British actor Corin Redgrave dies aged 70

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LONDON – Corin Redgrave, a member of a British acting dynasty that includes his sisters Vanessa and Lynn, has died at the age of 70.

The Redgrave family said the actor died Tuesday after falling ill at home on Sunday. His wife, Kika Markham, said he died in a London hospital, "surrounded by his family."

Corin Redgrave was less famous than his sisters, but still had success on stage and screen, appearing in dozens of television shows and movies, including "A Man for All Seasons," and "Oh! What A Lovely War" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral" — in which he played Hamish, the hapless groom of wedding number three.

Known also for his radical political stands, Corin Redgrave was a Marxist who protested against the Iraq War, campaigned for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and spoke out in defense of political dissidents. He was a longtime member of the tiny Workers Revolutionary Party, and along with his sister Vanessa in 2004 founded the Peace and Progress Party, which ran several candidates in the 2005 national election.

Corin Redgrave was born July 16, 1939, the son of matinee idol Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, a famous beauty who also had a long theater and film career.

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