Character actor and director Lionel Jeffries has died at aged 83 after a long illness, his family have announced.
The star made his debut onscreen in 1950 in an uncredited role in Stage Fright, and went on to have a career spanning five decades.
He is best remembered for playing the eccentric Grandpa Potts in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - despite being younger than Dick Van Dyke, who played his son - and for adapting and directing children's classic The Railway Children - which he was inspired to option by his then young daughter, Martha.
He also appeared in films ranging from The Colditz Story to Two Way Stretch and The Prisoner Of Zenda.
Born in 1926, he served in Burma and as a captain in the Royal West African Frontier Force. After leaving the army he went to RADA before taking work in theatre. Initially he feared his premature baldness - which he blamed on the humidity in Burma - would hinder his career, but he soon worked his way from Rep to the West End and, from there, to film.
After landing a role in The Colditz Story, he found himself in demand and in the course of his long career he notched up more than 100 film appearances.
He was a well-known scene-stealer and became famous for his comic cameos. He once said it was important to him to bring a "comic humanity" to his characters.
In his later years, Jeffries appeared in a number of television roles, including Tom, Dick And Harriet and kids' show Woof! He is survived by his wife Eileen, two daughters and a son.
