Flamboyant director Michael Winner dies

Michael Winner, the highly successful British film director, was a flamboyant, larger-than-life character who could never be accused of being a shrinking violet.

He was a multimillionaire, totally unashamed of his wealth, and a man who revelled in expensive holidays — only too happy to be photographed romping on tropical beaches with bikini-clad ladies less than half his age.

Winner, who died yesterday at the age of 77 after an illness, was a cigar-chomping bon viveur, who occasionally delighted in pricking the pompous with a few acerbic comments. He developed into an argumentative and often infuriating newspaper columnist, as well as an uncompromising restaurant critic for the Sunday Times.