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Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia star, dies aged 81 Peter O'Toole, Lawrence of Arabia star, dies aged 81
(35 minutes later)
Actor Peter O'Toole, who starred in Sir David Lean's 1962 film classic Lawrence of Arabia, has died aged 81, his agent has said. Actor Peter O'Toole, who starred in Sir David Lean's 1962 film classic Lawrence of Arabia, died on Saturday aged 81, his agent has said.
He died on Saturday at London's Wellington hospital in London after a long illness, his agent added, saying he was "one of a kind in the very best sense and a giant in his field". He was being treated at London's Wellington hospital after a long illness, his agent added.
The Irish-born star got his big break when Sir David cast him as British adventurer T E Lawrence. O'Toole's daughter Kate said the family was overwhelmed "by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed towards him, and to us".
He received an honorary Oscar in 2003. He received an honorary Oscar in 2003, having initially turned it down.
Riotous behaviour In a letter the actor asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to delay it until he was 80, saying he was "still in the game and might win the bugger outright".
He had initially refused to accept the award. In a letter he asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to delay it until he was 80, saying he was "still in the game and might win the bugger outright". O'Toole's agent said he was "one of a kind in the very best sense and a giant in his field".
Lawrence of Arabia earned him the first of eight Oscar nominations, with others coming for such films as Becket, The Lion in Winter and Goodbye, Mr Chips. Prime Minister David Cameron said: "My thoughts are with Peter O'Toole's family and friends. His performance in my favourite film, Lawrence of Arabia, was stunning."
O'Toole began his acting career as an exciting young talent on the British stage and his Hamlet in 1955 at the Bristol Old Vic, was critically acclaimed.
He hit international stardom when Sir David cast him as British adventurer T E Lawrence, the British World War I soldier and scholar who led an Arab rebellion against the Turks.
Playwright Noel Coward once said that if O'Toole had been any prettier, they would have had to call the film "Florence of Arabia".
Lawrence of Arabia earned him the first of eight Oscar nominations, with his second coming for 1964's Becket, in which he played King Henry II to Richard Burton's Thomas Becket.
Burton and O'Toole's shared love of drinking garnered many headlines along with their performances.
O'Toole played Henry again in 1968 in The Lion in Winter, for which he received his third Oscar nod, opposite Katharine Hepburn.
His five other nominations were for Goodbye, Mr Chips in 1968, The Ruling Class in 1971, 1980's The Stunt Man, My Favorite Year [1982] and finally for Venus in 2006.
Retiring from acting
Other performances included leading Shakespearean parts, comic roles in adaptations of PG Wodehouse and his famed starring role in Keith Waterhouse's stage play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell.Other performances included leading Shakespearean parts, comic roles in adaptations of PG Wodehouse and his famed starring role in Keith Waterhouse's stage play Jeffrey Bernard Is Unwell.
O'Toole also had a reputation for riotous behaviour following bouts of drinking, but in the mid-70s he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and was warned by medics that more alcohol would prove fatal.O'Toole also had a reputation for riotous behaviour following bouts of drinking, but in the mid-70s he was diagnosed with pancreatitis and was warned by medics that more alcohol would prove fatal.
He had yards of his intestinal tubing - "most of my plumbing" - removed and he gave up drinking.He had yards of his intestinal tubing - "most of my plumbing" - removed and he gave up drinking.
Last July, he said he was retiring from the stage and screen, at the age of 79. "If you can't do something willingly and joyfully, then don't do it,'' he once said. "If you give up drinking, don't go moaning about it; go back on the bottle. Do. As. Thou. Wilt."
After a career spanning 50 years O'Toole said: "I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell. Last July, after a career spanning 50 years and at the age of 79, O'Toole said he was retiring from the stage and screen.
"The heart for it has gone out of me," he added. "It won't come back". "I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell," he said.
"The heart for it has gone out of me. It won't come back".
However, last month it was announced he was being lined up for a role as a Roman orator in Katherine of Alexandria, a film scheduled for release next year.However, last month it was announced he was being lined up for a role as a Roman orator in Katherine of Alexandria, a film scheduled for release next year.