Peter O'Toole dead at 81

[Raban]

RIP

LONDON (AP) — Known on the one hand for his starring role in "Lawrence of Arabia," leading tribesmen in daring attacks across the desert wastes, and on the other for his headlong charges into drunken debauchery, Peter O'Toole was one of the most magnetic, charismatic and fun figures in British acting.

O'Toole, who died Saturday at age 81 at the private Wellington Hospital in London after a long bout of illness, was nominated a record eight times for an Academy Award without taking home a single statue.

He was fearsomely handsome, with burning blue eyes and a penchant for hard living which long outlived his decision to give up alcohol.
[...]
A reformed — but unrepentant — hell-raiser, O'Toole long suffered from ill health. Always thin, he had grown wraithlike in later years, his famously handsome face eroded by years of outrageous drinking.

But nothing diminished his flamboyant manner and candor.

"If you can't do something willingly and joyfully, then don't do it," he once said. "If you give up drinking, don't go moaning about it; go back on the bottle. Do. As. Thou. Wilt."
[...]
A month before his 80th birthday in 2012, O'Toole announced his retirement from a career that he said had fulfilled him emotionally and financially, bringing "me together with fine people, good companions with whom I've shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits."

"However, it's my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one's stay," he said. "So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell."

In retirement, O'Toole said he would focus on the third volume of his memoirs.

Good parts were sometimes few and far between, but "I take whatever good part comes along," O'Toole told The Independent on Sunday newspaper in 1990.

"And if there isn't a good part, then I do anything, just to pay the rent. Money is always a pressure. And waiting for the right part — you could wait forever. So I turn up and do the best I can."

full article @SFGate

[Stoney Mason]

RIP gonna watch Lawrence of Arabia when I get home. SF Chronicle posted an article: http://bit.ly/1dfLOYt

I had a serious man crush on him after seeing Lawrence of Arabia for the first time. RIP.

[Joe Molotov]

 

[Himu]

Great actor. Never big on Three Hours of Sand but great actor.

[chronovore]

 :'( :'( :'(

One of my absolute favorites.

I will watch The Stuntman, glory in his presence, and wonder what the hell ever happened to Steve Railsback.

[Great Rumbler]

[Eel O'Brian]

Tommy Lee Jones happened to Steve Railsback.

Last movie I saw him in, circa 2000:

[Raban]

Fuuuuuck he was so good :'( :'( :'( :'( :'(

[Phoenix Dark]

RIP

[chronovore]

Tommy Lee Jones happened to Steve Railsback.

Last movie I saw him in, circa 2000:


(Image removed from quote.)

I saw him in a couple other things; he is not a good actor, I think he was really well-directed in The Stuntman. But you're saying Tommy Lee Jones took all his parts; hell, I can see that. They're similar types, except TLJ can act in just about anything.

[Diunx]

will drink one in his honor while watching What's New Pussycat tonight.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

if you're gonna drink in honor of Peter O' Toole, you better be prepared to get seriously loaded, lest his ghost call you a pussy.

[chronovore]

Apple has a big tribute site up for Mr. O'Toole, and it's kind of sobering to see how many bad movies he appeared in. I appreciate his egalitarianism, but I am happy that he didn't go out like Raul Julia, on a Street Fighter movie. I wonder if he was afraid of that during Supergirl filming.

I bought Venus today, which I'd never even heard of previous today. I like movies about old people lately. I wonder why!