Just a few weeks shy of 2014 and we have lost another famous actor. This time, the person who has passed was not only a Hollywood icon but one of the greatest thespians in cinema history. Peter O'Toole, best known for his title role in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, has died at the age of 81.
O'Toole was nominated for eight Academy Awards over the course of forty years beginning with LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in 1962 through a nomination for VENUS in 2006. Despite never winning the prize, O'Toole made an indelible mark on movies such as BECKET, GOODBYE MR. CHIPS, THE LION IN WINTER, THE STUNT MAN, MAN OF LA MANCHA, MY FAVORITE YEAR, and THE LAST EMPEROR. He also appeared in recent years in the films TROY, STARDUST and provided the voice of Anton Ego in Pixar's RATATOUILLE. On the less acclaimed side of his career, he also brought a semblance of class to the movies KING RALPH and SUPERGIRL.
Despite retiring from acting in 2012 due to illness, Peter O'Toole remained a vibrant figure from a bygone era of acting. He was pure class and accepted an honorary Oscar in 2003 from Meryl Streep to which his response was “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride my foot! I have my very own Oscar now to be with me ’til death do us part.”
Peter O'Toole did win other awards including BAFTA, Golden Globes, and Emmys, but the man who was the most nominated person to never win an Oscar will go down in the eternity of movies as one of the best. He will be missed.
