Last of the hellraisers
December 15, 2013 10:32 AM Subscribe
RIP Peter O'Toole star of Lawrence of Arabia
Peter O'Toole comes out of retirement for Katherine of Alexandria
Icon: Peter O'Toole
Peter O’Toole Retires! A Look At This “Hellraiser!” “I did quite enjoy the days when one went for a beer at one’s local in Paris and wake up in Corsica,"
Peter O'Toole on Letterman 1, 2 It's some entrance
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Peter O'Toole receiving an Honorary Oscar
Shakespeare quote in Venus
(previous)
Peter O'Toole comes out of retirement for Katherine of Alexandria
Icon: Peter O'Toole
Peter O’Toole Retires! A Look At This “Hellraiser!” “I did quite enjoy the days when one went for a beer at one’s local in Paris and wake up in Corsica,"
Peter O'Toole on Letterman 1, 2 It's some entrance
Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell
Peter O'Toole receiving an Honorary Oscar
Shakespeare quote in Venus
(previous)
fuck indeed.
20 seconds ago I thought 'I need to look up Peter O'Toole' and googled him, and the sidebar on the results page only gave a birth date and I thought 'Oh, good, not dead yet'. Then I clicked on the wikipedia link and saw the death date.
And then I came here.
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posted by you must supply a verb at 10:35 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
20 seconds ago I thought 'I need to look up Peter O'Toole' and googled him, and the sidebar on the results page only gave a birth date and I thought 'Oh, good, not dead yet'. Then I clicked on the wikipedia link and saw the death date.
And then I came here.
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posted by you must supply a verb at 10:35 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
He will always be Lawrence to me.
Iconic moment in history, iconic book, iconic script, iconic actor, iconic director, perfectly married in a mountaintop cinematic experience for the ages.
R.I.P. Mr. O'Toole.
posted by darkstar at 10:37 AM on December 15, 2013 [13 favorites]
Iconic moment in history, iconic book, iconic script, iconic actor, iconic director, perfectly married in a mountaintop cinematic experience for the ages.
R.I.P. Mr. O'Toole.
posted by darkstar at 10:37 AM on December 15, 2013 [13 favorites]
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posted by Faint of Butt at 10:37 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:37 AM on December 15, 2013
Oh, goddamn it. i was just yesterday thinking how remarkable it was that he was still around.
We get it, Death, here is your sting.
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posted by allthinky at 10:38 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
We get it, Death, here is your sting.
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posted by allthinky at 10:38 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
"fontsize=80 . /fontsize"
posted by Sphinx at 10:38 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by Sphinx at 10:38 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
Fuck goddammit motherfuck shit.
And FUCK.
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posted by tzikeh at 10:41 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
And FUCK.
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posted by tzikeh at 10:41 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:47 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Rustic Etruscan at 10:47 AM on December 15, 2013
Amazing in Lawrence of Arabia and perfect in My Favorite Year.
posted by zippy at 10:48 AM on December 15, 2013 [7 favorites]
posted by zippy at 10:48 AM on December 15, 2013 [7 favorites]
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posted by CrystalDave at 10:48 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by CrystalDave at 10:48 AM on December 15, 2013
I find it hard to believe he left us with many regrets. Or much of a liver.
As great as he was as Lawrence, The Ruling Class was his masterwork.
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posted by delfin at 10:48 AM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
As great as he was as Lawrence, The Ruling Class was his masterwork.
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posted by delfin at 10:48 AM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
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One of my favorite mesmerizingly terrifying moments, from THE RULING CLASS.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 10:49 AM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
One of my favorite mesmerizingly terrifying moments, from THE RULING CLASS.
posted by SmileyChewtrain at 10:49 AM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
He certainly had a varied career, lot of good/great stuff and a lot of..er... very very bad stuff as well.
Nevertheless his passing is a definite loss.
posted by edgeways at 10:50 AM on December 15, 2013
Nevertheless his passing is a definite loss.
posted by edgeways at 10:50 AM on December 15, 2013
And I know if I'll only be true, to this glorious quest/That my heart will lie will lie peaceful and calm/when I'm laid to my rest/And the world will be better for this
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:52 AM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by DirtyOldTown at 10:52 AM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
"If you had been any prettier, the film would have been called Florence of Arabia".--Noel Coward
Indeed. RIP.
posted by oflinkey at 10:52 AM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
Indeed. RIP.
posted by oflinkey at 10:52 AM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
Thank you for all the good times, laughs and pathos you brought to the big screen. You will be missed, sir.
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posted by Lynsey at 10:53 AM on December 15, 2013
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posted by Lynsey at 10:53 AM on December 15, 2013
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posted by localroger at 10:53 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by localroger at 10:53 AM on December 15, 2013
This will add an extra poignancy to our yearly viewing of The Lion in Winter, the greatest Christmas movie of all time.
posted by thesmallmachine at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2013 [20 favorites]
posted by thesmallmachine at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2013 [20 favorites]
The secret is not caring it hurts
posted by fullerine at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2013 [16 favorites]
posted by fullerine at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2013 [16 favorites]
"If I were truly plastered, could I do this?"
As much as I love his movies, I also miss his presence on a lost age of late night talk shows that ran 90 minutes, allowed for long, smoke-filled conversation, and always reminded me of sitting on the stairs eavesdropping on your parents' grown-up parties.
posted by maudlin at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2013 [13 favorites]
As much as I love his movies, I also miss his presence on a lost age of late night talk shows that ran 90 minutes, allowed for long, smoke-filled conversation, and always reminded me of sitting on the stairs eavesdropping on your parents' grown-up parties.
posted by maudlin at 10:54 AM on December 15, 2013 [13 favorites]
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RIP Peter O'Toole. It seems only fitting to show him and Richard Harris professing their love for Munster rugby. He lived to a ripe old age and never lost his passion, for acting and everything else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOU3gDncP4k
posted by ocular shenanigans at 10:55 AM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
RIP Peter O'Toole. It seems only fitting to show him and Richard Harris professing their love for Munster rugby. He lived to a ripe old age and never lost his passion, for acting and everything else.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOU3gDncP4k
posted by ocular shenanigans at 10:55 AM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
I sold my first piece of writing this week. It includes a thumbnail review of The Lion in Winter, so I've spent hours and hours this December watching and rewatching Peter O'Toole and Katherine Hepburn sling delicious invective and barbed affection at each other.
For several days, his voice has been rolling around in my head when I wake, when I run errands, when I sit quietly, when I'm trying valiantly to listen to other things. I'd say his voice had taken up residence in my head, except that it did not. What it did, clearly, was find the place I carved out for it the first time I heard it decades ago, and ensconce itself there again.
There is no higher praise to give an actor than that: his voice will live in my head for the rest of my life.
posted by Elsa at 10:58 AM on December 15, 2013 [16 favorites]
For several days, his voice has been rolling around in my head when I wake, when I run errands, when I sit quietly, when I'm trying valiantly to listen to other things. I'd say his voice had taken up residence in my head, except that it did not. What it did, clearly, was find the place I carved out for it the first time I heard it decades ago, and ensconce itself there again.
There is no higher praise to give an actor than that: his voice will live in my head for the rest of my life.
posted by Elsa at 10:58 AM on December 15, 2013 [16 favorites]
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posted by Going To Maine at 10:59 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Going To Maine at 10:59 AM on December 15, 2013
Always Lawrence. My all time favorite movie. I love that it is still iconic enough to be shown on the silver screen.
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posted by OHenryPacey at 11:00 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by OHenryPacey at 11:00 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
It was kind of scary to see how botoxed he was the last few years. (I don't think he'd been in anything for a long while before he showed up with him and Dave Tennant both playing Casanova.)
posted by Catblack at 11:01 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Catblack at 11:01 AM on December 15, 2013
I suppose that as each generation watches their giants die, they look around at the poor fare offered by the next generation and sneer. That said, the world will not see the like for a long, long time.
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posted by Mooski at 11:04 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by Mooski at 11:04 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
And let's not forget O'Toole's stage performance in Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (SLYT).
And for those of you who don't know who Jeffrey Bernard was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Bernard
posted by Paul Slade at 11:05 AM on December 15, 2013
And for those of you who don't know who Jeffrey Bernard was: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Bernard
posted by Paul Slade at 11:05 AM on December 15, 2013
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole (2 August 1932 – 14 December 2013)
This FPP: December 15, 2013 19:32.
He lived charmed life. O'Toole was in heaven a full day before Metafilter knew he was dead.
posted by three blind mice at 11:08 AM on December 15, 2013 [7 favorites]
This FPP: December 15, 2013 19:32.
He lived charmed life. O'Toole was in heaven a full day before Metafilter knew he was dead.
posted by three blind mice at 11:08 AM on December 15, 2013 [7 favorites]
The friendship between O'Toole and Harris began in 1956, when they were cast together in George Bernard Shaw's Major Barbara at the Bristol Old Vic.
Harris described this period as "golden days". "We kept each other up half the night," he said. "We never slept. It was days of chat and yarn-spinning and great, legendary boozing."
During the show's run, Harris and O'Toole would nip out to a nearby bar in the interval, dashing back just in time for curtain up in the second half. One matinee they overstayed their welcome and a stage-hand burst into the bar screaming: "You're on!"
Both men leapt to their feet and made it back into the theatre in 15 seconds flat, O'Toole first.
Crashing into the wings, he hurtled past the backstage crew and tumbled on to the stage, almost falling head-first into the audience.
A woman in the front row smelled his breath. "My God, he's drunk!" she exclaimed. O'Toole lifted his head. "You think this is bad," he said. "Wait till you see the other fellow."
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 11:10 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
Harris described this period as "golden days". "We kept each other up half the night," he said. "We never slept. It was days of chat and yarn-spinning and great, legendary boozing."
During the show's run, Harris and O'Toole would nip out to a nearby bar in the interval, dashing back just in time for curtain up in the second half. One matinee they overstayed their welcome and a stage-hand burst into the bar screaming: "You're on!"
Both men leapt to their feet and made it back into the theatre in 15 seconds flat, O'Toole first.
Crashing into the wings, he hurtled past the backstage crew and tumbled on to the stage, almost falling head-first into the audience.
A woman in the front row smelled his breath. "My God, he's drunk!" she exclaimed. O'Toole lifted his head. "You think this is bad," he said. "Wait till you see the other fellow."
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 11:10 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
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'Ladies are unwell, Stone. Gentlemen vomit.' - Alan Swann, My Favorite Year, 1982
posted by j_curiouser at 11:10 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
'Ladies are unwell, Stone. Gentlemen vomit.' - Alan Swann, My Favorite Year, 1982
posted by j_curiouser at 11:10 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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Let me put in a good word for one of O'Toole's greatest, most eccentric performances (and that's saying a lot)
Rogue Male
Sorry if that seems like a spoiler, but I assure you, that is just the start of the movie.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
Let me put in a good word for one of O'Toole's greatest, most eccentric performances (and that's saying a lot)
Rogue Male
Sorry if that seems like a spoiler, but I assure you, that is just the start of the movie.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
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posted by Ink-stained wretch at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Ink-stained wretch at 11:11 AM on December 15, 2013
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posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:12 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Foci for Analysis at 11:12 AM on December 15, 2013
Henry II: I hope we never die.
Eleanor: So do I.
Henry II: Do you think there's any chance of it?
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posted by dnash at 11:14 AM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
Eleanor: So do I.
Henry II: Do you think there's any chance of it?
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posted by dnash at 11:14 AM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
What a rich and full life.
Thank you for much entertainment .
I think he probably confirmed himself as one of the ''greats'' under Olivier's 1963 direction of Hamlet which was the beginning of the new National Theatre.
Here he is discussing Hamlet with Orson Welles, Ernest Milton and Huw Weldon.
posted by adamvasco at 11:16 AM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
Thank you for much entertainment .
I think he probably confirmed himself as one of the ''greats'' under Olivier's 1963 direction of Hamlet which was the beginning of the new National Theatre.
Here he is discussing Hamlet with Orson Welles, Ernest Milton and Huw Weldon.
posted by adamvasco at 11:16 AM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
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posted by Navelgazer at 11:18 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Navelgazer at 11:18 AM on December 15, 2013
Note to self: get hold of a copy of Rogue Male and watch it again.
posted by Decani at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Decani at 11:22 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
"This is for ladies only!" "And so is this, ma'am, but now and then I have to run a little water through it."
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posted by Cash4Lead at 11:28 AM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
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posted by Cash4Lead at 11:28 AM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
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posted by Token Meme at 11:31 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by Token Meme at 11:31 AM on December 15, 2013
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Last of the hellraisers
maybe he had an extreme private life, but unlike others with similar reputation, his work always well eclipsed that for me. One of the great actors ever, and yet he never won an Oscar (except for honorary). Good. Puts him in the the very best of company. And there are all those nominations.
Speaking of which, The Ruling Class. wow. Another vote for his greatest performance. Here's the whole movie.
posted by philip-random at 11:36 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
Last of the hellraisers
maybe he had an extreme private life, but unlike others with similar reputation, his work always well eclipsed that for me. One of the great actors ever, and yet he never won an Oscar (except for honorary). Good. Puts him in the the very best of company. And there are all those nominations.
Speaking of which, The Ruling Class. wow. Another vote for his greatest performance. Here's the whole movie.
posted by philip-random at 11:36 AM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
Note to self: get hold of a copy of Rogue Male and watch it again.
You've seen it? I'm sure you'd agree on how amazing that film is, even with the modest made-for-TV budget.
It may surprise you to know that Rogue Male is a remake of a 1941 film by Fritz Lang, Man Hunt. It was very difficult to find this movie, but I finally managed to see it. Even though Lang was one of the greatest directors of all time, Man Hunt is a disappointment, if you've seen O'Toole do it first.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:37 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
You've seen it? I'm sure you'd agree on how amazing that film is, even with the modest made-for-TV budget.
It may surprise you to know that Rogue Male is a remake of a 1941 film by Fritz Lang, Man Hunt. It was very difficult to find this movie, but I finally managed to see it. Even though Lang was one of the greatest directors of all time, Man Hunt is a disappointment, if you've seen O'Toole do it first.
posted by charlie don't surf at 11:37 AM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Also this ...
Peter O'Toole vs Spice Girls
posted by philip-random at 11:37 AM on December 15, 2013 [6 favorites]
Peter O'Toole vs Spice Girls
posted by philip-random at 11:37 AM on December 15, 2013 [6 favorites]
Richard Harris and Peter O'Toole telling stories about each other to Letterman are some of my fondly-remembered tv memories. I haven't been able to find clips of some of my favorites ("I'm Peter O'Toole, and I'm dressed as a nun!"), but this interview is one of the best.
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posted by bibliowench at 11:39 AM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
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posted by bibliowench at 11:39 AM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
Acting is what he would have done in his spare time.
posted by vapidave at 11:46 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by vapidave at 11:46 AM on December 15, 2013
I had the most immense crush on him when I was a child. Come to think of it, I still do.
Sleep sweet, Mr. O'Toole.
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posted by MissySedai at 11:47 AM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Sleep sweet, Mr. O'Toole.
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posted by MissySedai at 11:47 AM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Damn. Yes, nothing but a blessed rest to you, good sir.
posted by emmet at 11:50 AM on December 15, 2013
posted by emmet at 11:50 AM on December 15, 2013
One screams obscenities about a man (who had an amazing life) dying because, among other reasons, it takes the shine off the world, and it reminds one of one's own mortality, and one's own long-lost youth, and all the ways we hoped we'd measure up to that example, but failed.
In short, FUCK.
posted by allthinky at 11:56 AM on December 15, 2013 [8 favorites]
In short, FUCK.
posted by allthinky at 11:56 AM on December 15, 2013 [8 favorites]
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posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 12:04 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by NordyneDefenceDynamics at 12:04 PM on December 15, 2013
I'm not much of am actor though Lord knows I've done enough of it. If there's one actor I've admired beyond all others, though, it's been Mr. O'Toole. I thank him for all the inspiration.
To put some perspective on the length of his career, Groucho Marx once wrote "Peter O'Toole had a double phallic name."
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:09 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
To put some perspective on the length of his career, Groucho Marx once wrote "Peter O'Toole had a double phallic name."
posted by Joey Michaels at 12:09 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
His heavily criticized performance in the much maligned movie "Lord Jim" was the only thing that saved Conrad for me. At his worst he was great, at his best he was incomparable...
Safe voyage to you Sir...
posted by speug at 12:24 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Safe voyage to you Sir...
posted by speug at 12:24 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
This time we mean it, Goodbye, Mr. Chips...
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posted by oneswellfoop at 12:32 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by oneswellfoop at 12:32 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
He had the most beautiful yes.
posted by bq at 12:35 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by bq at 12:35 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself.
That witty line from The Ruling Class gave me much more ease about being a non-theist and is one I've remembered all my life since hearing it.
Peter O'Toole was a mischievous rascal who was twinkly naughty for decades while conveying - with a wink - that he was a victim of circumstance; survived being severely alcoholic to go on and live to be over 80 with all his faculties in tact, while also being smooth, elegant and erudite. A classic Irish combination somehow and yet a willing refugee from his own country as Gay Talese wrote half a century ago, Peter O'Toole on the Ould Sod.
All the children had their pencils out and were drawing horses, as the nun had instructed--all, that is, except one little boy who, having finished, was sitting idly behind his desk. "Well," the nun said, looking down at his horse, "why not draw something else--a saddle, or something?" A few minutes later she returned to see what he had drawn. Suddenly her face was scarlet. The horse now had a penis and was urinating in the pasture. Wildly, with both hands, the nun began to flail the boy. Then other nuns rushed in and they, too, flailed him, knocking him to the floor, and not listening as he sobbed, bewilderedly, "But, but...I was only drawing what I saw...only drawing what I saw!"
One of those very Peter O'Toole anecdotes, talking with Charlie Rose about a memorable moment in his life.
It angers me how Hollywood twisted the truth of the real story of TE Lawrence, which was a marvelous story, the real one. Here on YouTube: Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt.
I loved him in Goodbye Mr. Chips, in the brilliant Lion in Winter and in Dean Spanley.
He seemed well matched with his wife, Sian Phillips.
He did deserve at least a couple of Oscars, not just an honorary one. He had an excellent run and he knew it. Requiescat in pace.
posted by nickyskye at 12:35 PM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
That witty line from The Ruling Class gave me much more ease about being a non-theist and is one I've remembered all my life since hearing it.
Peter O'Toole was a mischievous rascal who was twinkly naughty for decades while conveying - with a wink - that he was a victim of circumstance; survived being severely alcoholic to go on and live to be over 80 with all his faculties in tact, while also being smooth, elegant and erudite. A classic Irish combination somehow and yet a willing refugee from his own country as Gay Talese wrote half a century ago, Peter O'Toole on the Ould Sod.
All the children had their pencils out and were drawing horses, as the nun had instructed--all, that is, except one little boy who, having finished, was sitting idly behind his desk. "Well," the nun said, looking down at his horse, "why not draw something else--a saddle, or something?" A few minutes later she returned to see what he had drawn. Suddenly her face was scarlet. The horse now had a penis and was urinating in the pasture. Wildly, with both hands, the nun began to flail the boy. Then other nuns rushed in and they, too, flailed him, knocking him to the floor, and not listening as he sobbed, bewilderedly, "But, but...I was only drawing what I saw...only drawing what I saw!"
One of those very Peter O'Toole anecdotes, talking with Charlie Rose about a memorable moment in his life.
It angers me how Hollywood twisted the truth of the real story of TE Lawrence, which was a marvelous story, the real one. Here on YouTube: Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt.
I loved him in Goodbye Mr. Chips, in the brilliant Lion in Winter and in Dean Spanley.
He seemed well matched with his wife, Sian Phillips.
He did deserve at least a couple of Oscars, not just an honorary one. He had an excellent run and he knew it. Requiescat in pace.
posted by nickyskye at 12:35 PM on December 15, 2013 [11 favorites]
So like a lot of people of my generation I stumbled on Peter O'Toole in "My Favorite Year." Which made me go find "Lawrence of Arabia" on VHS. And then ... and then my local theater for some reason brought back "The Ruling Class."
Mind...blown.
Thanks, Peter O'Toole. You're dead, but I will get to watch your films over and over again for a long while now.
Thanks!
posted by chavenet at 12:37 PM on December 15, 2013
Mind...blown.
Thanks, Peter O'Toole. You're dead, but I will get to watch your films over and over again for a long while now.
Thanks!
posted by chavenet at 12:37 PM on December 15, 2013
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posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:45 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:45 PM on December 15, 2013
This is poignant in that the BF and I just watched "Lawrence of Arabia" over the last two nights. I have seen it many, many times, including multiple viewings on the big screen, and there is always something that I haven't noticed before. My BF was absolutely gobsmacked at how much he enjoyed the movie, after which we did some researching on the difference between the movie and the real life of Lawrence. O'Toole held your attention in the way that few other people could. In the hands of a lesser talent, Lawrence would be not quite as intriguing, as maddening a figure.
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:45 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
posted by computech_apolloniajames at 12:45 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
"I like the desert, because it is clean".
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posted by buzzman at 12:46 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
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posted by buzzman at 12:46 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
Dean Spanley is an odd little movie -- I recommend it.
I met the man in Berkeley at Cody's Books (also RIP). He looked cadaverous then, to be honest, and that was years and years ago.
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posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 12:46 PM on December 15, 2013
I met the man in Berkeley at Cody's Books (also RIP). He looked cadaverous then, to be honest, and that was years and years ago.
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posted by potsmokinghippieoverlord at 12:46 PM on December 15, 2013
He likes your lemonade.
posted by grimjeer at 12:47 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by grimjeer at 12:47 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
I honestly think I loved him best in The Stunt Man -- a less-well-known film than others that have been mentioned above, but well worth seeking out.
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posted by Kat Allison at 12:52 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
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posted by Kat Allison at 12:52 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
O'No.
posted by octobersurprise at 12:53 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by octobersurprise at 12:53 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
I just decided to finally buy and watch Lawrence of Arabia a couple weeks ago.
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posted by jiawen at 12:55 PM on December 15, 2013
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posted by jiawen at 12:55 PM on December 15, 2013
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posted by homunculus at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by homunculus at 1:01 PM on December 15, 2013
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The Lion in Winter has been my favorite film for a very long time and he is one of the main reasons why. RIP.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 1:12 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
The Lion in Winter has been my favorite film for a very long time and he is one of the main reasons why. RIP.
posted by AlonzoMosleyFBI at 1:12 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
I'm in tears.
"The trick is not minding that it hurts."
But it does.
RIP
posted by kestralwing at 1:16 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
"The trick is not minding that it hurts."
But it does.
RIP
posted by kestralwing at 1:16 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
Farewell, El Aurence.
"It was my privilege to know him and to make him known to the world. He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior. He was also the most shameless exhibitionist since Barnum & Bailey."
- from "Lawrence of Arabia"
posted by zooropa at 1:23 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
"It was my privilege to know him and to make him known to the world. He was a poet, a scholar and a mighty warrior. He was also the most shameless exhibitionist since Barnum & Bailey."
- from "Lawrence of Arabia"
posted by zooropa at 1:23 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I enjoy The Stunt Man quite a bit, although it's clearly pretty workmanlike at points. I have The Night of the Generals almost at the top of my queue, and I just moved My Favorite Year up about two years' worth for a rewatch. Netflix suggests I would enjoy Dean Spanley (streaming only). I want to see Lord Jim (my favorite Conrad novel), but Netflix doesn't have it at all.
posted by dhartung at 1:28 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by dhartung at 1:28 PM on December 15, 2013
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posted by MrBadExample at 1:37 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by MrBadExample at 1:37 PM on December 15, 2013
He was the man my father wanted to be, and, of course, failed to be.
But I was taken to see Lawrence of Arabia as a child and though the violence disturbed me, it also revealed to me something that I did not have a word for until many years later: homoeroticism. Lawrence and Ali, the dark-haired and the blonde, all that intensity and all those brooding looks. And of course the oily Turk who licked his lips before flogging Lawrence. So confusing!
But I'll miss knowing that he still walked the earth. He'll always be a king of some sort to me: uncrowned in Lawrence, raging in The Lion in Winter. He wore dignity like a shining suit of armour, even in the worst of circumstances.
And his voice will indeed be in my head for the rest of my life.
.
posted by jokeefe at 1:42 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
But I was taken to see Lawrence of Arabia as a child and though the violence disturbed me, it also revealed to me something that I did not have a word for until many years later: homoeroticism. Lawrence and Ali, the dark-haired and the blonde, all that intensity and all those brooding looks. And of course the oily Turk who licked his lips before flogging Lawrence. So confusing!
But I'll miss knowing that he still walked the earth. He'll always be a king of some sort to me: uncrowned in Lawrence, raging in The Lion in Winter. He wore dignity like a shining suit of armour, even in the worst of circumstances.
And his voice will indeed be in my head for the rest of my life.
.
posted by jokeefe at 1:42 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
.
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:43 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by Halloween Jack at 1:43 PM on December 15, 2013
I am just learning this. Having too many feelings for this bus.
!
I mean
!
posted by louche mustachio at 1:44 PM on December 15, 2013
!
I mean
posted by louche mustachio at 1:44 PM on December 15, 2013
He was also the best part of Prometheus.
posted by Rangeboy at 1:56 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Rangeboy at 1:56 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
What a fantastic actor.
Hearing all these tales of bacchic excess, I wondered how he lived so long. Looking into it a bit, I found the one weird trick he used:
In 1975, when he was 43, matters were taken out of his hands. An abdominal irregularity he'd persistently ignored (he hated doctors) finally erupted and he was rushed into hospital for a major operation...
There was so little of his digestive system left that any amount of alcohol could prove fatal. Having come so close to death, O'Toole was determined to live each day to the full.
"The time has come to stop roaming," he said. "The pirate ship has berthed. I can still make whoopee, but now I do it sober."
posted by thelonius at 2:16 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
Hearing all these tales of bacchic excess, I wondered how he lived so long. Looking into it a bit, I found the one weird trick he used:
In 1975, when he was 43, matters were taken out of his hands. An abdominal irregularity he'd persistently ignored (he hated doctors) finally erupted and he was rushed into hospital for a major operation...
There was so little of his digestive system left that any amount of alcohol could prove fatal. Having come so close to death, O'Toole was determined to live each day to the full.
"The time has come to stop roaming," he said. "The pirate ship has berthed. I can still make whoopee, but now I do it sober."
posted by thelonius at 2:16 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
Thanks, thelonius. I wondered how he managed to survive his apparent lifestyle. He didn't. He changed his lifestyle.
posted by Cranberry at 2:22 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by Cranberry at 2:22 PM on December 15, 2013
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posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:24 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by cybercoitus interruptus at 2:24 PM on December 15, 2013
When I think of O'Toole, I think of Bukowski's famous line: We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.
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posted by middleclasstool at 2:30 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
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posted by middleclasstool at 2:30 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
I'm surprised no one has mentioned How to Steal a Million - it's as campy as hell, but his debonair thief was so beguiling; it's probably my personal favourite.
posted by smoke at 2:38 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
posted by smoke at 2:38 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
A truly heavy water buffalo departs. I hope he's having a bottle with Burton right this moment.
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posted by dbiedny at 2:43 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
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posted by dbiedny at 2:43 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Kat Allison: "I honestly think I loved him best in The Stunt Man -- a less-well-known film than others that have been mentioned above, but well worth seeking out.
."
How did I forget about that one? "Come back here with your fucking pink and blue smoke!"
posted by chavenet at 2:45 PM on December 15, 2013
."
How did I forget about that one? "Come back here with your fucking pink and blue smoke!"
posted by chavenet at 2:45 PM on December 15, 2013
Mr. hippybear came up to tell me that O'Toole had died, and he actually was fighting back tears.
He was one of the great ones. His film catalog has a lot of ups and downs, but he was magnificent in even the worst of them.
He's left us a deep legacy, one which we can visit again and again. But there will never be another new Peter O'Toole movie.
.
posted by hippybear at 2:58 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
He was one of the great ones. His film catalog has a lot of ups and downs, but he was magnificent in even the worst of them.
He's left us a deep legacy, one which we can visit again and again. But there will never be another new Peter O'Toole movie.
.
posted by hippybear at 2:58 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
A true story: last month I chipped a tooth when I was eating chips while watching Goodbye Mr. Chips.
posted by ovvl at 3:16 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ovvl at 3:16 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Seeing Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen is now definitely on my to-do list. I missed an August screening in Toronto, but I suspect that various venues will be scrambling for access to a good print right about now.
I've also put a hold on his memoirs (two volumes) at my library. There's a series of BBC broadcasts based on these, but it looks as if they're not officially available right now. This may change, too.
posted by maudlin at 3:28 PM on December 15, 2013
I've also put a hold on his memoirs (two volumes) at my library. There's a series of BBC broadcasts based on these, but it looks as if they're not officially available right now. This may change, too.
posted by maudlin at 3:28 PM on December 15, 2013
wow. Lawrence and Billy Jack on the same day.
posted by philip-random at 4:01 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by philip-random at 4:01 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
At the end of the 1980's, I was hanging outside Atlanta and one evening I happened to have some money in my pocket. It was about $100 as I recollect. Looking through Creative Loafing for something interesting to do, I saw that Lawrence of Arabia was playing in its intended 70mm. (At Lenox Square I think.) Because of the time I would have to take a cab, and the roundtrip fare and the movie ticket plus a trip to the concession stand would require nearly the entire amount . I mulled it over and thought "Alright, do it."
The movie theater was indeed huge. It was cavernous. It was all old Hollywood bandshell-style with rows and rows of seats that seemed to go over forever. I remember thinking, "how did they ever fill all these seats?" Popcorned up with a soda and candy in hand, I found the perfect seat and readied myself for what I hoped would be a worthwhile experience.
Bless that younger version of myself.
When the curtain rose (literally) and the full cinematic spectacle of Super-Panavision 70 fantastically began enveloping the room, we all in the theater may well have been drugged and secretly smuggled away from Atlanta to the heat, politics, courage, and insanity of a wartime desert in 1914 Cairo (actually, Jordan). To this day when people use the word epic, I immediately reflect on my experience of this film and measure whatever is being described at the moment against Lawrence of Arabia.
Peter O'Toole is a god. There is film, there is art, and there is Lawrence of Arabia.
One side note. In theory, everyone can get lucky once. That is why for me, My Favorite Year [spoilers] is the taste that proves the pudding. Like I said, Peter O'Toole is a god.
Rest in peace, Mr Lawrence. Wherever I go, there you are.
*
posted by Mike Mongo at 4:15 PM on December 15, 2013 [6 favorites]
The movie theater was indeed huge. It was cavernous. It was all old Hollywood bandshell-style with rows and rows of seats that seemed to go over forever. I remember thinking, "how did they ever fill all these seats?" Popcorned up with a soda and candy in hand, I found the perfect seat and readied myself for what I hoped would be a worthwhile experience.
Bless that younger version of myself.
When the curtain rose (literally) and the full cinematic spectacle of Super-Panavision 70 fantastically began enveloping the room, we all in the theater may well have been drugged and secretly smuggled away from Atlanta to the heat, politics, courage, and insanity of a wartime desert in 1914 Cairo (actually, Jordan). To this day when people use the word epic, I immediately reflect on my experience of this film and measure whatever is being described at the moment against Lawrence of Arabia.
Peter O'Toole is a god. There is film, there is art, and there is Lawrence of Arabia.
One side note. In theory, everyone can get lucky once. That is why for me, My Favorite Year [spoilers] is the taste that proves the pudding. Like I said, Peter O'Toole is a god.
Rest in peace, Mr Lawrence. Wherever I go, there you are.
*
posted by Mike Mongo at 4:15 PM on December 15, 2013 [6 favorites]
Excellent tribute, fearfulsymmetry - and great in-thread links and commentary.
A superb actor and a wonderful raconteur - I will miss him.
"I am deeply European"
A delightful and not-to-be missed 40+ minute interview conducted John Kelly in the Town Hall in Galway in 2008
posted by madamjujujive at 4:33 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
A superb actor and a wonderful raconteur - I will miss him.
"I am deeply European"
A delightful and not-to-be missed 40+ minute interview conducted John Kelly in the Town Hall in Galway in 2008
posted by madamjujujive at 4:33 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Maybe not the last hellraiser, but certainly the last of the classic hellraisers. I too forgot about The Stunt Man – and no one yet has mentioned Becket (which I preferred to The Lion in Winter), yet another of his eight Academy Award nominations without a win. It's incredible to think he lost playing in the role of Lawrence, but he came up against Gregory Peck in To Kill a Mockingbird. In fact (unlike in his acting career), O'Toole had remarkably bad timing in the Oscars, facing off against career-defining performances like Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady, John Wayne in True Grit, Marlon Brando in The Godfather, Ben Kingsley in Gandhi, and Robert De Niro in Raging Bull. His own best films, though, will live with us as long as theirs.
posted by LeLiLo at 4:37 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by LeLiLo at 4:37 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
He was the ultimate in Lawrence, of course, but I fell in love with him because of Lion in Winter and Becket.
Now the king has died. There will be no more kings such as he.
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posted by BlueHorse at 4:47 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Now the king has died. There will be no more kings such as he.
.
posted by BlueHorse at 4:47 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I am a Becket fan too, LeLiLo, just rewatched it recently.
Here is a gem of a snippet - O'Toole and Sharif reunited briefly in a segment of This is Your Life Omar Sharif.
I think have my New Year's weekend defined now with a Peter O'Toole retrospective. And just to keep in the spirit of things, I will toast him liberally.
posted by madamjujujive at 4:50 PM on December 15, 2013
Here is a gem of a snippet - O'Toole and Sharif reunited briefly in a segment of This is Your Life Omar Sharif.
I think have my New Year's weekend defined now with a Peter O'Toole retrospective. And just to keep in the spirit of things, I will toast him liberally.
posted by madamjujujive at 4:50 PM on December 15, 2013
Will TCM edit O'Toole into their In Memoriam segment for this year? Will they do a day devoted to his movies before the new year?
I certainly hope so.
posted by hippybear at 5:01 PM on December 15, 2013
I certainly hope so.
posted by hippybear at 5:01 PM on December 15, 2013
All day, NPR has been playing a funny joke from "My Favorite Year" in which the actor's character relieves himself in the ladies' WC and responds to an outraged accoster that referenes the part of his anatomy involved in the activity he is engaged in.
I was, firstly, amused that Mr. O'Toole was being memorialized by repeated playback of a dick joke, fuxake, then amused at myself for being amused, and finally, after considering the name and spirit of the actor being so commemorated, in awe of the news editor at NPR that made this choice. How perfect that a thoughtful and hilarious prank should take the form of a laurel on his grave.
posted by mwhybark at 5:15 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was, firstly, amused that Mr. O'Toole was being memorialized by repeated playback of a dick joke, fuxake, then amused at myself for being amused, and finally, after considering the name and spirit of the actor being so commemorated, in awe of the news editor at NPR that made this choice. How perfect that a thoughtful and hilarious prank should take the form of a laurel on his grave.
posted by mwhybark at 5:15 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ah, The Ruling Class. You just couldn't make films like that any more. What we have lost...
posted by Decani at 5:27 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by Decani at 5:27 PM on December 15, 2013
I always wanted to be gazed at by Peter O'Toole. Those eyes - and it wasn't that they were pretty eyes, it was the feeling he managed to put behind them.
Years ago I read his memoir. IIRC, there were no chapter breaks. I imagined him soliloquizing into a tape machine before handing it over to the transcriptionist, who got a contact high from all the tales of O'Toole and Albert Finney boozing it up in school, and decided, oh fuck, I can't confer with with him about chapters and retype this, I'll get liver damage.
Will be rewatching My Favorite Year tonight and Ruling Class tomorrow. Then will go out and find copy of Stunt Man. If there's any justice, some local theater will put Lawrence on a big screen very soon.
posted by goofyfoot at 5:42 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Years ago I read his memoir. IIRC, there were no chapter breaks. I imagined him soliloquizing into a tape machine before handing it over to the transcriptionist, who got a contact high from all the tales of O'Toole and Albert Finney boozing it up in school, and decided, oh fuck, I can't confer with with him about chapters and retype this, I'll get liver damage.
Will be rewatching My Favorite Year tonight and Ruling Class tomorrow. Then will go out and find copy of Stunt Man. If there's any justice, some local theater will put Lawrence on a big screen very soon.
posted by goofyfoot at 5:42 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
And then there was the time he arrived on Letterman on the back of a camel.
I was another one for whom My Favorite Year was the first thing I saw him in as a kid. Still breaks my heart every damn time.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:42 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
I was another one for whom My Favorite Year was the first thing I saw him in as a kid. Still breaks my heart every damn time.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:42 PM on December 15, 2013 [5 favorites]
I just realized I lied. I did see The Lion in Winter before that.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:44 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by The Underpants Monster at 5:44 PM on December 15, 2013
.
My personal favorites of Peter O'Toole's work would be Goodbye Mr. Chips and the criminally neglected Murphy's War.
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 5:46 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
My personal favorites of Peter O'Toole's work would be Goodbye Mr. Chips and the criminally neglected Murphy's War.
posted by CosmicRayCharles at 5:46 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
.
posted by oceanjesse at 6:38 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by oceanjesse at 6:38 PM on December 15, 2013
Mike Mongo - sounds like maybe you saw it at the Rhodes Theater.....did a very old woman sell you the ticket?
posted by thelonius at 6:47 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by thelonius at 6:47 PM on December 15, 2013
One of the funnier stories of my life revolves around Lawrence of Arabia. So when it was cleaned up and reshown in '4K' last year, I made sure to go see it. That opening is *astounding*. Mr O'Toole and his whole generation of English rabble rousing actors always struck me as a gift from England to the world.
.
posted by DigDoug at 7:10 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
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posted by DigDoug at 7:10 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
As much as I love some of his performances, I adore this video of Peter palling around with his old friend Richard Harris.
It's how I like to remember this fine gentleman.
posted by markkraft at 7:38 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
It's how I like to remember this fine gentleman.
posted by markkraft at 7:38 PM on December 15, 2013 [2 favorites]
Distant cousin of mine. My retort when folks would comment on our sharing a family name always was "Well, he got the looks, I got the brains". Oh if it were different! RIP Peter.
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posted by amorphatist at 8:03 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
.
posted by amorphatist at 8:03 PM on December 15, 2013 [3 favorites]
and the criminally neglected Murphy's War .
I was just beginning to wonder if I was the only person on earth who loved this film. Seems like it was on late nite tv a good bit in the late 70's so I saw it a few times, & adored it. So Quixotic & ... Melvillian? There was some Ahab in Murphy.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:31 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I was just beginning to wonder if I was the only person on earth who loved this film. Seems like it was on late nite tv a good bit in the late 70's so I saw it a few times, & adored it. So Quixotic & ... Melvillian? There was some Ahab in Murphy.
posted by Devils Rancher at 8:31 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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posted by but no cigar at 9:00 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by but no cigar at 9:00 PM on December 15, 2013
•🐪
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:17 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:17 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Oh, Peter O'Tool disliked camels. He and Omar Sharif used to get drunk and be tied on.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:23 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 9:23 PM on December 15, 2013
.
Whatever you call this drug-crazed nipple ranch.
posted by rahnefan at 9:44 PM on December 15, 2013
Whatever you call this drug-crazed nipple ranch.
posted by rahnefan at 9:44 PM on December 15, 2013
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posted by loominpapa at 10:13 PM on December 15, 2013
posted by loominpapa at 10:13 PM on December 15, 2013
"I'm not an actor, I'm a movie star!"
My Favorite Year is one of those movies that I will eternally love. I had the great privilege of working as the head archivist for a project in Adolph Green's home (Leo Silver in that movie, but a bit part in his illustrious musical theatre career) for his wife, and some of the archival pieces they owned regarding that movie were just amazing; I regarded them longingly as I cataloged them. Nobody had anything but the highest praise for O'Toole, which didn't surprise me in the least. O'Toole was both an actor AND a movie star, which is marvellously impressive.
posted by ilana at 10:26 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
My Favorite Year is one of those movies that I will eternally love. I had the great privilege of working as the head archivist for a project in Adolph Green's home (Leo Silver in that movie, but a bit part in his illustrious musical theatre career) for his wife, and some of the archival pieces they owned regarding that movie were just amazing; I regarded them longingly as I cataloged them. Nobody had anything but the highest praise for O'Toole, which didn't surprise me in the least. O'Toole was both an actor AND a movie star, which is marvellously impressive.
posted by ilana at 10:26 PM on December 15, 2013 [4 favorites]
I once had a band called the Peter O'Tooles. Maybe it's due for a revival.
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 10:55 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Bunny Ultramod at 10:55 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I rather liked that he made such a memorably voiced character in Anton Ego("review", starts about 0:50).
And I still think Patton Oswalt in Ratatouille sounds a lot like Mark Linn-Baker from My Favorite Year.
posted by dglynn at 11:44 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
And I still think Patton Oswalt in Ratatouille sounds a lot like Mark Linn-Baker from My Favorite Year.
posted by dglynn at 11:44 PM on December 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
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I pretty much never find other men attractive, but I've long had an intense crush on O'Toole. I just found him enthralling in every possible way.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:02 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
I pretty much never find other men attractive, but I've long had an intense crush on O'Toole. I just found him enthralling in every possible way.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 1:02 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
.
All the male actors headlining films this year and last don't add up to half of him.
Beautiful man, stunning actor, amazing eloquence and flair. We should all live so well.
"My life, when it is written, will read better than it lived. Henry Fitz-Empress, first Plantagenet, a king at twenty-one, the ablest soldier of an able time. He led men well, he cared for justice when he could and ruled, for thirty years, a state as great as Charlemagne's. He married out of love, a woman out of legend. Not in Alexandria, or Rome, or Camelot has there been such a queen. She bore him many children. But no sons. King Henry had no sons. He had three whiskered things but he disowned them
You're not mine! We're not connected! I deny you! None of you will get my crown, I leave you nothing and I wish you plague! May all your children breach and die!
My Boys are gone
I've lost my boys"
posted by runincircles at 2:28 AM on December 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
All the male actors headlining films this year and last don't add up to half of him.
Beautiful man, stunning actor, amazing eloquence and flair. We should all live so well.
"My life, when it is written, will read better than it lived. Henry Fitz-Empress, first Plantagenet, a king at twenty-one, the ablest soldier of an able time. He led men well, he cared for justice when he could and ruled, for thirty years, a state as great as Charlemagne's. He married out of love, a woman out of legend. Not in Alexandria, or Rome, or Camelot has there been such a queen. She bore him many children. But no sons. King Henry had no sons. He had three whiskered things but he disowned them
You're not mine! We're not connected! I deny you! None of you will get my crown, I leave you nothing and I wish you plague! May all your children breach and die!
My Boys are gone
I've lost my boys"
posted by runincircles at 2:28 AM on December 16, 2013 [3 favorites]
.
An exquisite rascal.
I have to believe that he and Harris and Burton and Reed and all the other beautiful and outrageous Hellraisers of our youth are off somewhere, properly raising Hell.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:15 AM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
An exquisite rascal.
I have to believe that he and Harris and Burton and Reed and all the other beautiful and outrageous Hellraisers of our youth are off somewhere, properly raising Hell.
posted by kinnakeet at 6:15 AM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
.
An anecdote via Justin McElroy (via one of his acting teachers, so who knows on the veracity, but):
So Peter O'Toole is doing Julius Caesar and there's this bit where a messenger hands him a scroll [and] he reads it aloud. O'Toole never actually learned the lines, because, you know, on the scroll. So the younger cast members decide to goof on him and bring him a blank scroll. O'Toole takes one look, passes it back and says "My eyes are tired, read it to me."
posted by kmz at 7:35 AM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
An anecdote via Justin McElroy (via one of his acting teachers, so who knows on the veracity, but):
So Peter O'Toole is doing Julius Caesar and there's this bit where a messenger hands him a scroll [and] he reads it aloud. O'Toole never actually learned the lines, because, you know, on the scroll. So the younger cast members decide to goof on him and bring him a blank scroll. O'Toole takes one look, passes it back and says "My eyes are tired, read it to me."
posted by kmz at 7:35 AM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
A great loss. I missed a chance a few months ago to see Lawrence of Arabia on the big screen and have regretted it ever since.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:39 AM on December 16, 2013
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:39 AM on December 16, 2013
All the male actors headlining films this year and last don't add up to half of him.
probably not.
But I would support a rethink of the best male acting performance Oscar this year, wherein only Peter O'Toole is nominated -- all of his "losing" lead performances going head-to-head ...
Lawrence of Arabia
The Lion in Winter
Goodbye, Mr Chips
The Ruling Class
The Stunt Man
My Favorite Year
Venus
And then some other year we could do the same with directors Alfred Hitchcock and Stanley Kubrick.
posted by philip-random at 9:22 AM on December 16, 2013
And I initially wrote a fond memory I had of a story I heard O'Toole tell once, but after completing it, I realized my chronic inability to tell Peter O'Toole from Richard Harris had again betrayed me, so I related a lengthy anecdote involving Harris. Ooops.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:33 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 9:33 AM on December 16, 2013 [1 favorite]
but after completing it, I realized my chronic inability to tell Peter O'Toole from Richard Harris had again betrayed me
I have an idea the two of them would derive endless pleasure and laughs out of that.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:57 AM on December 16, 2013
I have an idea the two of them would derive endless pleasure and laughs out of that.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:57 AM on December 16, 2013
While filming Juggernaut in 1974, a young Anthony Hopkins became friends with Richard Harris, which meant going out to the pub every night to listen to Harris reel out story after fabulous story. Hopkins, at Harris' encouragement, would occasionally trot out an anecdote of his own; one of these, an off-color little story about Hopkins' father back in Wales, was particularly successful and won Hopkins free drinks for the rest of the night. Harris made him repeat it twice.
Some time later, Hopkins went to a party and came upon Harris entertaining a crowd with an off-color little story about his dad back in Ireland.
"But that was really about my father!" Hopkins said to him afterwards.
"It's a story, Tony," said Harris. "The fuck does it matter whose father it was?"
posted by Iridic at 10:03 AM on December 16, 2013 [5 favorites]
Some time later, Hopkins went to a party and came upon Harris entertaining a crowd with an off-color little story about his dad back in Ireland.
"But that was really about my father!" Hopkins said to him afterwards.
"It's a story, Tony," said Harris. "The fuck does it matter whose father it was?"
posted by Iridic at 10:03 AM on December 16, 2013 [5 favorites]
Good point. Harris (whom I will call O'Toole for the duration of the story), whilst living in London, once said to his wife he was going out to buy a paper. When he picked up the newspaper, he saw there was a rugby match in Dublin he wanted to attend. So, without telling his wife, O'Toole headed to Dublin and fell into drink. After five weeks (without ever contacting his wife) he received a call from his brother telling O'Toole that he was about to be served with divorce papers, so he rushed back to England, furiously thinking the entire time, "What can I say?" He arrived on his doorstep at nearly midnight, still desperate for a way out. When his wife opened the door, O'Toole asked her, "Why didn't you pay the fucking ransom?"
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:42 AM on December 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:42 AM on December 16, 2013 [4 favorites]
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There are so many of his films to choose from, but for me, a memorial viewing of My Favorite Year would seem to be in order.
posted by Gelatin at 11:40 AM on December 16, 2013
There are so many of his films to choose from, but for me, a memorial viewing of My Favorite Year would seem to be in order.
posted by Gelatin at 11:40 AM on December 16, 2013
Peter O'Toole: 10 remarkable things about the self-styled 'slum Mick'
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:43 PM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 12:43 PM on December 16, 2013 [2 favorites]
okay, I've been biting my tongue about this for so long it's begun to bleed. So ...
MY FAVORITE YEAR IS NOT A VERY GOOD MOVIE!
In fact, everything other than pretty much every scene that features Mr. O'Toole is exceedingly mediocre -- a by-the-numbers romantic comedy at best. Really average stuff.
posted by philip-random at 1:32 PM on December 16, 2013
MY FAVORITE YEAR IS NOT A VERY GOOD MOVIE!
In fact, everything other than pretty much every scene that features Mr. O'Toole is exceedingly mediocre -- a by-the-numbers romantic comedy at best. Really average stuff.
posted by philip-random at 1:32 PM on December 16, 2013
philip-random, we just watched it for the first time last night, and I must concur. It was, however fascinating on a number of levels:
- 30 Rock the sitcom borrows liberally from the film, to my surprise*
- the alternate fictionalized depiction of Sid Caesar's writer's room (to that seen most crisply in the Dick Van Dyke Show) was inherently fascinating
- portions of the film appear to have been shot on location at 30 Rock, mostly the street lobby (I did not verify this)
- film-within-a-film shot-for-shot recreation of part of the stair fight sequence from the Errol Flynn Robin Hood
- Selma Diamond, a Your Show of Shows writer who served as the inspiration for the Dick Van Dyke Show's Rose Marie character, appears in the film
- the mix of period-accurate setting detail and eighties lead-actor hair (extras and bit players got brillantine, leads did not)
- the Technicolor pallette of the production design
The weird pacing of the film stems from the editing. It's cut with a beat for yuks after most jokes, but most of the jokes (with the exceptions of the O'Toole sequences) are mildly chuckleworthy, not kneeslappers, so the film feels slow and indulgent.
Mel Brooks was the film's producer and, as near as I could tell, the highest-profile person associated with both this film as well as Your Show of Shows. He does not have a writing credit on the film. I suspect that may be inaccurate, and that the funniest scenes, the ones involving O'Toole, were at least partially constructed with Brooks in the room actively contributing.
The shot-for-shot Robin Hood bit also strongly echoes Brooks' preoccupations in this era. Given that he was able to shoot Young Frankenstein on the original standing sets from the old Universal Frankenstein films, it stands to reason this film might have had access to the same castle set for that scene. Please note, as I stated above, I have not yet looked for location info on the film.
*Yes I know 30 Rock drew from real-life experiences working on a show produced at 30 Rock. I never noted it echoing Dick Van Dyke, I assume deliberately. Yet the resemblance of this film to an episode of 30 Rock is unmistakable. Get Him to the Greek also took some inspiration, I think.
So, yeah, not great. I was still quite engaged by it, often for reasons that had little to do with the story, script, direction, acting or editing.
posted by mwhybark at 8:16 AM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
- 30 Rock the sitcom borrows liberally from the film, to my surprise*
- the alternate fictionalized depiction of Sid Caesar's writer's room (to that seen most crisply in the Dick Van Dyke Show) was inherently fascinating
- portions of the film appear to have been shot on location at 30 Rock, mostly the street lobby (I did not verify this)
- film-within-a-film shot-for-shot recreation of part of the stair fight sequence from the Errol Flynn Robin Hood
- Selma Diamond, a Your Show of Shows writer who served as the inspiration for the Dick Van Dyke Show's Rose Marie character, appears in the film
- the mix of period-accurate setting detail and eighties lead-actor hair (extras and bit players got brillantine, leads did not)
- the Technicolor pallette of the production design
The weird pacing of the film stems from the editing. It's cut with a beat for yuks after most jokes, but most of the jokes (with the exceptions of the O'Toole sequences) are mildly chuckleworthy, not kneeslappers, so the film feels slow and indulgent.
Mel Brooks was the film's producer and, as near as I could tell, the highest-profile person associated with both this film as well as Your Show of Shows. He does not have a writing credit on the film. I suspect that may be inaccurate, and that the funniest scenes, the ones involving O'Toole, were at least partially constructed with Brooks in the room actively contributing.
The shot-for-shot Robin Hood bit also strongly echoes Brooks' preoccupations in this era. Given that he was able to shoot Young Frankenstein on the original standing sets from the old Universal Frankenstein films, it stands to reason this film might have had access to the same castle set for that scene. Please note, as I stated above, I have not yet looked for location info on the film.
*Yes I know 30 Rock drew from real-life experiences working on a show produced at 30 Rock. I never noted it echoing Dick Van Dyke, I assume deliberately. Yet the resemblance of this film to an episode of 30 Rock is unmistakable. Get Him to the Greek also took some inspiration, I think.
So, yeah, not great. I was still quite engaged by it, often for reasons that had little to do with the story, script, direction, acting or editing.
posted by mwhybark at 8:16 AM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ah thelonius that is sure the look but it says here the Rhodes closed in 1985.
Ha! I just remembered it was Phipps Plaza!
How'd I remember? Well, I googled "atlanta" 70mm lawrence of arabia theater and as it turns out I had once before written about the amazing experience I had in seeing Lawrence of Arabia.
posted by Mike Mongo at 5:01 PM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Ha! I just remembered it was Phipps Plaza!
How'd I remember? Well, I googled "atlanta" 70mm lawrence of arabia theater and as it turns out I had once before written about the amazing experience I had in seeing Lawrence of Arabia.
posted by Mike Mongo at 5:01 PM on December 17, 2013 [1 favorite]
Again, bless you, Peter O'Toole. You were a master.
posted by Mike Mongo at 5:06 PM on December 17, 2013
posted by Mike Mongo at 5:06 PM on December 17, 2013
Malcolm McDowell on Peter O'Toole: Caligula, catacombs and chicken gizzards
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:13 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 10:13 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
From the McDowell article:
"And then he told me the most remarkable story – whether it is true or not I have no idea -"
In some universe, this is what's going to be carved on O'Toole's tombstone, and I like to think he'll smile down on it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:40 AM on December 18, 2013
"And then he told me the most remarkable story – whether it is true or not I have no idea -"
In some universe, this is what's going to be carved on O'Toole's tombstone, and I like to think he'll smile down on it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 10:40 AM on December 18, 2013
"Drinking problem? Why no, drinking is the easiest thing in the world." - Peter O'Toole
"I don't like great drama and exciting times." - Sian Phillips, Peter O'Toole's ex-wife.
posted by markkraft at 9:33 AM on December 22, 2013
"I don't like great drama and exciting times." - Sian Phillips, Peter O'Toole's ex-wife.
posted by markkraft at 9:33 AM on December 22, 2013
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