ForumGarden

What a sad moment, Bob Hoskins always enlivened any film in which he appeared and 71 is distressingly early for him to be taken. The portrayal of Smee was polished to a wonderful state when he played it. Pennies from Heaven and the Rock Follies were transformed. He had a notable presence.

Great shame...

For me, his performance In The Long Good Friday with Helen Mirren was outstanding.

Still, one of my most watched films.

Only 71, not nice at all.

Bob Hoskins was a natural. He was always an asset to any film he took a part in. I understand that he got into acting by accident - apparently he accompanied a friend to an audition when he was a young man, and found himself accidentally summoned in to the room to read a passage. He was accepted !! :wah: Bob you didn't live long enough !

R.I.P.

I liked him as an actor . Oh well we all have to go sometime. Sad though.

How very pleasing...Each episode of the 1976 BBC series On the Move featured a running storyline in which the late Bob Hoskins appeared as Alf Hunt, a furniture removal man who had difficulty reading and writing. A proud but sympathetic character, Alf would open up to his friend Bert, played by Donald Gee, about his fears and frustrations. His progress as he sought help attracted a huge following well beyond the show's target audience.

Up to 17 million people watched the Sunday tea-time programme, according to George Auckland, who would subsequently take charge of the BBC's adult education programming. It was Alf's human drama - and, specifically, Hoskins's captivating performance - that drew them in. A national campaign to tackle illiteracy was boosted by the series. On the Monday after each episode, says Auckland, "there would be queues around the block" at adult literacy centres. There's a strong argument, he says, that this makes Hoskins "the best educator Britain has ever produced".

BBC News - On the Move: How Bob Hoskins helped adults learn to read