Actor and magician Alex passes away

Actor Alex, who was also a popular magician, died at a private hospital in Chennai following a brief illness. He was 52. He was survived by his wife and two daughters. The funeral rights will be performed tomorrow at his hometown Trichy.

Alex, who made his debut with 'Valli', had acted in 100 films and had 25 more on hand. He won the Best Character Actor Award from Tamil Nadu government for his performance in the film 'Kovilpatti Veeralakshmi', which has actress Simran in the lead.

He was well-known as a magician before he entered movie world, according to sources close to the family. The State government had also conferred the coveted 'Kalaimamani' award on the magician-actor. Alex had also worked as an office-bearer of the South Indian Film Artistes' Association. He had etched his name in the Guinness Book of World Record as well as the Limca Book of Records for performing magic non-stop for 24 hours.