Lewis Gilbert was a British film director, producer and screenwriter best known for Alfie (1966), as well as three James Bond films: You Only Live Twice (1967), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979). He also directed Reach for the Sky (1956), Sink the Bismarck! (1960), Educating Rita (1983) and Shirley Valentine (1989). For his work on Alfie, Gilbert was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and an Golden Globe for best director. In 2001 he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute, the highest accolade in the British film industry. Gilbert was married to Hylda Tafler for 53 years, until her death in June 2005. He died from natural causes on 23 February 2018 at the age of 97.