I Can Only Speak Ill of Sir Peter (Ustinov)

The Telegraph ^ | April 4, 2004 | Stephen Pollard

[quidnunc]

I realise that it is bad form to speak ill of the dead, but really! The praise heaped on Sir Peter Ustinov since his death last week has been stomach-churning. He may well have had a gift for anecdote and he was a perfectly adequate actor; but his politics were so vile, and his judgment so warped, that it beggars belief that his death should have been met with praise such as "great humanitarian", "selfless" and "visionary".

Except, of course, that it doesn't beggar belief at all. Ustinov was representative of, and admired by, a loathsome strand of thinking that infects the British establishment, which holds that if a man is clubbable and witty, he is a "good chap". And, even better, if he is a man of affairs: then he is a "very good chap". It doesn't matter what he thinks.

I have tried to fathom how else a man with Ustinov's record of excusing tyrants and defending tyranny could have been so eulogised. The butchers of Tiananmen Square, Stalin, Milosevic, bin Laden, Saddam: he defended or gave succour to the lot.

Among his many accolades, Sir Peter was chancellor of Durham University. In an address to the university in 2000, he made clear that, as far as he was concerned, Chinese dissidents are not real human beings: "People are annoyed with the Chinese for not respecting more human rights. But with a population that size it's very difficult to have the same attitude to human rights." So it is fine to kill them or let them rot in prison. We really should be more understanding of the Chinese government.

-snip-

[Viking2002]

I never realized what a pig this man was.

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[keithtoo]

Oh yeah. He was one of the premier Lefty bootlickers. He picked up where G.B. Shaw left off.

[Kirkwood]

Neither did I.

[eddie willers]

Neither did I.
Wish I hadn't opened this thread. :-(

[quidnunc]

Ustinov was also president of the World Federalist Movement which advocated one-world government.

[clintonh8r]

Yeah, I was hoping the writer was going to trash Ustinov for being a conservative, right-winger or even an eccentric monarchist. That would have made me like him even more, but it turns out he was an enthusiast of totalitarianism. Sheesh....

[catonsville]

He was an unrepentant Stalinist. I was stunned that none of the obituaries, even the one in The Washington times mentioned his wretched politics.
He hated America, but not enough to refuse to take our money for his performances

[eddie willers]

I hate it when my icons show such idiocy.

"Lou Grant" is a commie?......Aaarrrggghhh!

[Houmatt]

I never realized what a pig this man was.

Who? Peter Ustinov or Stephen Pollard?

Personally, I think it is the latter because I do not recall the former ever making a public issue of his personal politics (but then again, I do not live in Europe).

We are not talking about Attila the frickin' Hun, here. Let the man rest in peace and be remembered for his acting.

Sheesh!

[yankeedame]

Wish I hadn't opened this thread. :-(

(sigh) Likewise...

[Monty22]

So when will Ed Asner die too..

[Lancey Howard]

Bump!

[sidewalk]

They didn't call him "P.U." for nothing.

[Viking2002]

Rest in peace? He can roast in Hell.

[quidnunc]

Houmatt wrote: (I never realized what a pig this man was.) Who? Peter Ustinov or Stephen Pollard? Personally, I think it is the latter because I do not recall the former ever making a public issue of his personal politics (but then again, I do not live in Europe).

Ustinov did talk about his politics, but he wasn't a loud-mouthed publicity hound like some of the Hollywood doofuses.

[KangarooJacqui]

I'm sorry, I never knew. Thankyou for opening my eyes.

Given my relatively young age, he's not that much of a loss (on any terms) to me anyway. And if that sounds callous, then so be it.