In the days before digital television, videos and DVDs, Douglas Matthews was a star.

The actor graced the London stage alongside names like Vivien Leigh, Sir Alec Guinness, Sir Michael Redgrave and Dame Edith Evans.

And when television was in its infancy, he was part of a ground-breaking series which beamed London stage productions into the homes of those lucky enough to have a TV set.

He also starred alongside Viennese singer and dancer Tilly Losch, who scandalised society with her marriage to - and divorce from - wealthy Sussex landowner Edward James, rumoured to have been the son of Edward VII.

Later in his career, he worked with leading ladies like Susannah York.

Mr Matthews, who lived at The Pembroke Hotel, Third Avenue, Hove, died in August 1999.

In his will, published this week, he left an estate valued at £1,283,624.

Most of his money will be divided among charities, including his old school, Brighton College.

But £20,000 and his most treasured belongings - theatre memorabilia including books, plays, scripts and photographs - go to his sister Elsie Matthews, 90, of Fourth Avenue, Hove.

She said: "Douglas was a talented actor. We had some wonderful times before the war, especially at the Theatre Royal. I miss him terribly."

Mr Matthews studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1933-35 and was awarded the prestigious Bankroft gold medal. Other recipients have included Lord Attenborough, Alan Rickman and Richard Briers.

In 1938 he appeared in Thank You Mr Pepys at the Shaftesbury Theatre, playing James, Duke of York.

The production was televised by BBC drama in its Theatre Parade series. But the pioneering TV days were cut short by the war.

Mr Matthews, formerly of Malvern, Worcestershire, married late in life.

His wife Dodo, who was considerably younger than him, died suddenly, leaving him heartbroken.

He also left shares in his estate to The Distressed Gentlefolks' Aid Association; the Institute of Cancer Research; the NSPCC; the RSPCA; the Royal National Institute for the Blind; the Royal National Institute for the Deaf; the Arthritis and Rheumatism Council; the RNLI; the Salvation Army; and the British Heart Foundation.