Oliver Reed, 61, the stocky British actor who played the villain Bill Sikes in the film version of the musical, "Oliver!," died May 2 in Malta, while filming a movie. Mr. Reed brought his fierce, ruddy presence to the 1968 film version of the stage musical drawn from Dickens' "Oliver Twist." The movie, which won a Best Picture Oscar, was directed by his uncle, Sir Carol Reed.
Notorious for his pugilistic, hard-drinking personality, Mr. Reed was not known as a stage actor but appeared in such films as "Women in Love," "Tommy," "The Three Musketeers" (1973), "The Devils" and many others.
-- By Kenneth Jones
