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Peter O'Toole, the Irish-born movie star whose life offscreen was almost as famous (or infamous) as his roles onscreen, has died, it was announced today. He originally planned to be a journalist when he was bitten by the acting bug and took to the stage, where he began to distinguish himself and was awarded supporting parts in film until his big break as Lawrence of Arabia in the David Lean epic of the same name. He was a sensation, and nominated for the first time at the Oscars, to be followed by seven more nominations which he never won; he was given an honorary statuette in 2003.
His penchant for hard drinking and outrageous behaviour made him a great personality, especially on chat shows where his gift for a finely told anecdote was always welcome, but his decisions to take chances in films which you could not imagine anyone else starring in was what made him one of the best-loved cult stars as well as a legitimate movie megastar. Those films included Becket (with best friend Richard Burton) with one of many historical figures he portrayed, comedy What's New Pussycat?, How to Steal a Million, Night of the Generals, The Lion in Winter (with his favourite leading lady Katharine Hepburn), Murphy's War and The Ruling Class, whereupon his career took a downturn thanks to health issues, though he continued working.
By the point he was in the hardcore porn-afflicted Caligula, many had given up on O'Toole, but then he made a comeback with two more Oscar-nominated roles, both in cult classics: as the egomaniac director in The Stunt Man, and the Errol Flynn inspired, swashbuckling movie star in My Favourite Year. After that he continued to have ups and downs in such movies as Supergirl, Creator, The Last Emperor, High Spirits, Jodorowsky's The Rainbow Thief, Rebecca's Daughters, Fairy Tale: A True Story, Phantoms, Troy, Lassie, Venus (with another Oscar nom), Ratatouille (as the critic), Stardust and Dean Spanley. One of a kind, he retired last year and cinema will not be the same without him. |
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