• e-mail

It's 50 years this week since The Italian Job first hit screens in June 1969. 

The comedy caper, directed by Peter Collinson, left cinema-goers on the edge of their seats with its nerve-jangling cliff-edge crescendo, and for some of the cast the real life drama continued long into the future.

English actor Graham Payn starred alongside his real-life lover Noel Coward in the film, and the pair went on to spend 30 years together, with Payn helping playwright Coward throw his famous naked pool parties at their lavish home in Jamaica. 

Meanwhile, Italian actor Rossano Brazzi (Roger Beckerman), ended up leaving his wife for an infatuated German fan. 

Many of the film's stars have already ascended to the great cinema in the sky, with those still alive almost all now octogenarians. Here's how their lives off-screen played out.

The Italian Job mob! Left to right: Peter Collinson, David Salamone, Fred Emney, John Morris, Stanley Caine, Michael Standing, Derek Ware, Benny Hill, George Innis, Michael Caine, Tony Beckley, John Forgeham, Barry Cox, Robert Powell, Harry Baird, Richard Essame and Frank Jarvis

KEATS

PLAYED BY: GRAHAM PAYN 

Payn played the confidant of powerful crime lord Mr. Bridger, who was portrayed by his real-life lover Noel Coward.

It was to be his final film role, but the former child star still found lifelong fame - only it was thanks to his life off-screen.

He and Noel spent 30 years together and Payn was privy to the excesses enjoyed by Coward, including his 'bathing suits banned' pool parties at his Jamaican home. 

Famous faces including  Bette Davis, Errol Flynn and Claudette Colbert became friends of the couple. 

But Coward 's contemporaries felt Payn 'cynically used' him in order to advance his acting career.  Even the Queen Mother - a close friend of Coward - advised him not to help Payn anymore, telling him 'never to allow your emotions to become entangled in your career'.

As the romance died between Coward and him, it seems that their relationship fizzled out into a platonic friendship. 

Following Coward's death in Jamaica in 1973, Payn ran his partner's estate for the next 22 years. He died aged 87 in November 2005.

Former child star Graham Payn starred as Keats in the film. The actor was already involved in a relationship with playwright Noel Coward when they both starred in the movie; he went on to look after his late lover's estate until his death in 2005

Noel Coward (left) and his long-term lover Graham Payn, pictured relaxing in the sunshine in Bermuda 

FRANK

PLAYED BY: JOHN FORGEHAM 

Actor John Forgeham, who died at the age of 75 in 2017, played blonde-haired radio operator Frank in The Italian Job, who was tasked with listening in on the Turin police.

He only hit the mainstream in the UK with his role in eighties soap, Crossroads. 

Appearing at the height of the show's success, he became a household name playing characterful mechanic Jim Baines. Fans of nineties trash telly might also recognise him as Frank Laslett in Footballer's Wives. 

He also appeared in films including Mean Machine and Crossroads and dramas such as Doctors, The Bill and Casualty. 

Born in the West Midlands, he fell into acting after joining an am-dram group which led to a RADA scholarship. 

His family revealed that the actor had struggled with serious mental health issues in the four years prior to his sudden death. 

After Footballers' Wives stopped running in 2006, he struggled to get work and fell into a deep depression and would sit in his flat 'staring at the wall'. 

His daughter said at the time of his death: 'He had psychotic tendencies and was put under section. He spent a year in a mental institution.'

John Forgeham as Frank, pictured left, in The Italian Job. Right: Forgeham, who went on to star in Crossroads and Footballer's Wives, and died at the age of 75 in 2017, maintained Frank was the role he was most proud of in his career

The actor, pictured in 2004, struggled with mental health issues towards the end of his life, his family revealed following his death in 2017

MR BECKERMAN 

PLAYED BY: ROSSANO BRAZZI

One of the few Italian actors in the film, Rossano Brazzi played Roger Beckermann, a convict who met a grisly end in the Italian Alps, after it was discovered he was planning a robbery in Turin. 

Bologna-born star Rossano Brazzi pictured in the 1969 classic; he later went on to get the daughter of an American mobster pregnant, before leaving her for an obsessed fan

Off screen, there was colour galore too in Brazzi's own life. 

A genuine Italian film star of the fifties, the Bologna-born actor made it big in Hollywood with roles in Summertime opposite Katherine Hepburn and Three Coins in the Fountain. 

One of his best known roles was as Emile De Becque in South Pacific.

In 1940 her married an Italian baroness, Lidia Bertolini, whom he stayed with until her death of liver cancer in 1981. 

After her death, Brazzi fathered a son with a 20-year-old named Llewella Humphreys, the daughter of American gangster Murray Humphreys, known as The Camel or The Hump. 

Llewella later changed her surname to Brady, an anglecised version of Brazzi. 

However their relationship was not to last. Brazzi found love with their housekeeper, Ilse Fischer, a German fan whom the film had met when she was just 24.

The couple married in 1984 and remained together until Brazzi's death on Christmas Eve 1994 at the age of 74.   

A genuine Italian film star of the fifties, the Bologna-born actor made it big in Hollywood with roles in Summertime opposite Katherine Hepburn and Three Coins in the Fountain. One of his best known roles was as Emile De Becque in South Pacific, pictured opposite Mitzi Gaynor

ALTABANI

PLAYED BY: RAF VALLONE 

The Italian star had already enjoyed a richly varied career before he appeared on screen as mafia boss, Altabani. 

After murdering Croker's pal Roger Beckermann, he warns the the thief that he knows about the gang's intentions to carry out the heist palled by their late pal. 

He smashed up their Jaguar E-Type cars and sends Croker's personal Aston Martin DB4 drophead off a cliff. 

Vallone was a lawyer and professional footballer before World War II broke out, and became editor of the culture section of L'Unita, which was then the official newspaper of the Communist Party, and a film critic for La Stampa, a Turin-based newspaper. 

During the war, he served with the Communist resistance and made his first screen appearance in 1942 as a sailor in We The Living. 

By the time The Italian Job came around, he'd starred in almost 50 films and had become a big star in the '60s, and went on to appear in several dozen more. 

He was often cast as a priest or other religious figure in films and one of his later role was playing a cardinal who became Michael Corleone's confessor in The Godfather Part III (1990).

Italian film star Raf Vallone played mafia boss Altabani in The Italian Job, and tries to foil the heist by smashing up the gang's cars

MISS PEACH

PLAYED BY: IRENE HANDL

After taking up acting at the age of 36, The Italian Job came relatively late in Irene Handl's career. 

She starred in over 100 British films, and was known for usually playing the supporting role of an eccentric landlady, relative or servant. 

Although she was never the leading lady, she appeared in notable films such as Brief Encounter and The Belles of St Trinian's.

In the Italian job, she played a small role as Professor Peach's (Benny Hill) sister. 

Her last role was in 1987, when she appeared on In Sickness And In Health, shortly before she died at the age of 85.

Irene Handl played a small part as the sister of Professor Peach. During her life, she starred in over 100 British films, and was known for usually playing the supporting role of an eccentric landlady, relative or servant.

'SHIRTMAKER' 

PLAYED BY: SIMON DEE 

Real-name Cyril Nicholas Henty-Dodd, Simon Dee took on the cameo role of a shirtmaker... but his acting roles didn't get much bigger when the cameras stopped rolling on The Italian Job. 

It didn't matter, though, for Dee - one of the first DJs on pirate radio station Radio Caroline - forged a glittering career as a presenter. 

Hailed Britain's 'first celebrity chat-show host', Dee was given his own prime-time show on the BBC, Dee Time, that was regularly watched by 15 million people.

He interviewed everyone from Sophia Lauren to Sammy Davis Jr, and in the programme's memorable closing credits, he swept away in a soft top car with a woman in a mini skirt. 

However once he moved to ITV, Dee soon a swift change in his fortunes.  

Like many of The Italian Jobs characters, the father-of-four ended up doing porridge himself after falling into heavy debt and being unable to pay the rent on his Chelsea pad.

An act of vandalism also blotted his copybook. Outraged that singer Petula Clark's face had been put on a loo seat, he promptly defaced it...and found himself back in court. 

Dee died from bone cancer aged 74 in 2009.

Simon Dee, who made a cameo as a shirt-maker in the film (left). He later became a BBC star, hosting Dee Time, which regularly drew 15million viewers. However the star (right in 2008) fell into financial trouble and ended up serving a 28-day prison sentence. He died in 2009

LORNA

PLAYED BY: MARGARET BLYE 

Margaret, known as Maggie, played beautiful blonde Lorna, the groovy girlfriend and partner-in-crime to Caine’s lovable criminal Charlie Croker.  

Born in Houston in 1942, Maggie studied at the University of Texas before moving to Los Angeles to study at UCLA.

She landed her first role in the Tennessee Williams adaptation, Summer And Smoke, in 1961 at the age of 18 after being spotted by an agent in Los Angeles. The film was later nominated for an Oscar, boosting the young actress' profile. 

Maggie went on to have a career spanning 50 years and starred in some 53 films and television shows, appearing opposite some of Hollywood's biggest stars. 

She appeared in Hombre with Paul Newman; Hard Times with James Coburn and Charles Bronson; Waterhole #3 with Coburn and Carroll O’Connor; The Entity with Barbara Hershey and Ron Silver; Diamonds For Breakfast with Marcello Mastroianni, and Man In The Chair with Christopher Plummer.

But despite her on screen magnatism, Maggie never married. 

She died of cancer in March 2016 at the age of 73 at her home in West Hollywood after a two-year battle.

Screen siren: Margaret 'Maggie' Blye, born in Texas, played Caine's love interest in the film

The actress, who died after a two-year battle with cancer in 2016, never married but did star in 53 films during a lengthy career. Pictured, at the premiere for the Italian Job reboot in 2003

CAMP FREDDIE 

PLAYED BY: TONY BECKLEY 

Southampton-born Beckley appeared in the Italian Job as Camp Freddie, who looked after Mr Bridger's operations outside of jail. 

The role is typical for Beckley, who carved out a niche for himself playing characters with a villainous streak in more than 1,000 plays, films and TV shows. 

A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Beckley appeared in classics including Romeo and Juliet, War and Peace and Julius Caesar for the BBC. 

Two years after The Italian Job, Beckley was reunited with Michael Caine on the set of 1971s Get Carter, in which he played Peter the Dutchman.

His life ended at the age of just 50 at a hospital in Los Angeles and the official cause was listed as cancer. 

However, his close friend Sheila Hancock speculated that he had possibly succumbed to an AIDS-related illness. 

His final role before his death was in An Inspector Calls in 1979.  

Off-screen, Beckley enjoyed a 15-year relationship with film producer Barry Krost.  

Camp Freddie had a penchant for colourful suits - and colourful lines - in the movie

The role remained the most memorable acting job Beckley although he enjoyed a steady career, often playing a baddie 

ARTHUR 

PLAYED BY MICHAEL STANDING

Arthur was a jobber in the film, who gave rise to perhaps the most famous line. 

After he totally destroyed a van with gelignite, Michael Caine's character Croker observed that he was 'only supposed to blow the bloody doors off'. 

He went on to appear in the BBC children's sci-fi series, The Tomorrow People, in 1973, and Aftershock a sci-fi film, which he also wrote, in 1990.

While living in America, he was briefly married to Sherri Spillane, the ex-wife of crime novelist Mickey Spillane.  

Now 79, he is retired and believed to be living in London.  

Arthur was a jobber in the film, who notably blew up a van with gelignite. Standing went on to star in sci-fi TV series and film he wrote himself, Aftershock, in 1990

PROFESSOR SIMON PEACH

PLAYED BY: BENNY HILL 

Professor Peach, a deaf computer expert was tasked with creating an almighty traffic jam by gang leader Charlie Croker. He also couldn't resist a curvaceous woman.

The role was played by British funnyman Benny Hill, who by the time The Italian Job premiered was already a household name thanks to The Benny Hill Show, which first aired in 1955. 

Hill, known for his slapstick, risqué humour, was drawn to showbiz from a young age but his blossoming theatre talents were initially cut short by the Second World War. 

After serving in the British Army he was drawn to the bright lights of London, where he appeared in variety shows and first adopted the stage name Benny Hill. It was his talent for impressions that gave him his first big TV break with Hi There in 1949. 

The success of The Benny Hill Show - which was exported around the world and ran for almost 40 years - made Hill a multi-millionaire and led to him being offered cameos in Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machine and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. 

But Hill was by all accounts a troubled soul, riddled with insecurities about his self-worth and had a morbid fear of spending money - he didn't own a property, preferring to just rent.  

He remained single despite proposing twice, and rumours circulated that he was gay...something that Hill always denied. He died in April 2002.

Benny Hill, who went on to achieve global success with his slapstick brand of comedy, shot to fame as deaf computer expert Professor Simon Peach in the film

The success of The Benny Hill Show - which was exported around the world and ran for almost 40 years - made Hill a multi-millionaire. Pictured, Hill on the show in 1983

Hill, who died at 68 in 1992, never married and constantly feared losing his fortune, never investing in property and maintaining a frugal lifestyle. Pictured a month before his death in 1992 

MRS BECKERMANN

PLAYED BY: LEILA GOLDONI 

Mrs Beckermann was the wife, later widow, of Roger Beckermann, the convict who met a grisly end in the Italian Alps.

She was played by Leila Goldoni, now 82.

Born in New York in 1936, her career began with a series of cameos in a flurry of 1940s film roles including Joseph L. Mankiewicz's House of Strangers and John Huston's We Were Strangers. 

Her role in The Italian Job was fleeting but still made enough of an impression to warrant a song being penned about her character, entitled Oh Mrs Beckerman. 

Following the film, her career peaked with roles in Invasion of the Bodysnatchers and Martin Scorcese's Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. 

Married to actor Bob Carruthers, the couple divorced in 1960. Leila has one son, Aaron, who followed his mother into film, albeit behind the scenes.  

Leila Goldoni is the last surviving female actor from the film. The New York-born star, now 82, had a small part in The Italian Job as the widow of Roger Beckermann (left) but her character did coin a song from the film 'Oh Mrs Beckerman'. Right, the star in 2005

UNNAMED OFFICER/INMATE

PLAYED BY: FRANK KELLY  

Frank Kelly played a bit part in The Italian Job, although there is a dispute over whether this is an 'unnamed officer' who escorts Charlie Croker out of prison, or an unnamed inmate in the prison.

Born in Dublin in 1938, Kelly landed his first role in the movie aged 31, and led a successful acting career following its release.

In Ireland, Kelly made a name for himself with the children's show Wanderly Wagon and rose to fame with his work on Hall's Pictorial Weekly.

But perhaps the role Kelly is best known for is Father Jack Hackett on the sitcom Father Ted. Kelly played the irreverent - and often drunk - clergyman from 1995 to May 1998. 

Later on, Kelly appeared on Emmerdale for 43 episodes in the role of Dermot Macey between 2010 and 2011.

On top of his acting work, Kelly was also a successful stage and voice actor and published author.

In 1982, he reached 8th place in the the Irish charts with his song 'Christmas Countdown,' which peaked in 24th position in the UK charts two years later in 1984.

The actor, who also suffered from Parkinson's Disease, died of a heart attack on 28 February 2016. 

Kelly had seven children with his wife Bairbre, to whom he was married to for 51 years.

Pauline McLynn as Mrs. Doyle, Dermot Morgan as Father Ted Crilly, Ardal O'Hanlon as Father Dougal McGuire, Frank Kelly as Father Jack Hackett (seated) in Father Ted

Frank Kelly, pictured in 2014, two years before his death from a heart attack in 2016

It is believed that Kelly played this prison guard escorting Croker at the beginning of the cult film, but others say he played an unnamed inmate 

'YELLOW'

PLAYED BY: ROBERT POWELL 

Yellow was a young upstart jobber in the film.

The role might have been small but it still kick-started a career for Robert Powell that has endured 50 years. 

His biggest role would come less than a decade after playing Yellow, with a loftier role - playing the Lord in Franco Zeffirelli’s mini series Jesus of Nazareth in 1977.

In the eighties, Powell, now 75, teamed up with comedian Jasper Carrott to make The Detectives and starred in hospital soap Holby City for six years. 

Married to former Pans People dancer Babs, the couple live in West London and have two grown-up children, Kate and Barney.   

Robert Powell starred as Yellow, and it lit the touchpaper on a successful career for the British actor. Now 75, Powell has continued to appear on stage and screen, famously playing the lead in Franco Zeffirelli’s mini series Jesus of Nazareth in 1977

FAMILY AFFAIR: A CAMEO FOR CAINE'S LITTLE BROTHER... 

Hanging on to the coat-tails of his older brother who was by the late Sixties a fully fledged movie star, Stanley Micklewhite bagged himself a part in the comedy. 

Playing 'Coco' in the film, Stanley's own career never quite reached the heady heights of his sibling but he did appear in Billion Dollar Brain and Play Dirty.

Eventually, he took a job at Selfridges before turning his hand to writing. 

Stanley died in 2008 at the age of 77 after battling leukemia.

Stanley Micklewhite, Michael Caine's younger brother, starring as 'Coco' in the 1969 comedy classic

 

THE RECEPTIONIST

PLAYED BY: VALERIE LEON  

Screen siren Valerie Leon played the receptionist at the Royal Lancaster hotel that Croker checked into after being released from prison. 

Born in November 1943 in Hampstead, Leon managed to score small roles in several high profile films, including seven of the Carry On films, including Carry on Christmas: Carry on Stuffing, in which she is credited as 'Serving Wench.'

Her attractive looks no doubt helped when it came to bagging roles in two different James Bond films. 

Leon appeared in 1977s The Spy Who Loved Me as a receptionist and returned to the franchise six years later as another bit part, Lady in Bahamas, in Never Say Never Again.    

On the personal side, Leon was married to the television comedy producer Michael Mills from 1974 until his death in 1988. 

They had two children together, Leon, born in 1975 and Merope, born in 1977.

Valerie now conducts Q&As and takes part in film events, as documented on her Twitter account.  

Screen siren Valerie Leon played the receptionist at the Royal Lancaster hotel that Croker checked into after being released from prison, pictured

The actress also played a receptionist in Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), pictured

Leon, who has two children, at the premiere of Fiddler on the Roof on the West End in March

THE GOVERNOR

PLAYED BY: JOHN LE MESURIER 

Simply known as the Governor, John Le Mesurier played the Prison Govenor at Mr Bridger's prison. 

Starring in over 120 films, the actor, who died in 1983, was perhaps best known for his roles in classic film Ben Hur (1959), and as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army.

Le Mesurier started acting as a young man before enlisting in the Armed Forces during the Second World War. He was posted to India as a captain with the Royal Tank Regiment. 

But he returned to acting before the end of the world and made his film debut in 1948, starring in the feature comedy short Death in the Hand, opposite Esme Percy and Ernest Jay. 

The actor appeared mostly in comedies and usually in roles of authority - as seen in both Dad's Army and The Italian Job.   

His private life was almost as tumultuous as his varied screen roles. He was married to Hattie Jacques, and later Joan Malin, both of whom started affairs with other men during their relationships with Le Mesurier. 

Malin became involved with actor Tony Hancock who would eventually take his own life over his tangled private life. 

A battle with alcohol saw Le Meurier diagnosed with liver problems and ordered not to drink. He eventually lost his life in 1983 after failing health. 

His final words were 'It's all been rather lovely' and he even penned his own death notice in The Times.

Already advanced in years when he played the Governer in The Italian Job (left), John Le Mesurier (right in 1983)  made 120 appearances on stage and screen. His private life was complicated with both of his wives, falling into the arms of other men

Le Mesurier was perhaps best known for his roles in classic film Ben Hur (1959), and as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in Dad's Army, as seen opposite Arthur Lowe above

STUNT DOUBLE/DAVE

PLAYED BY: JOHNNY MORRIS 

Johnny Morris was not credited for his role in the Italian Job however, he had one of the most important tasks of all: Being Michael Caine's body and stunt-double. 

He also claims he played a bit-part character called 'Dave', although no details are known about him.

Morris, who was raised in Shepherd's Bush, London, was not just Caine's stand-in, he was also his minder, fixer for and friend.

And while filling in for one of the 1960's most lucrative actors may sound exciting, Morris' big break came thanks to another giant of pop culture: John Lennon.

Morris worked as the Beatles' body double on a Hard Day's Night. Taking Lennon's place on stage, he would help the lighting and camera crews get their angles just right.

The stunt double took a risk by leaving Lennon for Caine and worked with the beloved actor for most of the 1960's until they parted way in 1973.

In 2015, Morris published his book The Fall Guy, where he reminisced about his time working with Caine and Lennon.

In a 2017 interview with the Express, Morris revealed that his favourite Caine Movie was still The Italian Job, because of the scene with the Mini Coopers.

Johnny Morris was not credited for his role in the Italian Job however, he had one of the most important tasks of all: Being Michael Caine's body and stunt-double 

CROKER

PLAYED BY: MICHAEL CAINE 

Born and raised in poverty in London in the 1930s, Caine's career soared after he played the charismatic lead role in Alfie in 1966, by which time he had already starred in a string of blockbusters including Zulu (1964) and The Iprcess File (1965).

Arguably the biggest star from the film, Caine, who's now 86, has continued to be a box office hit, with major movie roles in every decade including Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988), Little Voice (1998) and The Dark Knight (2008). 

The actor has won two Oscars - for Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and The Cider House Rules (1999), both for Supporting Actor - and been nominated for six, taking in turns in Alfie, Sleuth (1973), Educating Rita (1984), and The Quiet American (2002).

Recently, Caine has formed a close working relationship with Christopher Nolan, appearing in the director's films The Prestige (2006), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014), in addition to The Dark Night. He is set to appear next in Christopher Nolan's Tenet, due for release in 2020.

The star's first marriage, to fellow actor Patricia Haines, produced a daughter, Dominique but the couple separated in 1962.

In 1973, he wed current wife Shakira, after he spotted her in an advert for Maxwell House coffee. The couple, who have one daughter, Natasha, have enjoyed a successful marriage and live mostly at their home in Leatherhead, Surrey.

Already a major star following roles in Alfie and The Ipcress File, The Italian Job sealed Michael Caine's status as a leading man. Pictured with Tony Beckley, who played criminal Freddie

The final scene of the movie left cinema-goers on the edge of their seats as they watched Caine trying to claw himself to safety on a cliff-edge

Swoon: Caine, now 86, was just 36 when he filmed the movie in the late sixties, thanks to his blonde locks and quick lines, he quickly became a major played in Hollywood

The actor, married twice, now lives largely in Surrey with second wife Shakira, who he met in 1973 after spotting her in a coffee advert on the television. He got her number and called persistently until she agreed to date him; the couple have one daughter, Natasha