'Lawrence of Arabia' star Peter O'Toole, magnificent Irish actor, dead at 81

CHARLOTTE OBSERVER
By GREGORY KATZ
Associated Press
Posted: Sunday, Dec. 15, 2013

"If you can't do something willingly and joyfully, then don't do it," he once said. "If you give up drinking, don't go moaning about it; go back on the bottle. Do. As. Thou. Wilt."

LONDON Known on the one hand for his starring role in "Lawrence of Arabia," leading tribesmen in daring attacks across the desert wastes, and on the other for his headlong charges into drunken debauchery, Peter O'Toole was one of the most magnetic, charismatic and fun figures in British acting.

O'Toole, who died Saturday at age 81 at the private Wellington Hospital in London after a long bout of illness, was nominated a record eight times for an Academy Award without taking home a single statue.

He was fearsomely handsome, with burning blue eyes and a penchant for hard living which long outlived his decision to give up alcohol. Broadcaster Michael Parkinson told Sky News television it was hard to be too sad about his passing.

"Peter didn't leave much of life unlived, did he?" he said.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2013/12/15/4547056/peter-otoole-through-the-years.html

Peter O'Toole and Orson Welles discuss Hamlet...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97R83-KMhhc

Mekanik destruktiw chinera

Robert Pattinson to play Lawrence of Arabia (THE INDEPENDENT)

Robert Pattinson is to follow in the footsteps of great British actor Peter O'Toole, by playing Lawrence Of Arabia.

The young heart-throb - currently nursing a broken heart after his break-up from Twilight co-star Kristen Stewart - will star as British army officer TE Lawrence in Werner Herzog's new film, Queen Of The Desert, opposite Naomi Watts, Variety reports.

Watts will play Gertrude Bell in the film, which will focus on the English writer's life.

Bell, one of the first female graduates from Oxford University, travelled through the Middle East, working as an archaeologist, explorer, cartographer and political officer for the British Empire, defining the borders of Iraq, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.


READ MORE:  http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/news/robert-pattinson-to-play-lawrence-of-arabia-8049876.html

Peter O'Toole to retire from stage, screen (REUTERS)

Actor Peter O' Toole was awarded an honorary Oscar for lifetime acheivement during the 75th Annual Academy Awards at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, March 23, 2003. OSCARSPLUS REUTERS/Lucy Nichols REUTERS BS/AS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Veteran British actor Peter O'Toole, praised for esteemed roles in classic films such as "Lawrence of Arabia," announced on Tuesday he is retiring from acting in films and stage.

"It is time for me to chuck in the sponge. To retire from films and stage. The heart for it has gone out of me: it won't come back," O'Toole, who is 79 and lives in London, said in a statement released by New York publicist Bill Augustin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsojL-MhZB8&feature=related

((PETER O'TOOLE and KATHERINE HEPBURN IN THE LION IN WINTER - JUST TO REMEMBER FOR A MOMENT WHAT REALLY GREAT ACTING IS LIKE WITHOUT COMIC BOOKS AND COMPUTER TRICKS - Karen))

O'Toole said that his career, which has included eight Academy Award nominations without a win, "has brought me public support, emotional fulfillment and material comfort. It has brought me together with fine people, good companions with whom I've shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits."

"However," he added. "It's my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one's stay."

Early in his career, O'Toole made waves on stage in several key Shakespearean roles, including an acclaimed turn as "Hamlet," before gaining fame in films such as "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," "The Ruling Class", "The Stunt Man" and "My Favorite Year."

READ MORE: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/48137859

The Magnificent Peter O’Toole Takes Center Stage In New TCM Special, Premiering April 1 & Live From Classic Film Festival (WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS)

Posted by Michelle McCue
 in General TCM Classic Film Festival

As a prelude to the opening of the 2012 TCM Classic Film Festival, Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will air a special on-air tribute to eight-time Oscar® nominee and honorary Academy Award® recipient Peter O’Toole, who took center stage at last year’s festival.

OnWednesday, April 11, TCM will premiere Peter O’Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival, a one-hour special taped at the 2011 festival in which TCM host Robert Osborne interviews the legendary actor in front of an audience of festival attendees.

Peter O’Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival is set to premiere at 8 p.m. (ET). The special will be followed by three O’Toole classics.

The following is the complete schedule for the evening (all times Eastern):

8 p.m. – Peter O’Toole: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival(2012) – Premiere
9 p.m. – The Lion in Winter (1968)
11:30 p.m. – Peter O’Toole: Live from the TCM Film Festival (2012) – Encore
12:30 a.m. – Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
4:30 a.m. – The Day They Robbed The Bank of England (1960)

“We all have our favorite actors, and when people ask me about mine, one name I always mention is Peter O’Toole,” Osborne says in his introduction to the special.

“He’s not only a favorite actor but a great actor.”


READ MORE OF WE ARE MOVIE GEEKS:  http://wearemoviegeeks.com/2012/03/peter-otoole-takes-center-stage-in-new-tcm-special-premiering-april-1-live-from-classic-film-festival/