Earl Cameron, one of the first black actors to forge a successful career in British film and television, has died aged 102, his family has confirmed.

Mr Cameron is a well known to many Solomon Islanders, having stayed in the Solomon Islands for at least 15 years from the 1980s, where he sought to teach principles of human oneness under the Bahá'í faith. He also operated the famous Mr. B-Kool ice cream tuck shop at the central market and the NPF plaza.

The Camerons left the Solomon Islands in 1994, just before the death of his first wife, Audrey, from breast cancer.

A dedicated member of the Bahá'í faith since 1963, Bermudan-born Mr Cameron who lived in Kenilworth, Warwickshire, made his screen debut in the drama, Pool of London, in which he played a Jamaican sailor on shore leave who befriends a white girl. This was the first British film to show, however tentatively, a mixed-race relationship.

Mr Cameron's most famous screen roles were in two films that confronted racism in Britain - Sapphire (1959) and Flame in the Streets (1961). He also became a familiar face on television in such cult favourites as Danger Man, Doctor Who and The Prisoner.

In his 80s, he co-starred as a despotic African dictator in The Interpreter, with Nicole Kidman and Sean Penn. Most recently, he had a cameo role in The Queen with Helen Mirren.

Cameron was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 New Year Honours.

Cameron died in his sleep last Friday.

With BBC News