Peter Ustinov was a two-time
Academy Award-winning film actor, a director, writer, journalist and raconteur. He wrote and directed many acclaimed stage plays and led numerous international theatrical productions.He was born
Peter Alexander Freiherr von
Ustinov on April 16,
1921, in
Swiss Cottage,
London, England, the son of
Nadezhda Leontievna (Benois) and
Iona von Ustinov. His father was of one quarter
Polish Jewish, one half
Russian, one eighth African
Ethiopian, and one eighth
German, descent, while his mother was of one half Russian, one quarter
Italian, one eighth
French, and one eighth
German, ancestry. Ustinov had ancestral connections to
Russian nobility, as well as to the Ethiopian
Royal Family. His father, also known as "Klop", was a pilot in the
German Air Force during
World War I. In
1919,
Peter's father joined his own mother and sister in
St. Petersburg, Russia. There he met Peter's mother, artist
Nadia Benois, who worked for the
Imperial Mariinsky Ballet and
Opera House in
St. Petersburg. In
1920, in a modest and discrete ceremony at a Russian-German
Church in St. Petersburg, Ustinov's father married
Nadia.
Later, when she was seven months pregnant with
Peter, the couple emigrated from
Russia, in 1921, in the aftermath of the
Communist Revolution.
Young Peter was brought up in a multi-lingual family--he was fluent in Russian, French, Italian and
German, and also was a native
English speaker. He attended
Westminster College in 1934-37, took the drama and acting class under
Michel St. Denis at the
London Theatre Studio, 1937-39, and made his stage debut in
1938 in a theatre in Surrey. In
1939 he made his
London stage debut in a revue sketch, then had regular performances with
Aylesbury Repertory Company. In
1940 he made his film debut in
Hullo,
Fame! (1940).From 1942-46 Ustinov served as a private soldier with the
British Army's
Royal Sussex Regiment. He was batman for
David Niven and the two became lifelong friends. Ustinov spent most of his service working with the
Army Cinema Unit, where he was involved in making recruitment films, wrote plays and appeared in three films as an actor. At that time he wrote and directed
The Way Ahead (
1944) (aka "
The Immortal Battalion").Ustinov had a stellar film career as actor, director and writer, appearing in more than
100 film and television productions. He was awarded two
Oscars for
Best Supporting Actor--one for his role in
Spartacus (
1960) and one for his role in
Topkapi (1964)--and received two more
Oscar nominations as an actor and writer. His career slowed down a bit in the
1970s, but he made a comeback as
Hercule Poirot in
Death on the Nile (1978) by director
John Guillermin. In the 1980s Ustinov reprized the
Poirot role in several subsequent television movies and theatrical films, such as
Evil Under the Sun (
1982) and
Appointment with Death (
1988). Later he appeared as a sympathetic doctor in the disease thriller
Lorenzo's Oil (
1992).Ustinov's effortless style and his expertise in dialectic and physical comedy made him a regular guest of talk shows and late night comedians. His witty and multi-dimensional humor was legendary, and he later published a collection of his jokes and quotations, summarizing his wide popularity as a raconteur. He was also an internationally acclaimed TV journalist. Ustinov covered over 100,
000 miles and visited more than 30
Russian cities during the making of his well-received
BBC television series Russia (
1986).In his autobiographical books, such as "
Dear Me" (
1977) and "My Russia" (
1996), Ustinov revealed a wealth of thoughtful and deep observations about how his life and career was formed by his rich multi-cultural and multi-ethnic background. He wrote and directed numerous stage plays, having success presenting his plays in several countries. His autobiographical play "
Photo Finish" was staged in
New York, London and St. Petersburg, Russia, where Ustinov directed the acclaimed production starring
Elena Solovey and
Petr Shelokhonov.
Outside of his acting and writing professions, Ustinov served as a
Goodwill ambassador for
UNICEF and president of
WFM, a global citizens movement. He was knighted
Sir Peter Ustinov in
1990. From
1971 to his death in 2004, Ustinov lived in a château in the village of Bursins,
Vaud,
Switzerland, He died of heart failure on
March 28, 2004, in a clinic in Genolier, Vaud, Switzerland. His funeral service was held at
Geneva's historic cathedral of
St. Pierre, and he was laid to rest in the village cemetery of
Bursins, Switzerland. He was survived by three daughters,
Tamara, Pavla, and
Andrea, and son,
Igor Ustinov."I am an international citizen conceived in Russia, born in
England, working in
Hollywood, living in Switzerland, and touring the
World" said Peter Ustinov.
- published: 03 Mar 2016
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