Simon Channing-Williams dead at 64

LONDON, April 14 (UPI) -- British film producer Simon Channing-Williams has died of cancer at the age of 64, the BBC said.

His movies included "The Constant Gardener," as well as several collaborations with director Mike Leigh, such as "Happy Go Lucky," "Secrets and Lies," "Vera Drake," "Naked" and "Topsy Turvy."

"He battled cancer very bravely for nearly five years," Leigh told the BBC. "His great phrase was, 'Let's just get on with things' and right almost to the last he was still working. He was a very extraordinary big man and he will be missed universally."

Channing-Williams was also a trustee for The Constant Gardener Trust, a charity created to improve sanitation and education in communities in Kenya that the makers of the film came to know during production, the BBC said.

Channing-Williams is survived by his wife Annie.