Alan Howard – the man who provided the voice of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings movies – has died aged 77.
According to Yahoo! Movies UK, the British actor passed away earlier this month following admittance to hospital for pneumonia.
“Mr Howard died peacefully at the Royal Free Hospital in Hampstead, North London, on February 14 surrounded by his family, after being admitted with pneumonia,” they revealed.
Of course, Alan was best known as the voice of Sauron – the all-powerful villain of The Lord of the Rings. And after voicing the character in both The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers, his fearsome voice became the signature sound of the evil sorcerer.
But that’s just the tip of Alan Howard’s career.
A member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, he appeared on stage in countless role from 1966 all the way up until 2011.
“Alan was a giant,” said RSC director Gregory Doran. “He was gifted with a great classical physique, a prodigious talent and an utterly unmistakable voice. Alan Howard’s work with Terry Hands was one of the great theatre partnerships in RSC history, and one of those theatre partnerships which has made the RSC great.”
Under the RSC, he appeared alongside the likes of Peter Brook and even played Hamlet under the direction of Sir Trevor Nunn. After leaving RSC in 1980, he took part in a number of plays with the Royal national Theatre.
And in 2001, he loaned his impressive vocal skills to the Dark Lord Sauron.
On top of his impressive film work, Alan Howard appeared extensively on British television, with parts in Foyle’s War, Midsomer Murders and The Return of Sherlock Holmes. But it was his time in the fantasy realm of Middle Earth which most will remember him for.
R.I.P. Alan Howard. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.
Could you imagine anyone else as the voice of Sauron? Do you remember Howard’s other works? Let us know what you think in the comments below…
