Later Career and Death
Having retired from films after the 1982 picture A Time to Die, Harrison continued to act on Broadway and the West End until the end of his life, despite suffering from glaucoma, painful teeth, and a failing memory. He was nominated for a third Tony Award in 1984 for his performance as Capt. Shotover in the revival of George Bernard Shaw's Heartbreak House. He followed the show up with two successful pairings with Claudette Colbert, The Kingfisher in 1985 and Aren't We All? in 1986. In 1989 he appeared with Edward Fox in The Admirable Crichton in London. In 1989-1990 he appeared on Broadway in The Circle by W. Somerset Maugham, opposite Glynis Johns and Stewart Granger. The production actually opened at Duke University for a three-week run, followed by performances in Baltimore and Boston before opening 14 November 1989 on Broadway.
Harrison died of pancreatic cancer at his home in Manhattan on 2 June 1990, aged 82. He had been diagnosed with the disease only a short time earlier. The stage production in which he was appearing at the time, The Circle, came to an end upon his death.
Harrison's second autobiography, A Damned Serious Business: My Life in Comedy (ISBN 0553073419), was published posthumously in 1991.
Read more about this topic: Rex Harrison
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