One of our greatest actors and one of the most entertaining of men has passed away.
From The London Daily Mail, Peter Lloyd reporting, we learn:
The film industry is in mourning after legendary film actor Peter O’Toole died at the age of 81.
O’Toole’s agent Steve Kenis confirmed the Lawrence Of Arabia star’s death, saying he died on Saturday at the Wellington hospital in London after a long illness.
He is survived by two daughters – Kate and Patricia – and a son, Lorcan Patrick O’Toole.
…
The news comes just one year after he formally retired from acting on the eve of his 80th birthday.
Speaking in a statement at the time, he said that his career on stage and screen fulfilled him emotionally and financially, bringing ‘me together with fine people, good companions with whom I’ve shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits.’
‘However, it’s my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one’s stay,’ he said. ‘So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell.’
My favorite performance of Mr. O’Toole’s was as Henry II in The Lion In Winter. I first saw the film in the very early 1980′s and had a grand time watching him as one of England’s most brilliant and ruthless of Kings. His performance sparked my interest in the Angevin monarch, one that has stayed with me until this day. Here is one of his best scenes from the movie:
As I mentioned above, Peter O’Toole was also the kind of person you wanted to be around, as these three snippets, I believe, prove [tip of the fedora to Jake Tapper]:
Part II of that interview:
A different interview:
Marvelous…’we bought the bar’.
Requiescat in pace.
