. Many of her art pieces depicts her late husband.
View this post on Instagram
The Guardian continued to unpack Holm’s acting career:
Holm returned to Shakespeare in 1997, in the Richard Eyre-directed King Lear at the National Theatre in London, and was knighted a year later for “services to drama”. Having played Frodo Baggins in a 1981 radio adaptation of Lord of the Rings, Holm was cast as Bilbo in Peter Jackson’s mammoth three-part screen adaptation, with filming on The Fellowship of the Ring beginning in 1999. Bilbo did not appear in The Two Towers, but Holm returned for the final part, The Return of the King, as well as the first and third installments of the Hobbit trilogy, which were released in 2012 and 2014 respectively.
Media outlets and colleagues of Holms shared kind sentiments on social media.
We are very sorry to hear of the death of Ian Holm. Nominated for 6 BAFTAs in his wide-ranging and successful career across TV and film, he is pictured here winning the Supporting Actor award for his role in Chariots Of Fire in 1981. pic.twitter.com/x3OduDwoJe
— BAFTA (@BAFTA) June 19, 2020
So sad to hear that the singular, brilliant and vibrant, Sir Ian Holm has passed. Farewell, uncle. pic.twitter.com/q9RBKT3hBC
— Elijah Wood (@elijahwood) June 19, 2020
Although many of Holm’s movies contain themes of faith, reports surrounding his death don’t highlight his religious beliefs.
Please life up the Holm family in your prayers.
- Content: +1Share:
- Content: +4