Once
married to Virginia McKenna and, until his death by Susan Elliott, who
wrote his biography - he was by self admission confused about what really
made him happy. Denholm, during his marriage to Susan, came to recognise
his bisexuality but found an identity through a remarkably open relationship.
They had a 30 year marriage.
The
much-loved actor's career had spanned nearly 40 years. One generation
will remember his earlier roles such as the cuckolded husband in the
Cruel Sea, however it will as Marcus Brody, the affable museum curator,
that brought him to a new generation in the 1980's.
Some of the roles he was offered were poor in the extremis - others
were excellent, one of the talents that Denholm had was to rise above
mediorce material.
Sadly,
Elliott's still-thriving career was cut off in 1992, shortly after he
completed the comedy 'Noises Off'. He had been suffering with AIDS for
some time and he finally died of complications that year in Spain at
the age of 70.