From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Peter Finch (28 September 1916 – 14 January 1977) was a British-born Australian actor.  He is best remembered for his role as 'crazed' television anchorman Howard Beale in the film Network, which earned him a posthumous Academy Award for Best Actor, his fifth Best Actor award from the BAFTA, and a Best Actor award from the Golden Globes. He was the first of two people to win a posthumous Academy Award in an acting category; the other was fellow Australian Heath Ledger. Description above from the Wikipedia article Peter Finch,  , licensed under CC-BY-SA,full list of contributors on Wikipedia. ​