Private funeral for reclusive Dirk Bogarde

Sir Dirk Bogarde, the 1950s matinée idol who transformed himself into one of Britain's most respected actors and writers, will have no memorial service following his death at the age of 78. Instead, he will have a private family funeral in accordance with his wish 'just to forget me', his nephew, Brock Van den Bogaerde, said yesterday.

The reclusive actor also asked for his ashes to be scattered in France, a country he made his adoptive home for 20 years.

Bogarde, who had been ill for many years and virtually bed ridden since suffering a stroke in 1996, died following a heart attack at his flat in London on Saturday.

Knighted in 1992, he starred in 70 films and wrote more than a dozen books, including seven volumes of autobiography.

Colleagues and friends paid tribute to Britain's leading film star during the 1950s and 1960s when he was known as 'the idol of the Odeons' for his portrayal of the bumbling Simon Sparrow in the popular Doctor films.

The junior transport minister, Glenda Jackson, herself a former actor, said: 'I'm desperately sorry that he's died. I worked with him and regarded him as a friend although I have not seen him for some time. He was our first home grown film star.'

Sir Alec Guinness said, 'Dirk was one of our two or three homegrown stars who achieved real international fame. He was very pleasant; very charming.'

Bogarde served as a captain in the second world war, and was forever haunted by images of Belsen concentration camp which he visited the day after it was liberated. He said nothing would ever frighten him as much again.

In the 1960s he turned his back on Hollywood, eschewing the light hearted roles that had made him a star. A series of brilliant performances were rewarded with two Bafta awards, but it was his portrayal of the doomed writer von Aschenbach in the 1973 film version of Thomas Mann's novella Death in Venice of which Bogarde was most proud. 'I didn't think I could do any better,' he said .

Bogarde returned to Britain from Provence in 1986 after his companion and manager, Anthony Forwood, fell ill. After Forwood's death Bogarde became a vice president of the Voluntary Euthanasia Society.

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