'Attenborough is an idiot': screen star Bogarde's stinging letters revealed

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2006

LONDON (AFP) — Late British movie legend Dirk Bogarde reckoned Richard Attenborough was an "idiot", and John Gielgud struggled to understand Shakespeare, letters published revealed.

In the caustic correspondence, newly acquired by the British Library and revealed in The Sunday Telegraph newspaper, Bogarde attacked the film industry and several leading players.

In one letter, Bogarde, one of the most versatile and accomplished actors of his generation, described many of his fellow actors as "dreadfully dull and boring and eccentric and full of something called valium".

He was particularly critical of Lord Attenborough, whom he worked with on "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1967) and "A Bridge Too Far" (1977).

In a letter dated 1988, Bogarde said he was...