MADRID: British film director Guy Hamilton, who directed four hugely popular James Bond films and raised the profile of the Bond movie brand through his work with actors Sean Connery and Roger Moore, has died in a hospital on the Spanish island of Mallorca. He was 93.

Hamilton, who lived on Mallorca, died at the Hospital Juaneda Miramar in the city of Palma de Mallorca on April 20, the hospital said in an emailed statement on April 21 to The Associated Press. The hospital declined to comment on the cause of death or how long he had been hospitalised, citing patient confidentiality rules.

Hamilton, directed Bond blockbusters Goldfinger, Diamonds Are Forever, Live And Let Die and The Man With The Golden Gun.

Moore tweeted he was “incredibly, incredibly saddened to hear the wonderful director Guy Hamilton has gone to the great cutting room in the sky”.

Hamilton was born in Paris, France on September 16, 1922, to British parents. He worked for the Paramount News newsreel company in England during World War II before serving in the Navy. He got his big break in 1948 when legendary British director Carol Reed hired him as first assistant director for The Fallen Idol, a thriller told from the perspective of a nine-year-old boy.

Hamilton directed 22 films in total and was married twice, to actresses Naomi Chance and Kerima, the stage name of Miriam Charriere.