British actor, film director Lionel Jeffries dies
By DPA, IANSFriday, February 19, 2010
LONDON - British actor, screenwriter and film director Lionel Jeffries, best known for his clebrated film version of the “Railway Children” and his role in the movie “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”, has died at the age of 83, the BBC reported Friday.
Jeffries appeared in over 70 films, including “The Colditz Story”, “The Prisoner of Zenda”, “The Trials of Oscar Wilde” and “Camelot”.
He directed the colour version of the 1970 children’s film “The Railway Children” and played Papa Potts in the 1968 film “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang”.
Renowned for his bald head, baritone voice and bristling moustache, the London-born actor made his screen debut in 1950. He turned to television only in the mid-1980s appearing in the popular TV thriller series “Inspector Morse”.
