Bob Hoskins, Dead at 71

   LONDON — British actor Bob Hoskins, best known for roles where he alternated gruffness and tenderness in “The Long Good Friday,” “Mona Lisa” and “Who Framed Roger Rabbit,” died of pneumonia on Tuesday. He was 71.

   His agent said he died in hospital, surrounded by family. He was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and retired from acting in 2012.

   Hoskins’ breakthrough came in Dennis Potter’s TV series “Pennies From Heaven” in 1978, and his movie career took off with 1980 gangster pic “The Long Good Friday,” in which he starred alongside Helen Mirren.

 London, he worked as a truck driver and window cleaner before starting out in a London theater production.

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   Hoskins was nominated for an Oscar in 1987 for his leading role in Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa, for which he won Best Actor at the BAFTAs and the Cannes Film Festival.

   He had previously received BAFTA nominations for his roles in Dennis Potter’s Pennies From Heaven (1978), classic gangster drama The Long Good Friday (1980) and his supporting performance opposite Michael Caine and Richard Gere in The Honorary Consul (1983).

   Hoskins also attracted awards attention from the Golden Globes, with nominations for his role in live action-animation hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Stephen Frears’ Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005).

   In a statement, his wife, Linda, and children Alex, Sarah, Rosa and Jack said they were “devastated by the loss of our beloved Bob.”