Legendary Actor Peter O’Toole of Arabia Dies at Age 81 … Rest in Peace

How did Peter O’Toole never win an Oscar for best actor?

Peter O’Toole, the legendary actor who appeared in such classic movies like, Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion of Winter, My Favorite Year, The Stunt Man and so many more has died at the age of  81. They just don’t make them like this any more and sadly we are losing them far too often these days. Peter O’Toole received eight Academy awards nominations for best actor, but he never won. However, he did receive a ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award in 2003 for his brilliant acting work throughout his career.  My favorite role of O’Toole’s is still Lawrence of Arabia, rest in peace.

The actor Peter O’Toole who found stardom in David Lean’s masterpiece Lawrence of Arabia, has died aged 81, his family has announced.

The acclaimed leading man who overcame stomach cancer in the 1970s passed away at the Wellington hospital in London following a long illness.

His daughter Kate O’Toole said: “His family are very appreciative and completely overwhelmed by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed towards him, and to us, during this unhappy time. Thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts.”

O’Toole announced last year he was stopping acting saying: “I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell.”

VIDEO – CNN

The UK Telegraph provides us with Peter O’Toole’s top 10 films.

Peter O’Toole Bio:

He was born Peter Seamus O’Toole in Ireland in 1933. His father, known as “the Captain,” lived the itinerant life of a racetrack bookie and settled in Leeds, England, where the young Peter grew up avoiding school and its attendant nuns as much as possible. An early, abortive career in journalism led to the Navy, which led to nothing much, and in 1952, O’Toole found himself stranded in Stratford with 30 shillings to his name. He spent the money on a theater ticket; the play was King Lear and the star Sir Michael Redgrave. O’Toole immediately knew what he wanted to do with his life.

The next day he hitchhiked to London and charmed his way into the Royal Academy, scholarship and all. After seven years of the itinerant players’ life, O’Toole caught the critics’ notice in Hamlet and scored a triumph in the anti-war play The Long and the Short and the Tall. The film offers poured in.

O’Toole was part of the 1954 graduating class of London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art along with Richard Burton, Albert Finney, and Alan Bates. After a supernova first decade — a 10-year run from 1958 to 1968 that included two stage Hamlets, two filmed Henry IIs, and an incandescent, career-defining title role in David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia — O’Toole let the momentum slip. The 1970s were a blur of bombs and bad health; the comeback in the early 1980s was gratifying but never fully took hold.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962) Original Theatrical Trailer