Peter O'Toole was born on 2 August 1932, the son of Constance Jane Eliot (née Ferguson), a Scottish nurse,[4] and Patrick Joseph "Spats" O'Toole, an Irish metal plater, football player, andbookmaker.[5][6][7][8] O'Toole claimed he was not certain of his birthplace or date, stating in his autobiography that he accepted 2 August as his birth date but had birth certificates from England and Ireland. The birth certificate recorded at the Leeds General Register Office says he was born atSt James's University Hospital inLeeds, Yorkshire, England, on 2 August 1932, and named Peter James O'Toole.[1] He later affected the Irish equivalent "Seamus" as his middle name.
O'Toole had an elder sister named Patricia and grew up in the south Leeds suburb ofHunslet. When he was one year old, his family began a five-year tour of major racecourse towns in Northern England. He and his sister were brought up in their father's Catholic faith.[9] O'Toole wasevacuated from Leeds early in the Second World War,[10] and went to a Catholic school for seven or eight years: St Joseph's Secondary School in Hunslet, Leeds.[11] He later said, "I used to be scared stiff of the nuns: their whole denial of womanhood—the black dresses and the shaving of the hair—was so horrible, so terrifying. [...] Of course, that's all been stopped. They're sipping gin and tonic in theDublin pubs now, and a couple of them flashed their pretty ankles at me just the other day."[12]
Upon leaving school, O'Toole obtained employment as a trainee journalist and photographer on theYorkshire Evening Post,[13] until he was called up fornational service as asignaller in theRoyal Navy.[14] As reported in a radio interview in 2006 onNPR, he was asked by an officer whether he had something he had always wanted to do. His reply was that he had always wanted to try being either a poet or an actor.[15]
He attended theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London from 1952 to 1954 on a scholarship. This came after being rejected by theAbbey Theatre's drama school in Dublin by the directorErnest Blythe, because he could not speak theIrish language.[16] At RADA, he was in the same class asAlbert Finney,Alan Bates andBrian Bedford.[17] O'Toole described this as "the most remarkable class the academy ever had, though we weren't reckoned for much at the time. We were all considereddotty."[18]
O'Toole continued to appear on television, being in episodes ofArmchair Theatre ("The Pier", 1957), andBBC Sunday-Night Theatre ("The Laughing Woman", 1958) and was in the TV adaptation ofThe Castiglioni Brothers (1958). He made his London debut in a musical,Oh, My Papa.[21] He gained fame on theWest End in the playThe Long and the Short and the Tall, performed at the Royal Court beginning in January 1959. His co-stars includedRobert Shaw andEdward Judd, and it was directed byLindsay Anderson. O'Toole reprised his performance for television onTheatre Night in 1959 (although he did not appear in the1961 film version). The show transferred to the West End in April and won O'Toole Best Actor of the Year in 1959.[22]
O'Toole was in much demand. He reportedly received five offers of long-term contracts but turned them down.[21] His first role was a small role in Disney's version ofKidnapped (1960), playing the bagpipes oppositePeter Finch.[23] His second feature wasThe Savage Innocents (1960) withAnthony Quinn for directorNicholas Ray, although his voice was dubbed by that of another actor.[24] With his then wife Sian Phillips he didSiwan: The King's Daughter (1960) for TV. In 1960 he had a nine-month season at theRoyal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, appearing inThe Taming of the Shrew (as Petruchio),The Merchant of Venice (as Shylock) andTroilus and Cressida (as Thersites). He could have made more money in films but said "You've got to go to Stratford when you've got the chance."[25]
O'Toole had been seen inThe Long and the Short and the Tall byJules Buck who later established a company with the actor.[23][26] Buck cast O'Toole inThe Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960), a heist thriller from directorJohn Guillermin. O'Toole was billed third, beneathAldo Ray andElizabeth Sellars.[27] The following year he appeared in several episodes of the TV seriesRendezvous ("End of a Good Man", "Once a Horseplayer", "London-New York").[28] He lost the role in the film adaptation ofLong and the Short and the Tall toLaurence Harvey.[23] "It broke my heart", he said later.[25]
O'Toole playedHamlet underLaurence Olivier's direction in the premiere production of theRoyal National Theatre in 1963.[33] The casting of O'Toole as the Dane was met with some controversy withMichael Gambon describing him as a "god with bright blonde hair". On playing the role O'Toole stated he was "sick with nerves", adding "If you want to know what it's like to be lonely, really lonely, try playing Hamlet."The Times wrote, "Mr O'Toole, like Olivier, is an electrifyingly outgoing actor, and it is a surprise to see him make his first appearance...with his features twisted into melancholy"[34] He performed inBaal (1963) at the Phoenix Theatre.[35]
Even prior to the making ofLawrence of Arabia, O'Toole announced he wanted to form a production company with Jules Buck. In November 1961 they said their company, known as Keep Films (also known as Tricolor Productions) would make a film starring Terry-Thomas,Operation Snatch.[36] In 1962 O'Toole and Buck announced they wanted to make a version ofWaiting for Godot for £80,000.[37] The film was never made. Instead their first production wasBecket (1964), where O'Toole playedKing Henry II opposite Richard Burton. The film, done in association withHal Wallis, was a financial success.[26][38]
In 1980, he received critical acclaim for playing the director in the behind-the-scenes filmThe Stunt Man.[49][50] His performance earned him an Oscar nomination. He appeared in a mini-series for Irish TV,Strumpet City, in which he playedJames Larkin. He followed this with another mini-series,Masada (1981), playingLucius Flavius Silva. In 1980, he performed inMacbeth at the Old Vic for $500 a week (equivalent to $1,900 in 2024), a performance that famously earned O'Toole some of the worst reviews of his career.[51][52]
O'Toole was nominated for another Oscar forMy Favorite Year (1982), a light romantic comedy about the behind-the-scenes at a 1950s TV variety-comedy show, in which O'Toole plays an ageingswashbuckling film star reminiscent ofErrol Flynn. He returned to the stage in London with a performance inMan and Superman (1982) that was better received than hisMacbeth.[53] He focused on television, doing an adaptation ofMan and Superman (1983),Svengali (1983),Pygmalion (1984), andKim (1984), and providing the voice ofSherlock Holmes for a series of animated TV movies. He played inPygmalion on stage in 1984 at the West End'sShaftesbury Theatre.[54]
O'Toole was once again nominated for the Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Maurice in the 2006 filmVenus, directed byRoger Michell, his eighth such nomination.[57] He was inOne Night with the King (2007) and co-starred in thePixar animated filmRatatouille (2007), an animated film about a rat with dreams of becoming the greatest chef in Paris, as Anton Ego, a food critic. He had a small role inStardust (2007). O'Toole also appeared in the second season ofShowtime's drama seriesThe Tudors (2008), portrayingPope Paul III, whoexcommunicatesKing Henry VIII from the church, an act which leads to a confrontation between the two men in seven of the ten episodes. Also in 2008, he starred withJeremy Northam andSam Neill in the New Zealand/British filmDean Spanley, based on an Alan Sharp adaptation of Irish author Lord Dunsany's short novel,My Talks with Dean Spanley.[58]
O'Toole (left) withRichard Burton inBecket (1964). The two actors along withRichard Harris andOliver Reed were among a close group of friends who excelled on both stage and screen, and were known as "hellraisers" in their personal lives.[2]
Although he lost faith inorganised religion as a teenager, O'Toole expressed positive sentiments regarding the life of Jesus Christ. In an interview forThe New York Times, he said "No one can take Jesus away from me... there's no doubt there was a historical figure of tremendous importance, with enormous notions. Such as peace." He called himself "a retired Christian" who prefers "an education and reading and facts" to faith.[61]
British Pakistani playwrightHanif Kureishi states in his memoir that O'Toole told him "The only Paki I ever liked wasOmar Sharif."[62]
Ireland
The son of an Irishman, O’Toole had a strong affinity with Ireland and on occasion referred to himself as Irish: “I consider myself to be an Irishman but I have lived most of my life in England so I am fairly bogus Irish actor as such”.[63] In an interview withCharlie Rose in 1992 he said Irishness was “almost the centre of my very being” and that “Everything I think of is coloured by its history, by its literature, by its people, by its geography”. He recalls that he was “a bit of a misfit, a bit of an odd man out” but that when he went toCounty Kerry, Ireland in 1946 he realized “I wasn’t different at all”.[64]
He possessed an Irish passport and believed he may have been born inConnemara.[65] He owned a house in Ireland located inClifden,County Galway.[66] In 1969, he met future Irish presidentMichael D. Higgins and the two developed a friendship.[67]
His son Lorcan was born in Dublin in 1983. He told his friends that he wanted him to be "raised as an Irishman".[68]
Relationships
In 1959, O'Toole married Welsh actress Siân Phillips, with whom he had two daughters: actressKate and Patricia. They were divorced in 1979. Phillips later said in two autobiographies that O'Toole had subjected her to mental cruelty, largely fuelled by drinking, and was subject to bouts of extreme jealousy when she finally left him for a younger lover.[69]
O'Toole and his girlfriend, model Karen Brown, had a son, Lorcan O'Toole (born 17 March 1983), when O'Toole was 50 years old. Lorcan, now an actor, was a pupil atHarrow School, boarding at West Acre from 1996.[70]
Sports
O'Toole playedrugby league as a child in Leeds[71] and was also arugby union fan, attendingFive Nations matches with friends and fellow rugby fansRichard Harris,Kenneth Griffith,Peter Finch andRichard Burton. He was also a lifelong player, coach and enthusiast of cricket[72] and a fan ofSunderland A.F.C.[73] His support of Sunderland was passed on to him through his father, who was a labourer inSunderland for many years.[74] He was named their most famous fan.[75] The actor in a later interview expressed that he no longer considered himself as much of a fan following the demolition ofRoker Park and the subsequent move to theStadium of Light. He described Roker Park as his last connection to the club and that everything "they meant to him was when they were at Roker Park".[74]
Health
Severe illness almost ended O'Toole's life in the late 1970s. His stomach cancer was misdiagnosed as resulting from his alcoholic excess.[76] O'Toole underwent surgery in 1976 to have hispancreas and a large portion of his stomach removed, which resulted ininsulin-dependentdiabetes. In 1978, he nearly died from ahematologic disease.[77] He eventually recovered and returned to work. He resided on the Sky Road, just outsideClifden,Connemara, County Galway, from 1963, and at the height of his career maintained homes in Dublin, London, and Paris (at theRitz, which was where his character supposedly lived in the filmHow to Steal a Million).[citation needed]
Interests and influences
In an interview withNPR in December 2006, O'Toole revealed that he knew all 154 ofShakespeare's sonnets. A self-described romantic, O'Toole said of the sonnets that nothing in the English language compares with them, and that he read them daily. InVenus (2006), he recitesSonnet 18 ("Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?").[78]
O'Toole wrote two memoirs.Loitering with Intent: The Child chronicles his childhood in the years leading up to the Second World War, and was aNew York Times Notable Book of the Year in 1992. His second,Loitering With Intent: The Apprentice, is about his years spent training with a cadre of friends atRADA.[citation needed]
O'Toole was interviewed at least three times byCharlie Rose on his eponymoustalk show. In a 17 January 2007 interview, O'Toole stated that British actorEric Porter had most influenced him, adding that the difference between actors of yesterday and today is that actors of his generation were trained for "theatre, theatre, theatre". He also believes that the challenge for the actor is "to use his imagination to link to his emotion" and that "good parts make good actors." However, in other venues (including the DVD commentary forBecket), O'Toole creditedDonald Wolfit as being his most important mentor.[79]
O'Toole retired from acting in July 2012 owing to a recurrence of stomach cancer.[80] He died on 14 December 2013 at theWellington Hospital inSt John's Wood, London, at the age of 81.[81] His funeral was held atGolders Green Crematorium in London on 21 December 2013, where his body was cremated in a wicker coffin.[82] His family stated their intention to fulfil his wishes and take his ashes to the west of Ireland.[83]
On 18 May 2014, a new prize was launched in memory of O'Toole at theBristol Old Vic Theatre School; this includes an annual award given to two young actors from the school, and a professional contract.[84] He has a memorial plaque inSt Paul's, the Actors' Church inCovent Garden, London.[85]
O'Toole was nominated eight times for the Academy Award forBest Actor in a Leading Role but was never able to win a competitive Oscar. In 2002,[3] the Academy honoured him with anAcademy Honorary Award for his entire body of work and his lifelong contribution to film. O'Toole initially balked about accepting and wrote the Academy a letter saying that he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright". The Academy informed him that they would bestow the award whether he wanted it or not. He toldCharlie Rose in January 2007 that his children admonished him, saying that it was the highest honour one could receive in the filmmaking industry. O'Toole agreed to appear at the ceremony and receive his Honorary Oscar. It was presented to him byMeryl Streep. He joked withRobert Osborne during an interview atTurner Classic Movies' film festival that he was the "Biggest Loser of All Time" due to failure to win an Academy Award after multiple nominations.[90]
^O'Toole, Peter.Loitering with Intent: Child (Large print edition), Macmillan London Ltd., London, 1992.ISBN1-85695-051-4; pg. 10, "My mother, Constance Jane, had led a troubled and a harsh life. Orphaned early, she had been reared in Scotland and shunted between relatives;..."
^Watts, Stephen (5 November 1961). "BRITAIN'S SCREEN SCENE".The New York Times. p. X7.
^Weiler, A. H. (9 September 1962). "PASSING PICTURE SCENE: Film Version of 'Waiting for Godot' Planned--'Gunfighter'--Busy Lass".New York Times. p. 137.
^abBergan, Ronald (24 July 2001). "Obituary: Jules Buck: Film producer behind Peter O'Toole's rise to screen stardom".The Guardian. p. 20.
^"O'Toole's New Role to Be 'Will Adams'".Los Angeles Times. 19 August 1964. p. D13.
^Scheuer, Philip K. (3 March 1965). "O'Toole and Harvey in Levine Brigade: Wolper on Remagen Bridge; Wise's Music Really Sounds".Los Angeles Times. p. D9.
^"Another 'Macbeth' success".The Canberra Times. Vol. 55, no. 16, 441. 30 September 1980. p. 18. Retrieved25 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"O'Toole role improves on his Macbeth".The Canberra Times. Vol. 57, no. 17, 224. 24 November 1982. p. 28. Retrieved25 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
^"Peter O'Toole: buccaneer at large".The Globe and Mail. 12 May 1984. p. 8.
^"FILM".The Canberra Times. Vol. 63, no. 19, 414. 1 December 1988. p. 29. Retrieved25 November 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
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