From The Daily Mail Online:

[i]The actor Richard Todd who starred in the classic British war film The Dam Busters has died at the age of 90. He had been suffering from cancer.

Best known for his role in the 1954 film, he was also a war hero in his own right.

Born in Dublin in 1919, he was one of the first British soldiers parachuted into France on D-Day.

He was an officer in the Parachute Regiment and he made contact with Major Howard at the Orne Bridge now called Pegasus Bridge.

He later relived this role when he played the role of Major Howard in the 1962 war film The Longest Day with, ironically, another actor playing himself.

A spokesman for his family said he died peacefully in his sleep last night at his home near Grantham in Lincolnshire.

His spokeswoman said: 'He had been suffering from cancer, an illness that he bore with his habitual courage and dignity. His family were with him throughout.'

Earlier this year he celebrated his 90th birthday with a quiet gathering near his home.

The role with which he was forever associated was that of Wing Commander Guy Gibson in The Dam Busters. It told of the development of the bouncing bomb used during World War II to destroy the Ruhr dams in Germany.

Made an OBE in 1993, he was last seen on screen in a 2007 episode of ITV drama Heartbeat.

When he took on the role of a war hero in the D-Day epic The Longest Day he knew what he was doing.

He was one of the first British officers to land in Normandy on the day of the Allied invasion and was involved in the daring operation which he would later help portray on screen.[/i]

A great, underrated actor who will be missed. R.I.P.