20 February 1927 - 6 January 2022

The pioneering film star’s daughter describes a loving father and how her appreciation of his cultural and political significance grew as she did – plus what he taught her about acting

Paula Rego remembered by Lila NunesRead the Observer’s obituaries of 2022 in full

When I first think of my father, I don’t think of an actor or a cultural figure. I think of this playful, goofy man who would sing me and my sister To Bed, To Bed, To Bed, said Sleepyhead, a bedtime song he learned in the Bahamas. Then there was this aeroplane game, where he’d pick us up one at a time, fly us around the house, and at the end, pretend to dunk our heads in the toilet. We’d laugh and scream and he’d hug us tight. That was the heart of who my dad was.

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