R.I.P. Peter O'Toole

Peter O’Toole was always my favorite of those hard-drinking Irish/Welsh/Scottish/British actors. Spectacular look, great voice, and he never took himself too seriously. There was always a twinkle in his eye. That might have been the liquor but I prefer to think not.

O’Toole passed away yesterday at age 81. Seeing him in his last movie, VENUS (from 2007) it is clear he lived every single day of those 81 years.

He was nominated eight times for Academy Awards -- the most nominated actor to never win. Sheepishly, the Academy gave him an honorary one in 2003.

He is of course best remembered for LAWRENCE OF ARABIA in which he played Lawrence of Arabia. The picture won Oscars for everyone including the camel but him.

O’Toole does a great comic turn in MY FAVORITE YEAR, a very funny film if you've never seen it. Imagine the worst guest-host ever on SNL.

But my favorite Peter O’Toole film (and performance) was STUNT MAN. This is a hidden little gem. O’Toole plays a mercurial film director in a world where reality and illusion collide. Run to Netflix.

Above all else, in everything he appeared in, Peter O'Toole had a presence and command that was unmistakable and riveting. It’s almost impossible to play larger-than-life and real at the same time. He had that gift.

I personally never met him. We thought about asking him to guest on the TONY RANDALL SHOW but opted for Annette O’Toole instead. Just as well. The character was a young woman. But I never heard any bad stories about Peter O’Toole. The scuttlebutt was he was gracious, kind, and the consummate professional.

He always seemed to view the world with a little half-smile. Not a bad way to go through life. He leaves us with a legacy of many great motion pictures and more than a half-smile when we think about him.

R.I.P. Peter O’Toole