Sir Robert Stephens, an award-winning Shakespearean actor who called himself a "knight errant," died Sunday of liver and kidney problems. He was 64.
Stephens won the 1993 Olivier Award - London's Tony - as the paunchy hellion Sir John Falstaff in the "Henry IV" plays. The following season, he was acclaimed as the most affecting Lear in a generation.Stephens formerly was married to actress Maggie Smith, with whom he acted in the 1960s and early '70s on stage and in films such as "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie." The couple divorced in 1975. One of his most memorable roles was as Atahuallpa in Peter Shaffer's epic "Royal Hunt of the Sun" in 1964. His films included "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes," "Henry V," and "Bonfire of the Vanities."
He became a founder-member of the National Theater under Laurence Olivier, playing Horatio in its opening "Hamlet" in 1963. Stephens was knighted in 1994. His autobiography "Knight Errant," was published this year.