Tributes to 'aspirational, inspiring and creative' Lord Attenborough from University of Leicester

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Monday 25 August 2014 at 11:16am

Lord Richard Attenborough has died at the age of 90 Credit: PA

Within seconds of meeting Richard Attenborough, "you felt you had known him all of your life", a leading academic has said.

Professor Sir Robert Burgess, vice-chancellor of the University of Leicester, described the "sheer energy and dynamism" of the esteemed actor and Oscar-winning director, who died at lunchtime yesterday aged 90.

Lord Attenborough was raised on the campus of the University of Leicester where his father, Fred Attenborough, was the principal of the University College.

Their former home, College House, is still located on site and he was a frequent visitor and supporter of the institution, the university said.

Prof Burgess said Lord Attenborough was "aspirational, inspiring and creative".

He helped found the inclusive arts centre at the University of Leicester to which he gave his name.

Embrace Arts is a multi-use inclusive arts centre with a history of promotion and encouragement of engagement in the arts by people with disabilities.

In an interview commissioned by Embrace Arts, Prof Burgess recalled first meeting Lord Attenborough before he became vice-chancellor at a lecture the peer had sponsored at the university.

There was a huge amount of warmth and a huge amount of contact - within seconds you felt you had known him all of your life. I remember walking out of the lecture theatre with him and thinking it is terrifically exciting because one of my first recollections of him was going to see one of his movies, Oh What a Lovely War, in the sixties and being terribly impressed with the movie. I never thought I would meet the person behind it. The reason he grew up in Leicester was because his father was principal of the University College, the forerunner to the University of Leicester. In terms of the city, Dickie Attenborough was always very positive about Leicester. One of the things that always impressed me was the sheer energy and dynamism of the individual.

Richard Attenborough, the director of Gandhi, Ben Kingsley and John Mills ahead of the premiere for Gandhi in 1982 Credit: PA

Louisa Milburn, co-director of Embrace Arts, the University of Leicester arts centre housed in the Richard Attenborough Centre, said Lord Attenborough was "passionate about access to high-quality arts provision for everyone".

She said:

Eleanor Hartley, founding director of the Richard Attenborough Centre, said: