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Peter Ustinov
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Biography for
Peter Ustinov

 
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Birth name
Peter Alexander Ustinov
Height
5' 11½" (1.82 m)
Spouse
Helene du Lau d Allemans' (1972 - 28 March 2004) (his death)
Suzanne Cloutier (15 February 1954 - 1971) (divorced) 3 children
Isolde Denham (1940 - 1950) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

His mother was Nadia Benois, the designer daughter of Alexandre Benois, the St. Petersburg designer of the first big Diaghilev ballets.

Was knighted Sir Peter Ustinov. [1990]

Awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). [1975]

The New London Theatre in Drury Lane WC2 first opened on 2nd January 1973 with Peter Ustinov's play "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife"

Was the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF from 1968 until his death in 2004.

During WWII Pvt. Peter Ustinov was batman to Lt. Col. David Niven.

He produced his first play, "Home of Regrets", in 1942.

Of Russian descent. His grandfather was an officer in the Czar's Army and was exiled abroad after refusing to take an oath to the Eastern Orthodox Church, because he was Protestant. As Ustinov has said, "It is for that very reason that I am addressing you today in English."

First marriage to Isolde Denham, daughter of Reginald Denham and Moyna MacGill. Their daughter is Tamara Ustinov. Isolde was half-sister of Angela Lansbury.

In January 1963, the Mirisch Company sued him for canceling out of "The Pink Panther," which was in production in Rome with his replacement, Peter Sellers.

Peter and Suzanne had 3 children: two daughters, Pavla Ustinov and Andrea Ustinov, and a son Igor Ustinov.

Chancellor of the University of Durham from 1992 until his death in 2004.

Is 1/4 Ethiopian on his mother's side.

Has a song written about him: "The Night I Saved Peter Ustinov" - written and recorded by Lauren Christy.

Is fluent in French, German, English, Italian, Russian and Spanish and can pass in Turkish and Greek among others.

He was known to proudly say "I have Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, French and Ethiopian blood in my veins."

Funeral service held at Geneva's historic Cathedral of St Pierre. He was later buried in the village of Bursins, where he had lived in a Chateau since 1971. (April 2004)

In the mid 1960s he planned to open a restaurant called 'Pete and Bernie's Philosophical Steakhouse' along with his business partner, Bernie Rosen. The idea was that philosophically-inclined diners would be able to eat steaks and talk about philosophy. The project never materialised.


Personal quotes

"A diplomat these days is nothing but a head waiter who's allowed to sit down occasionally"

"...the great thing about history is that it is adaptable."

"Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious."

"Two members of my profession who are not urgently needed by my profession, Mr. Ronald Reagan and Mr. George Murphy, entered politics, and they've done extremely well. Since there has been no reciprocal tendency in the other direction, it suggests to me that our job is still more difficult than their new one."

On critics: "They search for ages for the wrong word, which, to give them credit, they eventually find."

"The habit of religion is oppressive, an easy way out of thought."

"I believe that the Jews have made a contribution to the human condition out of all proportion to their numbers: I believe them to be an immense people. Not only have they supplied the world with two leaders of the stature of Jesus Christ and Karl Marx, but they have even indulged in the luxury of following neither one nor the other."

"Beliefs are what divide people. Doubt unites them."

"Mervyn LeRoy, the director of Quo Vadis, gave me this gem of advice on how to play the Emperor Nero: 'The way I see Nero, this is the kinda guy who plays with himself nights'."

"I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me to be the most civilized music in the world."

'When Rosalind Hicks, Agatha Christie's daughter, first saw me, she said, 'That's not Poirot.' I said, 'It is now, my dear.'" [regarding his portrayal of supersleuth Hercule Poirot]


Biography from Leonard Maltin's Movie Encyclopedia:

Portly British character actor, a master dialectician and entertaining raconteur who shines in comedic roles but rates kudos for his dramatic performances as well. Ustinov was, in his own way, the U.K.'s Wellesian "boy wonder": He began acting at 17, sold his first screenplay (for The True Glory at 24, and directed his first film (School for Secrets at 25. Ustinov excels in characterizations of vain, selfish, petulant characters. He earned an Oscar nomination for his supporting role in Quo Vadis? (1951, as Nero), and won Academy Awards for outstanding supporting turns in Spartacus (1960) and Topkapi (1964). Ustinov startled even his admirers with the superb Billy Budd (1962), which he wrote, produced, directed, and acted in. In later years he was well received as pompous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in the Agatha Christie whodunits Death on the Nile (1978), Evil Under the Sun (1982), and Appointment With Death (1988). He had one of his best screen roles in years as the sympathetic doctor in Lorenzo's Oil (1992). He has also provided voices for such animated features as Disney's Robin Hood (1973), The Mouse and His Child (1977), and Grendel, Grendel, Grendel (1980). He won Emmy Awards in 1957, for an "Omnibus" drama on Samuel Johnson; 1966, for his performance as Socrates in "Barefoot in Athens," and 1970, for "A Storm in Summer." His 1977 volume of memoirs is titled "Dear Me."

OTHER FILMS INCLUDE: 1942: One of Our Aircraft Is Missing 1944: The Way Ahead (acted, cowrote); 1948: Vice Versa (produced, wrote and directed); 1949: Private Angelo (wrote, codirected); 1951: Hotel Sahara, The Magic Box (cameo), Le Plaisir (narration); 1954: Beau Brummel, The Egyptian 1955: Lola Montes, We're No Angels 1960: The Sundowners 1961: Romanoff and Juliet (which he also adapted from his own play, produced, and directed); 1965: John Goldfarb, Please Come Home, Lady L 1967: The Comedians 1968: Blackbeard's Ghost, Hot Millions (also cowrote; Oscar nominated for screenplay); 1969: Viva Max! 1972: Hammersmith Is Out 1976: One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing, Logan's Run 1977: The Last Remake of Beau Geste 1979: Ashanti 1981: The Great Muppet Caper, Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (as Chan); 1987:Memed My Hawk (wrote, directed, starred); 1989: The French Revolution

Copyright © 1994 Leonard Maltin, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.


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