Attenborough fans wanting to pay tribute asked to give donations to care home

Lord Attenborough’s family have asked people wishing to pay tribute to the film star and director, to give a donation to the care home, where he spent the last years of his life.

Oscar winner, Richard Attenborough, who died on 24 August, aged 90, moved to Denville Hall, known as the care home for elderly actors, after suffering a stroke in 2008.

His widow, Sheila Sim, still lives at the home which is in Northwood, north-west London.

The couple moved to the care home after selling their house in Richmond in London for £11.5m.

Mr Attenborough is best known for directing Gandhi and starring in the films, Jurassic Park, Brighton Rock, The Great Escape, 10 Rillington Place and Miracle on 34th Street.

He also directed the Shadowlands, Chaplin and Oh! What a Lovely War. His daughter Jane Holland and teenage granddaughter Lucy were killed in the Asian tsunami on Boxing Day in 2004.

Sir Ben Kingsley, who played Gandhi, said he would “miss him dearly” and Steve Spielberg, director of Jurassic Park director said that he “made a gift to the world with his emotional epic Gandhi and he was the perfect ringmaster to bring the dinosaurs back to life as John Hammond in Jurassic Park”.

The family is holding a private funeral for Lord Attenborough and a larger memorial service for friends and fans later in the year.

Denville Hall, which is a charity and has been funded by actors and theatre managers since 1925, describes itself as a 'home available to people aged over 70 who have worked professionally as actors, from anywhere in the UK'.

The chair of Denville Hall is Lalla Ward, best known for her role as Romana in the BBC series Doctor Who. When Tom Baker was the Doctor, she played his assistant.

Eligibility for admission to the care home is based on the person’s theatrical history, decided by the House Committee of actors, in confidence, and on medical criteria, based on the person’s doctor and others reports, and the judgement of the home’s own registered manager.

click here for more details or to contact Denville Hall