Sir Arthur John Gielgud OM CH 14 April 1904 21 May 2000 was an English actor director and producer A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937 He was known for his beautiful speaking of verse and particularly for his warm and expressive voice which his colleague Sir Alec Guinness likened to a silver trumpet muffled in silk Gielgud is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar Emmy Grammy and Tony Award Description above from the Wikipedia article John Gielgud licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia