Recognizing Sir Alec Guinness

Sir Alec Guinness may be wellknown around the world as the generational actor that starred in cinematic masterpieces like The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Star Wars, but he's also a key figure in Stratford's own history -- and that local legacy has now been further entrenched.

On Oct. 18, Heritage Stratford, an advisory committee for city council, presented a historical blue plaque at 108 Mornington St. in honour of Guinness and the home where he once resided.

Originally built in 1876 as the rectory for St. James Anglican Church, the house was home to Rev. Francis G. Lightbourne and his wife Marion Lightbourne by the 1950s. It was also where Guinness stayed when he was performing here during the inaugural season of the Stratford Festival.

Guinness was born in 1914 in Maida Vale, London, England and got his first theatre job in 1934. His early career featured a series of plays at the Old Vic, a prominent theatre house in the U.K., throughout the 1930s, including multiple Shakespeare roles.

During the Second World War, Guinness served in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve, being involved in the Allied invasion of Sicily, and returned to theatre after -- and even during -- the war.

He continued at the Old Vic, but it was at this time that his profile exploded internationally. His film career began with such classics as The Bridge on the River Kwai, Dr. Zhivago and Lawrence of Arabia.

In 1953, then-artistic director Tyrone Guthrie invited Guinness to perform as the titular character in Richard III in the Stratford Festival's first season. Famously, Guinness spoke the very first lines of the Festival when he walked out and opened the production: “Now is the winter of our discontent, made glorious summer by this son of York.” Not only did those words open the show, but they opened a more-than-seven-decade legacy of world-class Shakespearean performances in Stratford.

Resident Georgina Cameron shared her memory of Guinness, as related by Heritage Stratford. She was a child in the summer of 1953 and often played with friends at the Optimist Playground. Each day, a man with an unassuming Canadian accent would walk by and chat with them. None of them knew who he was until they went to see a film and recognized him as Guinness. Cameron can still remember her friends' faces in the cinema once they realized just who that man was.

Following that first season, Guinness continued his storied career stateside and back in the U.K. In 1959, Queen Elizabeth II knighted him for his service to the arts. He would introduce the role of Obi Wan-kenobi in Star Wars in 1977, introducing him to a whole new generation. He died on Aug. 5, 2000.

On Sept. 27, legendary Canadian novelist Timothy Findley was honoured with a blue plaque at 72 Ontario St. Findley was also a member of the 1953 Stratford Festival season, where he first met and performed opposite to Guinness. Guinness would become a mentor to Findley over the years, even after he stopped acting to focus on his writing.

Barb Cottle, a member of Heritage Stratford, said the fact Findley and Guinness were honoured in the same year was serendipitous, given their past together.

“It was entirely a coincidence,” Cottle said. “I was so pleased as I did the research and discovered the connection. It seemed so nice to honour them together.”

Heritage Stratford typically bestows blue plaques every two years, though the scheduling has been less structured since the COVID-19 pandemic. While the committee normally puts out an open call for suggestions, there have been so many great suggestions that Heritage Stratford is still working through past responses. Cottle, though, noted that residents are welcome to send suggestions to the City of Stratford and Heritage Stratford.

To learn more about Guinness, a page and short documentary video will be posted on the City of Stratford's website.