An actor of indelible presence on stage and screen, Peter O’Toole was almost equally known for his drinking and hard living.
Mr. O’Toole, who died Saturday at age 81, starred in dozens of Hollywood films and had a parallel career on the British stage. He was nominated for eight Academy Awards, the first in 1963 for the film that made him a star, “Lawrence of Arabia.”
In David Lean’s genre-defining epic, Mr. O’Toole established the image that would thrill generations of moviegoers: tall, blond and dashing, with something haunted behind his pale-blue eyes.
Playwright Noel Coward once said that if Mr. O’Toole had been any prettier, they would have had to call the movie “Florence of Arabia.”
He went on to cut an impressive figure in more 1960s films: “Becket,” “Lord Jim” and “The Lion in Winter,” where he played Henry II opposite Katharine Hepburn as Eleanor of Aquitaine.
“He was a giant of his profession,” said Mr. O’Toole’s agent, Steve Kenis.
Mr. O’Toole partied with stage veterans like Richard Harris and Richard Burton, leaving a trail of boozy mayhem in 1960s London.
By 1973 he had received five best-actor nominations, but his career seemed to flag as carousing began to catch up with him when he suffered a near-fatal hemorrhage.
He gave up drinking, and he returned with strong performances in the notorious “Caligula” (1979) and “The Stunt Man” (1980), which provided him yet another Oscar nomination. But by then his good looks had begun to fade, his face becoming sunken and craggy in his later years as leading roles became few and far between.
“Peter took his craft extremely seriously; the size of the role didn’t matter,” said Mr. Kenis.
He didn’t win an Oscar until the Academy finally gave him an honorary award in 2003, the citation noting that his “remarkable talents have provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters.” His acceptance speech was nearly as memorable: “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, my foot.”
Seamus Peter O’Toole was raised in Leeds, England, the son of an Irish bookie. He served in the British Navy and worked briefly as a reporter before turning to acting.
A scholarship student at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, Mr. O’Toole won critical acclaim as Hamlet at the Bristol Old Vic.
He continued to make stage appearances in Britain, often in plays by George Bernard Shaw. He appeared on Broadway in a 1987 revival of “Pygmalion.”
In recent years, he played a pope in the Showtime drama “The Tudors,” and also took a voice role as a jaded food critic in the animated movie “Ratatouille.” He received a final Oscar nomination for “Venus” (2006).
“It is time for me to chuck in the sponge,” he said in 2012, announcing his retirement. “The heart for it has gone out of me.”
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,” said Ms. O’Toole in a brief statement.
Irish President Michael D. Higgins said Mr. O’Toole was “unsurpassed for the grace he brought every performance on and off the stage.”
Broadcaster Michael Parkinson told Sky News television it was hard to be too sad about the news of his death. “Peter didn’t leave much of life unlived, did he?” he said, chuckling, according to the Associated Press. “If you can’t do something willingly and joyfully, then don’t do it,” Mr. O’Toole once said. “If you give up drinking, don’t go moaning about it; go back on the bottle. Do. As. Thou. Wilt.”
–Email remembrances@wsj.com
Write to Stephen Miller at stephen.miller@wsj.com and Alexis Flynn at alexis.flynn@wsj.com
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