Peter Ustinov
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
He was named Commander of the British Empire in 1975 and knighted in 1990.
Until 2000 when Michael Caine picked up his second Oscar, Ustinov was the only British male to have won two acting Academy Awards.
Biography
By his mid-20s, this multi-faceted talent had achieved considerable success in both theater and cinema directing, writing and acting in cultivated, witty comedies. Peter Ustinov later won international acclaim and reached the peak of his fame in the early 1960s for his appearances in sweeping epics and lighthearted romps. He won two Best Supporting Actor Oscars, for his clown in "Spartacus" (1960) and his engaging con man in "Topkapi" (1964). Ustinov has also earned critical praise for his directorial efforts (which he also produced, starred in and wrote): "Romanoff and Juliet" (1962), a biting Cold War satire based on his own play, the bracing "Billy Budd" (1962) and the "Faust"-inspired Elizabeth Taylor-Richard Burton vehicle "Hammersmith Is Out" (1972). The spotlight fell on Ustinov as a personality, too. Throughout the 1960s and early 1970s, he was a favored raconteur on talk shows whether or not he was publicizing a film.
Ustinov was only 17 years old when he made his stage debut in "The Wood Demon" in the provinces. The following year, he made his London debut in the title role of "The Bishop of Limpopoland," a sketch at the Players Club, which he also wrote. His first play to reach NYC was "The Loves of Four Colonels" (1953) but it was not until 1957 that he made his Broadway acting debut as The General in "Romanoff and Juliet," which he wrote. (He later toured the USA and the Soviet Union with the show.) By the time of his American debut, Ustinov was a top draw in England, having either written or starred in numerous stage productions. He continued playing roles on stage well into the 80s and in 1990 performed internationally in the one-man show "An Evening With Peter Ustinov." Proving to be a true man of the theater, Ustinov has not only performed in and written shows but also has directed (e.g., "Fishing for Shadows" 1940) and designed sets and costumes (for the 1973 London production of "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife"). Among his successes as playwright are "Who's Who in Hell" (1974), and "Beethoven's Tenth" (1984).
Moving to the big screen in 1940, the portly, often mustachioed actor was featured in the British propaganda film "Mein Kampf, My Crimes." He went on to play the title role in "Private Angelo" (1949), a deserter from the Italian army who accidentally becomes a hero, and garnered kudos for his turn as Emperor Nero in the costume epic "Quo Vadis" (1951). Some critics claim he stole the show as Lentulus Batiatus in "Spartacus" as he unquestionably did in "Topkapi," as the duped con man turned mole. (The scene in which he is asked to hold the rope during the crime is alone worth the price of admission.) "Romanoff and Juliet" (1961) was adapted from the stage play, with Ustinov recreating his role. "Viva Max!" (1969) found him playing a Mexican general retaking the Alamo, and in 1978, he began his impersonations of Agatha Christie's master detective Hercule Poirot in "Death on the Nile," a role he again essayed in "Evil Under the Sun" (1982) and in three TV-movies produced in the 80s. More recently, he was a stuffy expert in "Lorenzo's Oil (1992).
On the small screen, Ustinov's work has often tilted towards the high brow, or substantive or prestige projects. He appeared in numerous installments of NBC's "Omnibus" series in the late 50s, including an Emmy-winning portrayal of Dr Samuel Johnson, and was a regal Herod the Great in Franco Zeffirelli's miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (NBC, 1977). Mostly, Ustinov is remembered for several remarkable Emmy-winning performances in "Hallmark Hall of Fame" specials: as Socrates in "Barefoot in Athens" (1966) and as a Jewish deli owner who takes in a black youth in "A Storm in Summer" (1970). he also was "Gideon" (NBC, 1971), the Israelite who defeats the oppressors only to have his own vainglory defeat himself. Ustinov has frequently hosted and/or narrated reality-based shows, such as "Omni: The New Frontier" (syndicated, 1981), and numerous specials. Although very British in manners, he was outwardly proud of his Russian heritage, speaking of it often and creating and hosting: "Peter Ustinov's Russia: A Personal History" for the BBC in 1986.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Director (Special)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Cast (Short)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1938
First stage appearance as Waffles in "The Wood Demon" at Barn Theatre in Shere
1939
Joined Aylesbury Repertory Company
1941
Screen acting debut, "Mein Kampf" (semi-documentary)
1941
Began stage directing career with "Squaring the Circle"
1941
Wrote first full-length staged play, "House of Regrets"
1942
Joined Royal Sussex Regiment of Army; transferred to the Directorate of Army Psychiatry, writing recruitment and propaganda films
1944
First screenwriting credit, "The Way Ahead" (with Eric Ambler)
1946
Directed first film, "School For Secrets"; also screenplay)
1949
First film as producer, "Private Angelo"; also director and screenplay)
1953
NY stage debut as playwright, "The Love of Four Colonels"
1957
Broadway acting debut, "Romanoff and Juliet"; also wrote play; later toured the USA
1957
US TV debut, "The Life of Samuel Johnson"; won first Emmy Award
1960
Won first Oscar for his comic turn in "Spartacus"
1964
Co-starred in "Topkapi"; won second Oscar
1978
Played Hercule Poirot in "Death on the Nile"
1981
Hosted TV series, "Omni: The New Frontier"
1986
Served as host for BBC TV series "Peter Ustinov's Russia: A Personal History"
1992
Last film for seven years, "Lorenzo's Oil"
1999
Returned to features as a tea plantation owner in Raj India in the comic spoof "Stiff Upper Lips"
2001
Appeared in the British TV drama "Victoria & Albert"; aired on A&E in USA
2003
Cast as William Stoughton in the TV MiniSeries "The Salem Witch Trials
2003
Co-starred in "Luther," a biopic of religious reformer Martin Luther
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
He was named Commander of the British Empire in 1975 and knighted in 1990.
Until 2000 when Michael Caine picked up his second Oscar, Ustinov was the only British male to have won two acting Academy Awards.
"Peter Ustinov is probably the most famous and popular middlebrow entertainer in Britain today. Equally in his plays as in his turns, he always seems to be 'on', to be there, providing a characteristic flourish, a typical ironic joke, a custom-built piece of business, as if the characters and players were projections of himself beaming from some 3-D projector backstage." --Critic Alan Brien, quoted in "The Great Stage Stars" by Sheridan Morley.
Ustinov was a rector of Dundee University (1968, and 1971-73).
He a recipient of the Distingished Service Award, UNICEF (1975).
He was awarded the Prix de la Butte (1978).
Ustinov was named Best Actor for the Variety Clubs of Great Britain (1979).
He was named Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1985 by the French government.
Ustinov was elected to the Academy of Fine Arts in Paris (1988).
Among the honorary degrees Ustinov has received are an honorary doctrate in music from the Cleveland Institute of Music (1967), honorary LLDs from the University of Dundee (1969), LaSalle College of Philadelphia (1971) and University of Lancaster (1972) and an honorary doctorate from the University of Toronto (1984).
Received the UNICEF medal for distinguished services
