"de Cuffe" is his mother's surname; he never knew the identity of his father. (source: obituary, Daily Telegraph, 7 August 2000).
George Lucas said Guinness was very patient and helpful to him during the filming of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), even to the point of getting the other actors to work more seriously.
Harrison Ford said that Guinness helped him find an apartment to stay at when he arrived in England to film Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).
Ewan McGregor was not the only actor in the Star Wars prequels to study his performances. The voice for the character Watto was modeled after Guinness's performance as Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948).
A fan of the television series "Due South" (1994).
A heavy smoker for most of his life, he finally managed to give up the habit in his last years.
According to playwright Neil Simon, Alec was reading the script for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) while on set filming Murder by Death (1976) and commented that "Star Wars" may be a "good one".
Appeared with Kay Walsh in five different films: Oliver Twist (1948); Last Holiday (1950); The Horse's Mouth (1958); Tunes of Glory (1960) and Scrooge (1970).
Awarded an honorary DLitt by Oxford University in 1977 and an honorary LittD by Cambridge University in 1991.
Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 198-199. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387.
Both he and his wife Merula converted to the Roman Catholic Church in the 1950s.
Celebrated his 62nd birthday during the filming of Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) in Tunisia, where the Tatooine scenes were filmed.
Contrary to popular rumors, he did not hate working on the Star Wars films. What he hated was the fact that many of the Star Wars fans would only ever remember him as Obi-Wan Kenobi despite all the success of his previous roles.
Created a Companion of Honour in 1994.
Despite being two of Britain's most distinguished actors of their generation, he appeared in only two films with John Mills: Great Expectations (1946) and Tunes of Glory (1960).
Despite popular belief, he never uttered the line 'May the force be with you' in any of the Star Wars films (the closest he came was 'the force will be with you').
During his service in the Royal Navy, he commanded a landing craft invading Sicily and Elba, and helped to supply soldiers in Yugoslavia.
Favorite actor of both David Lean and Ronald Neame. Worked on many of both director's films.
Grandfather of Sally Guinness.
Great-grandson Otis Marlon Simeon Guinness-Walker, born in 1995.