Biography

Peter O'Toole

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Overview

Born
August 2, 1932 · Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK
Died
December 14, 2013 · London, England, UK (stomach cancer)
Birth name
Peter James O'Toole
Height
6′ 2″ (1.88 m)

Mini bio

A leading man of prodigious talents, Peter O'Toole was born and raised in Leeds, Yorkshire, England, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (Ferguson), a Scottish nurse, and Patrick Joseph O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player and racecourse bookmaker. Upon leaving school, he decided to become a journalist, beginning as a newspaper copy boy. Although he succeeded in becoming a reporter, he discovered the theater and made his stage debut at age 17. He served as a radioman in the Royal Navy for two years, then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where his classmates included Albert Finney, Alan Bates and Richard Harris.

O'Toole spent several years on-stage at the Bristol Old Vic, then made an inconspicuous film debut in the Disney classic Kidnapped (1960). In 1962, he was chosen by David Lean to play T.E. Lawrence in Lean's epic drama Lawrence of Arabia (1962). The role made O'Toole an international superstar and received him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In 1963, he played Hamlet under Laurence Olivier's direction in the premiere production of the Royal National Theater. He continued successfully in artistically rich films as well as less artistic but commercially rewarding projects. He received Academy Award nominations (but no Oscar) for seven different films.

However, medical problems (originally thought to have been brought on by his drinking but which turned out to be stomach cancer) threatened to destroy his career and life in the 1970s. He survived by giving up alcohol and, after serious medical treatment, returned to films with triumphant performances in The Stunt Man (1980) and My Favorite Year (1982). His youthful beauty lost to time and drink, O'Toole has found meaningful roles increasingly difficult to come by, though he remained one of the greatest actors of his generation. He had two daughters, Pat and Kate O'Toole, from his marriage to actress Siân Phillips. He also had a son, Lorcan O'Toole, by model Karen Brown.

On December 14, 2013, Peter O'Toole died at age 81 in London, England.
- IMDb mini biography by: Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Family

Spouse
Children
Parents
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Trademarks

Frequently played real life characters
Bold blue eyes
Deep, melodic voice
Often played rebels
Known in his youth for his dark brown curly hair and striking good looks

Trivia

He was nominated eight times for the Academy Award for Best Actor, but never won. He had more nominations without winning than any other actor.
According to his daughter Kate O'Toole, the actor wore green socks every day due to personal superstitions. But in a 1983 interview on David Letterman he explained that his father's superstition required that he not wear any green, which his father had "rather harshly" expressed to him. To disobey his father, he figured that his green socks would go unnoticed, which he took to wearing forever.
When he was named the recipient of a Special Oscar for lifetime achievement in 2003, he originally intended to turn it down, feeling that the lifetime award signaled the end of his career. He wrote the Academy a letter stating that he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright." It was only after the Academy informed him that they were bestowing the award on him whether he came to collect it or not that he relented.
After his death his ashes were brought back to Ireland, where they are held in safe keeping by President Michael D Higgins in his official residence, Áras an Uachtaráin, until he can be laid to rest in the west of Ireland.
He once said his actual date of birth went unrecorded, and that he may have been born in June 1932. However the Leeds City Council register of births, deaths and marriages proved that he was born on 2 August 1932 at St James University Hospital in Leeds.

Quotes

I can't stand light. I hate weather. My idea of heaven is moving from one smoke-filled room to another.
For me, life has either been a wake or a wedding.
[on receiving a lifetime achievement at The 75th Annual Academy Awards (2003)] Always a bridesmaid, never a bride - my foot!
The nicest buttocks in the world are in Ireland. Irish women are always carrying water on their heads, and always carrying their husbands home from pubs. Such things are the greatest posture-builders in the world.
For a young actor it was intimidating. But! You look into the eyes and you see actors know actors. It's like playing jazz. You really have to go there with your trumpet and compete.