Victor Spinetti, comic actor and star of Beatles films, dies at 82

(CBS/AP) LONDON - Comic actor Victor Spinetti, who appeared in three Beatles movies and won a Tony Award on Broadway, has died, his agent said Tuesday. He was 82.

Spinetti died Tuesday morning after suffering from cancer for several years, said Barry Burnett, the actor's close friend and agent.

Spinetti won a Tony award in 1965 for his Broadway performance in "Oh, What a Lovely War," but became most well-known for his appearances in the Beatles movies "A Hard Day's Night," ''Help," and "Magical Mystery Tour."

At a London Beatles Day event in 2010, Spinetti said he was included in the cast of "A Hard Day's Night" at George Harrison's insistence.

"He said, 'you gotta be in all our films otherwise me mum wouldn't come and see 'em, because she fancies you,'" Spinetti said. "That was why I was in."

Spinetti also co-authored "The John Lennon Play: In His Own Write" with Adrienne Kenney. Based on the writings of John Lennon, it opened in June 1968 in London.

Vittorio Georgio Andrea Spinetti was born to an Italian father and Welsh mother in the mining village of Cwm in south Wales. Regarded as an alien during World War II, he was beaten by two neighbors and lost hearing in one ear.

Spinetti studied at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama in Cardiff before moving to London to develop his acting career.

His more than 30 film roles included the part of Hortensio in "The Taming of the Shrew" and Mog Edwards in "Under Milk Wood," both films starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. He also played the concierge in "The Return of the Pink Panther."

Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.