David Niven Autograph

David Niven was born on 1 March 1910 at Belgrave Mansions, Grosvenor Gardens, London. He was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in Separate Tables (1958). Niven’s other roles included Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days (1956), Sir Charles Lytton (“the Phantom”) in The Pink Panther (1963) and The Return of the Pink Panther (1975), and James Bond in Casino Royale (1967).

He died on 29 July 1983 at age 73, two years after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as motor neurone disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig’s disease – a disease that causes the death of neurons controlling voluntary muscles.