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Alexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE (born 26 May 1925) is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year Honours. McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer, and Duncan McCowen, a shopkeeper. He attended the Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His partner, the actor Geoffrey Burridge, died in 1987 from AIDS complications. McCowen first appeared on stage at the Repertory Theatre, Macclesfield, in August 1942 as Micky in Paddy The... MORE

Alexander Duncan "Alec" McCowen CBE (born 26 May 1925) is an English actor. He is known for his work in numerous film and stage productions. He was awarded the CBE in the 1985 New Year Honours. McCowen was born in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, the son of Mary (née Walkden), a dancer, and Duncan McCowen, a shopkeeper. He attended the Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. His partner, the actor Geoffrey Burridge, died in 1987 from AIDS complications. McCowen first appeared on stage at the Repertory Theatre, Macclesfield, in August 1942 as Micky in Paddy The Next Best Thing. He appeared in repertory in York and Birmingham 1943-45, and toured India and Burma in a production of Kenneth Horne's West End comedy Love in a Mist during 1945 with the Entertainments National Service Association (ENSA). He continued in repertory 1946-49, during which time he played a season at St John's, Newfoundland. He made his London debut on 20 April 1950 at the Arts Theatre as Maxim in Ivanov, and made his first appearances on the New York stage at the Ziegfeld Theatre on 19 December 1951 as an Egyptian Guard in Caesar and Cleopatra, and on 20 December 1951 as the Messenger in LESS