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Ian Holm, 'Lord of the Rings' star, dies at 88

The longtime British actor gained international movie fame by playing Bilbo Baggins in 'The Lord of the Rings' and an android in 'Alien.'

Longtime film and stage actor Ian Holm, who is well known for his role as the hobbit Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Hobbit films, has died at the age of 88, according to an Instagram post by his wife Sophie de Stempel.

"With great sadness the wonderful lam Holm died today," her post read on Friday morning.

In a message to The Guardian, Holm's agent said, "It is with great sadness that the actor Sir Ian Holm CBE passed away this morning at the age of 88. He died peacefully in hospital, with his family and carer."

The statement confirmed Holm's illness was related to Parkinson's.

Holm earned an Oscar nomination for Chariots of Fire and played a decapitated android that just kept on going in Ridley Scott's Alien

He was also a Tony Award and BAFTA winner, according to his IMBD profile. He was also a longtime member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Holm was blinded by a case of stage fright during previews for Iceman Cometh and it left him uneasy working in front of live audiences for more than a decade, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Credit: Jon Furniss/Invision/AP
Ian Holm seen at the UK premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey at The Odeon Leicester Square on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2012, in London. (Photo by Jon Furniss/Invision/AP)

Other notable Holm's performances include Napoleon in Time Bandits, Mitchell in The Sweet Hearafter and Captain Fluellen in Kenneth Branagh’s Henry V. He also acted in Dreamchild, Brazil, Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, Another Woman, Wetherby and Dance With a Stranger. 

Holm was knighted in 1998 for his services to drama.

"His sparkling wit always accompanied a mischievous twinkle in his eye," his agent, Alex Irwin, said. “Charming, kind and ferociously talented, we will miss him hugely.’’

Holm was married four times and had five children.

Sophie de Stempel has been documenting Holm's final days in a series of pastel portraits.

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Several celebrities reacted to the news early Friday.

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