CHATEAU D'OEX, Switzerland -- David Niven was buried Tuesday in a private ceremony at a tiny church graveyard while Yehudi Menuhin played the violin and Prince Rainier of Monaco comforted the British actor's widow.
Peter Ustinov, Audrey Hepburn and Capucine -- Niven's co-star in the original Pink Panther movie -- were among the star's 150 closest friends and neighbors who gathered at the Church of St Peter in the mountains of western Switzerland.
Niven was 73 when he died at his alpine chalet Friday of amyotrophic lateral s:lerosis, a debilitating disease of the central nervous system commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Menuhin, who was a good friend of Niven, played with seven of his students a moving andante from Mendelsohn's string octet in a final tribute and saluted him as 'an incredibly courageous man who was a talented artist and author.
'He showed incredible courage during the two years of his illness and was always in good spirits and thinking of others rather than himself,' said Menuhin who has a home and music school in the nearby ski resort of Gstaad.
Prince Rainier supported Niven's Swedish widow, Hjordis, who was in tears and close to collapse as the coffin was lowered into the church's small graveyard under a cloudy sky. Only family and close friends were invited.
Niven had starred in movies with the late Princess Grace of Monaco and became a close friend of the family when the former Grace Kelly married Rainier.
British actor Roger Moore visited Niven's widow, a former top model, his two sons from an earlier marriage and two adopted daughters, during the weekend but did not attend the funeral because of filming commitments.
The road between the church and the cemetery was lined by silent villagers and tourists.
Niven's Scottish pastor friend Arnot Morrison conducted the funeral service. The British ambassador to Switzerland, John Powell-Jones, represented the British government at the funeral.
Niven's son David said money from his father's estate would go toward finding a cure for the rare disease that killed him.
A family friend said memorial services were planned in Hollywood and London later this year as a public tribute to the British 'gentleman of films' who appeared in almost 100 motion pictures and wrote several books.
'That is when the rest of the world can pay tribute to him,' the friend said.
