Farewell to a raconteur

"When did I realize I was God? Well, I was praying and I suddenly realized I was talking to myself."

RIP one of the greatest actors in history, Mr Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole (2nd August 1932 - 14th December 2013)

Read more on the BBC website

My tribute to the great man on his 80th birthday.

My idea of heaven is moving from one smoke-filled room to another

Happy 80th birthday today to one of the most prodigious talents in the acting world - and arguably one of the coolest men on the planet - Mr Peter Seamus O'Toole!

Possessor of innate charm and the most beautiful piercing blue eyes, bon vivant, notorious lover of drinking, smoking and women (no wonder Miss Sian Phillips and so many others fell for him!), Mr O'Toole's theatrical and on-screen history is one of the most impressive of the lot.

In a 50-year career he has more than held his own against acting giants such as his friends Richard Burton and Katherine Hepburn, and starred alongside just about every star in the firmament including Sophia Loren, Jack Hawkins, David Niven, Audrey Hepburn, Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Anthony Hopkins, Burt Lancaster, Michael Redgrave, Omar Sharif, John Mills, Denholm Elliott, Faye Dunaway, Jim Broadbent, Albert Finney, Leslie Phillips, Joanna Lumley and many, many more.

Rather sadly, he recently announced his retirement from acting. But I suppose, when you are 80, you are excused a bit of a rest...

I love this man!

"Life turned out much better than I thought. I knew after a little while that I could act."

"It's my job, it's what I do, it's what I'm on earth to do and it's who I am."

"I'm the most gregarious of men and love good company, but never less alone when alone."

"I can`t stand light. I hate weather. My idea of heaven is moving from one smoke-filled room to another."

"The only exercise I take is walking behind the coffins of friends who took exercise."

"I have no memories I'm prepared to share with you."

Peter O'Toole (born 2 August 1932)

An epic talent

Today is the centenary of the birth of the incredibly talented David Lean, film director and producer of such classics as Lawrence of Arabia (one of the most homoerotic films of its genre - featuring hardly any women actors in its cast), Bridge On The River Kwai and Dr Zhivago, as well as classic early film productions of Dickens stories such as Oliver Twist.

In his time, he collaborated with the greatest of writers - including Noel Coward and Terrence Rattigan - and a cavalcade of top actors, including Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Katherine Hepburn, Peter O’Toole, John Mills, Trevor Howard, Omar Sharif, Jack Hawkins, Celia Johnson, Ralph Richardson, Kay Walsh, Ann Todd, Stanley Holloway, Robert Newton and Claude Rains.

He was indeed a towering talent. His instinct was for epics - in cinematography, music and casting - and, given the taste in Hollywood nowadays for quantity not quality, we are unlikely to see his like again. A dreadful shame, in my opinion...

Peter O'Toole and Anthony Quinn in Lawrence of Arabia

Doctor Zhivago trailer

The Bridge on the River Kwai trailer

David Lean filmography on IMDB