Posted on 07/11/2012 7:45:32 AM PDT by beaversmom
Screen legend Peter O'Toole announced today that he is retiring from acting.
"It's time for me to chuck in the sponge," he said in a statement. "To retire from stage and screen. The heart for it has gone out of me; it won't come back."
O'Toole, who turns 80 on Aug. 2, achieved international stardom and his first Oscar nomination for David Lean's 1962's Academy Award-winning epic "Lawrence of Arabia." O'Toole was 27 when he earned the coveted title role. When he was cast in 1960, The Times quoted a London critic who called the young actor "a blazing new talent."
At the time, O'Toole was known mainly for his work on stage. But producer Sam Spiegel told The Times he wanted a new face for the part of T.E. Lawrence.
O'Toole went on to earn best actor nominations -- but no wins -- for 1964's "Becket," 1968's "The Lion in Winter," 1969's "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," 1972's "The Ruling Class," 1980's "The Stunt Man," 1982's "My Favorite Year" and 2006's "Venus." He earned an honorary Oscar in 2003.
This Tuesday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is presenting the U.S. premiere of the new digital restoration of "Lawrence of Arabia" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
I thought he was dead.
I like the guy, but something about him always seemed a bit creepy. Maybe that was his intent as part of his characters and, if so, he was successful.
Aside from is personal induced problems, he was a great actor.
The Academy gave him a special Academy Award about 10 years ago he thanked America and talked about how much he loved America. I am going to try to find it. One of the best Actorsnof his generation. MY FAVOTITE YEAR is timeless!
Lawrence, Lawrence of Arabia
He was an English guy
He came to fight the Turkish
Too bad. He is one of the greats, even a this age. Curiously he showed up in two movies I saw this year. One was in clips of “Lawrence of Arabia” (his breakout film) shown in Prometheus. The other, maybe his last? role, as a priest in the remarkable, and under appreciated film, “For Greater Glory.”
I’ve always admired Peter O’Toole as an actor. He’s in a category, in my mind, that contains NONE of today’s Hollywood types. None. ‘Becket’ and ‘The Lion in Winter’ are two of my favorite films. Two that I never miss whenever they’re on the tube and that I pop in the DVD Player at least twice a year.
I remember that. He was very gracious.
A great actor from a great generation of actors.
“The Lion in Winter” an incredible, physically demanding performance, with what must have been Anthony Hopkins first screen role. Every scene, has O’Toole forcefully delivering lines like a roaring old lion for upwards of 20 minutes without interruption. Great lungs for a chain smoker!
Auda abu Tayi: [to Lawrence] I carry twenty-three great wounds, all got in battle. Seventy-five men have I killed with my own hands in battle. I scatter, I burn my enemies’ tents. I take away their flocks and herds. The Turks pay me a golden treasure, yet I am poor! Because *I* am a river to my people!
LoA was my Dad’s all-time favorite movie.
I really enjoyed ‘The Night of the Generals’ (1967).
All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.
...one of the best cast films including Kate Hepburn, and a much younger Anthony Hopkins and Timothy Dalton.
I watched “My Favorite year” on Sunday. O’Toole was fantastic in that movie: “I’m not an actor! I’m a movie star!”
“My Favorite year” was a fictionalized account of a young Mel Brooks when he was a junior writer on “Your Show of Shows” with Sid Caesar. He lobbied to keep Errol Flynn on a live episode even though Flynn was chronically drunk and womanizing. Sid assigned Mel to babysit Errol Flynn through the week of rehearsals and to get him on the stage on time for the live airing.
Here is his filmography:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000564/
His first role was on TV in the 1956 production of “The Scarlet Pimpernel”, as ‘The First Soldier’.
His last role was as Symeon, in Mary Mother of Christ (2013, in pre-production).
“Under the reign of terror of Herod the Great and against all odds, Mary and Joseph survive as young parents in one of the most treacherous times in history. From Mary’s youth to her struggles as a young mother caring for her child, Jesus, up to the age of four years old. We will peer into Mary’s life at ages 8, 15, 19 and 27.”
About O’Toole’s role as Simeon:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_%28Gospel_of_Luke%29
Wish I had known. One of my favorites of O’Toole’s.
All good things do,sadly, come to an end.
The sadness is that he has lost his heart for it. On the other hand, he might just be acting.
He is an astoundingly versatile actor - who has been at the top of his profession for over fifty years and could probably do another fifty without stopping to catch a breath.
Given the nature of the business, that is a phenomenal accomplishment.
My favorite O’Toole role is in the little seen and underappreciated MURPHY’S WAR. Skinny Irishman versus a Nazi submarine. Don’t pi$$ off the Irish!
I remember him from Masada, and ABC miniseries that ran in the early 80s. He was one of the Romans. I really don’t remember much from the series/movie, as I was about 15 at the time. Haven’t seen it since. But I just remember him from the series, thinking this guy is awesome.
The other match scene—one of the best in cinematic history IMO:
The Most Famous of Edits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypul7nPcMII
I was probably the only teen, or one of the very few, that had the Masada soundtrack:
Masada - Jerry Goldsmith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6U3S9AwbTI
Thanks for the interesting trivia.
Wow, it looks like someone has posted the whole Masada mini-series on You Tube. Here’s Part 1 of 4:
Masada 1 of 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T5sqKzSAO8&;
Aahh, a Hollywood Knights reference. Well played, Sir. Well played.
Just saw him the other day in My Favorite Year. Fantastic film.
Mark
Darn! One of my favorite actors. I think “Lion in Winter” was his film apogee. I also love him in lesser roles... always entertaining. You’ll have to see “My Favorite Year! I believe we put it on the list. Oh, and there are few late-night talk show guest more entertaining. He tells the most hilarious stories, and his love of life fills the theater. There are a lot of these appearances on YouTube.
Come on Peter. Have a few drinks, grab a pole and head for Holland.
I’ve seen some of those on You Tube. He’s been on David Letterman several times.
Sorry to hear he is retiring. I’ve enjoyed his acting over the years. Enjoy the rest of the time you have Mr. O’Toole.
I loved “High Spirits” too! A very funny movie.
I too found this a surprisingly touching movie when I saw it decades ago. A tragi-comedy. Although O'Toole's "Alan Swann" was unmistakenly Errol Flynn, it was also had sad auto-biographical overtones due to his own abuse of alcohol which had clearly taken its toll on O'Toole.
PING
LOL!
"Hey Newbomb, where's your brother's El Camino?"
O’Toole has created an amazing body of work but “Murphy’s War” was the first film to come to my mind while reading this thread. I don’t think any other actor could have brought the intensity and determination to the role that he did. Absolutely nothing was going to stop him from sinking that submarine! Great film.
Looks like an uncut version of “Masada” is available on Netflix.
As for Peter ... what can I say? One of the greats. It’s a shame he feels like retiring, but OTOH, people in other professions get to retire when they’re old and done in, so why not rich actors as well?
Ah, seems like IMDB does not like its pictures posted elsewhere - the pic was there in the preview and in the thread just after I posted.
Anyway, what I was recommending was Rogue Male (1977). IMDB.com has the details.
I sometimes get the feeling that a lot of his stories were made-up or dressed-up; but he told them with relish and such a twinkle in his eye, that I didn’t care. I remember, way back, decades ago, thinking he’d soon be dead, what with his horrendous drinking and turbulent lifestyle. He was way up there in the betting pools. But he pulled it together and still managed to come across as a charming rogue and a wonderfully entertaining actor and bon vivant. Sorry to hear he’s retiring. I thank him and wish him well.
Yes, postman, it might be a TRICK! Let us hope.
Looks like Alan Ladd stretched vertically.
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