Posted on 08/02/2012 6:29:05 PM PDT by beaversmom
Acting legend Peter O'Toole is 80 years old! The thesp with the piercing eyes scooped a whopping eight Oscar nominations during a glittering career for the likes of 'Lawrence Of Arabia, ' The Lion In Winter' and 'Venus'.
He was also awarded a lifetime achievement Academy Award in 2003 (he initially turned it down, famously saying "I want to win the lovely bugger outright"). He's now retired, but his CV is remarkable. O'Toole is not just renowned for his monumental acting talent though. He's also infamous for his hellraising antics, along with fellow luvvies Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter Finch and Oliver Reed. Before ill health forced him to cut down on his drinking, the actor's boozy shenanigans were legendary.
Here's some of the best Peter O'Toole stories we could find… most are true, a few could be urban legends.
While filming 'Lawrence Of Arabia', O'Toole organised a date for Omar Sharif with "sex-swap pioneer" April Ashley. When Sharif found out that, um, all was not as it appeared, he chased O'Toole around the house with a meat cleaver.
Famously, O'Toole once went out for a drink in Paris… and woke up in Corsica. He's confirmed this actually happened.
He also loved climbing. His party piece was drunkenly scrambling up the wall of Lloyd's Bank in Covent Garden. He used to scale it in his "Sunday shoes".
Richard Burton and O'Toole both said they were drunk throughout most of the shooting of 'Becket'. The pair were still awarded Oscar nominations.
While shooting 'The Lion In Winter', O'Toole cut off the top of his finger in a boating accident. He popped the finger in some brandy he was drinking, before pushing it back into place and wrapping with a bandage. Three weeks later he took the bandage off, and found he'd...
(Excerpt) Read more at uk.movies.yahoo.com ...
LOL! Groucho would approve, I'm sure.
Happy Birthday to one of the all-time greats.
And no snarky comments about drinking, late hours, carousing, health, and longevity; superior genes inevitably will show.
Yep, drinking and smoking got Christopher Hitchens at a much younger age. Some people get all the luck—must be the Irish in him.
Ah, ok, thanks.
did not know that
Why is all the writing backwards in that movie?
Well, now that I’m thinking about it...there were a couple of times in my crazy twenties when horsing around on motorcycles and 3 wheelers I wiped out and knocked myself out cold. I woke up then wondering where I was.
Thank you for your talent, Peter, Rest in Peace.
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