Welsh actor Victor Spinetti, best known for his work in the Beatles' films, has died at the age of 82. Spinetti caught the Fab Four's attention during a stint in the West End production Oh! What A Lovely War after which George Harrison reportedly demanded he appear in their films.
He appeared in the Beatles' three live-action fiction films, A Hard Day's Night, Help! and Magical Mystery Tour.
Spinetti succumbed to a year-long battle with cancer, and his agent Barry Burnett said he will be missed:
"He had cancer for a year, but he was very cheerful to the end. I spoke to him on Friday and he was talking about his plans and everything," Burnett told the BBC.
Barbara Windsor, his co-star in Oh! What a Lovely War also told BBC she was shocked by his passing and spoke with him earlier this week:
"We were very close. He was another of my great friends from that era. He was such a great man. We just chatted and chatted and talked about old things. But he said, 'let's not talk about all that, let's talk about the future.' What he was trying to say was that everything was happy in his room. I was happy to see him. He didn't look ill. He looked great. He was swearing a lot, like that would get rid of the illness, and we just laughed."
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