‘Lawrence of Arabia’ Star Peter O’Toole Dies at 81

Eight time Oscar nominee Peter O’Toole, who shot to international stardom with his performance in 1962’s Lawrence of Arabia, passed away at the Wellington hospital in London on Saturday at the age of 81.  The acclaimed actor, who overcame stomach cancer in the 1970s,  was battling a long illness.

Kate O’Toole, his daughter, read a in a statement that the family was overwhelmed “by the outpouring of real love and affection being expressed towards him, and to us, during this unhappy time. … In due course there will be a memorial filled with song and good cheer, as he would have wished.”

O’Toole received his first Oscar nomination for Lawrence of Arabia, and would go on to be nominated for another seven more, never winning a single one.  In 2003, he accepted an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  O’Toole still holds the record for the most Oscar acting nominations without a win.

President Michael Higgins of Ireland was one of the first to pay respects to O’Toole saying,  “Ireland, and the world, has lost one of the giants of film and theatre.”

“In a long list of leading roles on stage and in film, Peter brought an extraordinary standard to bear as an actor,” Higgins said. “He had a deep interest in literature and a love of Shakespearean sonnets in particular. While he was nominated as best actor for an Oscar eight times, and received a special Oscar from his peers for his contribution to film, he was deeply committed to the stage. Those who saw him play leading roles on the screen from Lawrence in 1962, or through the role of Henry II in Becket, and The Lion in Winter, or through the dozens of films, will recognize a lifetime devoted to the artform of the camera.”

O’Toole is survived by his two daughters, Pat and Kate O’Toole, from his marriage to actress Siân Phillips, and his son, Lorcan O’Toole, by Karen Brown.