Peter O'Toole, the charismatic actor who achieved instant stardom in the title role of the film 'Lawrence of Arabia' and was nominated eight times for an Academy Award, has died aged 81.
His agent said the actor died on Saturday at a London hospital following a long illness.
Seamus Peter O'Toole was born on 2 August 1932, the son of an Irish bookmaker.
There is some question about whether Peter was born in Connemara, Ireland, or in Leeds, northern England, where he grew up, but he maintained close links to Ireland, even befriending the country's now-president, Michael D. Higgins.
After a teenage foray into journalism at the Yorkshire Evening Post and national military service with the Navy, a young O'Toole auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and won a scholarship.
He went from there to the Bristol Old Vic and soon was on his way to becoming one of the most exciting young talents on the British stage.
International stardom came in David Lean's epic film "Lawrence of Arabia".
With only a few minor film roles behind him, O'Toole was unknown to most cinema-goers when they first saw him as T.E. Lawrence, the mythic British World War I soldier and scholar who led an Arab rebellion against the Turks.
O'Toole was tall, fair and strikingly handsome, and the image of his bright blue eyes peering out of an Arab headdress in Lean's film was unforgettable.
His sensitive portrayal of Lawrence's complex character garnered O'Toole his first Oscar nomination, and the spectacularly photographed desert epic remains his best known role.
In 1964's "Becket", O'Toole played King Henry II to Richard Burton's Thomas Becket, and won another Oscar nomination.
Burton shared O'Toole's fondness for drinking, and their off-set carousing made headlines.
Five more Oscar nominations followed: for playing Henry again in 1968 in "The Lion in Winter", in 1968 for "Goodbye, Mr. Chips", in 1971 for "The Ruling Class", in 1980 for "The Stunt Man", and in 1982 for "My Favorite Year".
Having been nominated seven times, the actor was finally presented with an honorary Oscar in 2002.
O'Toole graciously accepted the award, quipping: "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride, my foot", as he clutched his Oscar.
He had nearly turned down the award, sending a letter asking that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences hold off on honoring him until he turned 80.
O'Toole was nominated one more time, for "Venus" in 2006.
The image of the renegade hell-raiser stayed with O'Toole for decades, although he gave up drinking in 1975 following serious health problems and major surgery.
He did not, however, give up smoking unfiltered cigarettes in an ebony holder.
That and his penchant for green socks, voluminous overcoats and trailing scarves lent him a rakish air and suited his fondness for drama.
A month before his 80th birthday in 2012, O'Toole announced his retirement.
O'Toole divorced Welsh actress Sian Phillips in 1979, after 19 years of marriage.
The couple had two daughters, Kate and Pat.
A brief relationship with American model Karen Somerville led to the birth of his son Lorcan in 1983, and a change of lifestyle for O'Toole.
After a long custody battle, a US judge ruled Somerville should have her son during school holidays, and O'Toole would have custody during the school year.
He learned to coach schoolboy cricket and, when he was in a play, the curtain time was moved back to allow him part of the evenings at home with his son.
AP
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