Peter O'Toole 1932-2013

Peter O’ Toole, one of the most revered and iconic actors of both the stage and screen, died at age of 81 at his home in London on Saturday. In a career that has spanned over 5 decades and earned him 8 Academy Award nominations, O’Toole started off as a classically trained actor at the Royal Academy of the Dramatic Arts (RADA) before making his film debut as T.E. Lawrence, the flamboyant British officer who led the Arab rebellion against the Turks during World War I, in David Lean’s 1962 classic “Lawrence of Arabia.”  When asked about O’Toole’s portrayal as Lawrence, Noel Coward famously said, “If he were any prettier, he would have been called Florence of Arabia.”           
                                                                                   
Not only did O’Toole make a name for himself channeling characters from Shakespeare, Chekov, and Beckett on stage in London’s West End or on Broadway, but was an infamous hellraiser whenever there was alcohol in the room. During the later stages of his life, he would go on talk shows and conger up anecdotes about sitting at the pub with fellow hellraising actors like Richard Burton, Richard Harris, and Michael Caine. O’Toole chronicled his life on and off stage in his two volume memoir, “Loitering With Intent.” His excess didn’t deter him from playing a bevy of eccentric characters, from a paranoid schizophrenic aristocrat who believes he is God in The Ruling Class to drunken movie star Alan Swann in My Favorite Year.                                  
                                                                                                                                             
Despite a dry spell of acting opportunities in the Eighties and Nineties, O’Toole received rave reviews in London for his one-man show, “Jeffery Bernard is Unwell” and received the Academy Award’s Lifetime Achievement Oscar in 2003. In 2007, he earned his eighth Oscar nomination as an aging actor infatuated with a twenty something woman in Venus and provided the voice of food critic Anton Ego in Disney’s Ratatouille. He is survived by his ex-wife, actress Sian Phillips, and his two children, Kate and Lorcan.                        
                                                                                                                                  When asked about his acting technique, O’Toole said, “Any good actor will tell you that the common denominator is private study for months, if necessary, so every nuance, every phrase is considered and thought out well in advance.” Those piercing blue eyes and charming expressions have made their place in film history as much as the brooding of Marlon Brando or the bravado of Jack Nicholson. Peter O’ Toole was not just an actor, he was a legend and his career will not be forgotten since legends never die.