The flamboyant British director Ken Russell, whose many brilliant and extravagantly directed movies include Women in Love, The Devils, Lisztomania, Altered States, The Lair of the White Worm, and Tommy, died yesterday afternoon at home with, reports claim, “a smile on his face.” He was 85, and had suffered a series of strokes. Despite that, and the fact that he’d been ill for a number of years, his widow Elize said she was “devastated” by her husband’s death, which had been “completely unexpected.” She said it was “with great sadness that I can confirm that Ken Russell passed away peacefully in his sleep on Sunday afternoon. It was completely unexpected, as he was doing what he loved.” Russell, she said, had recently agreed to direct the musical version of Alice In Wonderland and was working on the script and casting. He’d also just finished writing a review for The Times on the re-release of The Devils, “so he was keeping very busy.” Glenda Jackson, who won an Oscar for her role in Russell’s 1969 Women In Love (and is now a Member of Parliament), said, “I think of Ken Russell with great love and affection. It was not only a privilege to know him as a film director, but also a privilege to be his friend. His contribution to cinema, not only in this country, but also internationally, will last.” (More at Telegraph; Richard Young/Rex Features photo: Oliver Reed and Ken Russell beak-to-beak at a party at the Groucho Club in 1985)