Everything about Peter Ustinov totally explained
Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov,
CBE (or /ˈuːstɪnɒf/;
16 April 1921 –
28 March 2004), born
Peter Alexander Baron von Ustinov, was an
Academy Award-winning
English actor, writer,
dramatist and
raconteur of
French,
Italian,
Swiss,
Russian and
Ethiopian ancestry.
Childhood and early life
Ustinov was born in
Swiss Cottage,
London. His father, Iona
(Jona) Baron von Ustinov, known to his friends as "Klop" ("blow" in
Yiddish
, "bedbug" in Russian), was of
Russian and
German descent, and had served as a lieutenant in the German Air Force in
World War I, worked as a press officer at the German Embassy in London in the 1930s, and was a reporter for a German news agency. In
1935 he began working for the British intelligence service
MI5 and became a British citizen, thus avoiding internment or deportation during the war. (
Peter Wright mentions in his book
Spycatcher that Klop was possibly the spy known as U35; Ustinov says in his autobiography that his father hosted secret meetings of senior British and German officials at their London home.)
Jona von Ustinov also had
Ethiopian royal ancestry; Peter's great-grandfather, a Swiss missionary, married Susan Bell in
Magdala, whose mother belonged to the
Tewodros Dynasty. This means that Ustinov could arguably be considered the first man of known African descent to have won an
Academy Award. The distinguished Swedish tenor
Nicolai Gedda, whose stepfather was another Ustinov, is related to this part of the family.
Peter Ustinov's mother, Nadia (Nadezhda) Leontievna Benois, was a painter and ballet designer of
Russian,
French and
Italian ancestry. Her father
Leon Benois was an imperial Russian architect and owner of
Leonardo da Vinci's painting
Madonna Benois. His more famous brother
Alexandre Benois was an outstanding stage designer who worked with
Stravinsky and
Diaghilev. Their paternal ancestor
Jules-César Benois was a chef who had left France for
St Petersburg during the
French Revolution and became a chef to
Tsar Paul.
Ustinov was educated at
Westminster School and had a difficult and uncertain childhood because of his parents' constant bickering and personality clashes. Whilst at school he considered anglicizing his name to "Peter Austin" but was counselled against it by a fellow pupil who said that he should “Drop the ‘von’ but keep the ‘Ustinov’”. After training as an actor in his late teens, along with early attempts at playwriting, he made his stage début in 1938 at the
Players' Theatre, becoming quickly established. He later wrote, "I wasn't irresistibly drawn to the drama. It was an escape road from the dismal rat race of school."
Career highlights
Following military service as a private soldier during
World War II, during which he'd made propaganda films, starting with
One of Our Aircraft is Missing (
1942), with actors such as
David Niven whom he also served as
batman, he began to branch out into writing. His first major success was with
The Love of Four Colonels in 1951. He starred alongside
Humphrey Bogart and
Aldo Ray in
We're No Angels (1955). His career as a dramatist continued alongside his acting career, his best-known play being
Romanoff and Juliet (1956). His film roles include Roman emperor
Nero in
Quo Vadis? (1951), Captain Vere in
Billy Budd (
1962),
Lentulus Batiatus in
Spartacus (1960), an old man surviving a totalitarian future in
Logan's Run (1976), and, in a half dozen films,
Hercule Poirot, a part he first played in
Death on the Nile (1978). Ustinov voiced the well-known anthropomorphic lion Prince John of the 1973 Disney animated movie
Robin Hood. He also worked on several films as writer and occasionally director, including
The Way Ahead (1944),
School for Secrets (1946),
Hot Millions (1968) and
Memed, My Hawk (1984).
He won
Oscars for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in
Spartacus (1960) and
Topkapi (1964). He also won one
Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actor for the film
Quo Vadis? (he set the Oscar and Globe statuettes up on his desk as if playing doubles tennis; the game was also a love of his life, as was ocean yachting). Furthermore, Ustinov was the winner of three Emmys, one Grammy, and was nominated for two Tony awards.
Between 1952 and 1955 Ustinov starred alongside
Peter Jones in the much-loved
BBC radio comedy
In All Directions. The show featured Ustinov and Jones as themselves in a car in
London perpetually searching for Copthorne Avenue. The comedy derived from the characters they met along the way, often also played by themselves. The show was unusual for the time as it was largely improvised rather than scripted. Ustinov and Jones improvised on to a tape which was then edited for broadcast by
Frank Muir and
Denis Norden who also sometimes took part. Possibly the favourite characters were Morris and Dudley Grosvenor, two rather stupid
East End spivs whose sketches always ended with the phrase "Run for it Morry" (or Dudley as appropriate.) Sadly no recording is known to survive.
During the 1960's, with the encouragement of
Sir Georg Solti, Ustinov directed several operas including
Puccini's
Gianni Schicchi,
Ravel's
L'Heure Espagnole,
Schonberg's
Erwartung, and
Mozart's
Magic Flute. Further demonstrating his great talent and versatility in the theater, Ustinov later did set and costume production for
Don Giovanni.
His autobiography,
Dear Me (1977), was well received and saw him describe his life (ostensibly his childhood) whilst being interrogated by his own ego, with forays into philosophy, theater, fame, and self-realization. In concluding, Ustinov muses "We have gone through much together, Dear Me, and yet it suddenly occurs to me we don't know each other at all".
In the later part of his life (from 1969 until his death), his acting and writing tasks took second place to his work on behalf of
UNICEF - the United Nations Children's Fund, for which he was a Goodwill Ambassador and fundraiser. In this role he visited some of the neediest children and made use of his ability to make just about anybody laugh, including many of the world's most disadvantaged children. "Sir Peter could make anyone laugh," UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy is quoted as saying. "His one-man show in German was the funniest performance I've ever seen – and I don’t speak a word of German."
Ustinov also served as President of the
World Federalist Movement from
1991 until his death. He once said, "World Government isn't only possible, it's inevitable; and when it comes, it'll appeal to patriotism in its truest, in its only sense, the patriotism of men who love their national heritages so deeply that they wish to preserve them in safety for the common good.".
He is best-known to many Britons as a chat-show guest, a role to which he was ideally suited. Towards the end of his life he undertook some one-man stage shows in which he let loose his raconteur streak - he told the story of his life, including some moments of tension with the national society he was born into (as just one example, he took a test as a child which asked him to name a Russian composer; he wrote
Rimsky-Korsakov but was marked down, told the correct answer was
Tchaikovsky since they'd been studying him in class, and told to stop showing off).
A car enthusiast since the age of four, he owned a succession of interesting machines ranging from a
Fiat Topolino, several
Lancias, a
Hispano-Suiza, a pre-selector
Delage and a special-bodied
Jowett Jupiter. He made records like Phoney Folklore which included the song of the Russian peasant “whose tractor had betrayed him” and his "Grand Prix of Gibraltar" was a vehicle for his creative wit and ability at car engine sound-effects and voices.
He spoke
English,
French,
Spanish,
Italian,
German, and
Russian, fluently, as well as some
Turkish and
modern Greek. He was proficient in accents and dialects in all his languages.
In the late 1960s, he became a
Swiss citizen to avoid the
British tax system of the time which taxed the earnings of the wealthy at up to 90 per cent. However, he was
knighted in 1990, and was appointed
Chancellor of the
University of Durham in 1992, having previously served as
Rector of the
University of Dundee in the late 1970s (a role in which he moved from being merely a figure-head to taking on a political role, negotiating with militant students).
He received an honorary doctorate from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Belgium).
Ustinov was a frequent defender of the
Chinese government, stating in an address to the University of Durham in 2000, "People are annoyed with the Chinese for not respecting more human rights. But with a population that size it's very difficult to have the same attitude to human rights."
In 2003,
Durham's
postgraduate college (previously known as the Graduate Society) was renamed
Ustinov College.
He died on
28 March 2004 of
heart failure in a clinic in
Genolier, near his home in
Bursins,
Vaud,
Switzerland. He was so well regarded as a goodwill ambassador that
UNICEF Executive Director
Carol Bellamy spoke at his funeral and represented
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Ustinov came to
Berlin on a
UNICEF mission in 2002 to visit the circle of
United Buddy Bears that promote a more peaceful world between nations, cultures and religions for the first time. He was determined to ensure that
Iraq would also be represented in this circle of about 140 countries. In 2003, he sponsored and opened the second exhibition of the United Buddy Bears in Berlin.
When, in an interview, he was once asked what he'd like it to read on his
tombstone, Ustinov replied "Please keep off the grass".
Amongst his lesser known works, Ustinov presented and narrated the official video review of the
1987 Formula One season. His commentary proved highly entertaining. Ustinov also narrated the documentary series "Wings of the Red Star."
Ustinov graciously gave his name to the Foundation of the
International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for their prestigious
Sir Peter Ustinov Television Scriptwriting Award, given annually to a young television screenwriter.
Novels and plays
- Add a Dash of Pity and Other Short Stories
- Brewer's Theatre with Isaacs et al
- The Comedy Collection
- Dear Me
- Disinformer: Two Novellas
- Frontiers of the Sea
- Generation at Jeopardy: Children in Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union with United Nations Children's Fund
- God and the State Railways
- Half Way Up a Tree
- James Thurber with Thurber
- Klop and the Ustinov Family with Nadia B. Ustinov
- Krumnagel
- The Laughter Omnibus
- Life is an Operetta: And Other Short Stories
- Loser
- The Love of Four Colonels
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The Methuen Book of Theatre Verse with Jonathan and Moira Field
Monsieur Rene
My Russia
Niven's Hollywood with Tom Hutchinson
Old Man & Mr.Smith
Photo Finish
Quotable Ustinov
Romanoff and Juliet
Still at Large
The 13 Clocks with James Thurber
The Unicorn in the Garden and Other Fables for Our Time with James Thurber
The Unknown Soldier and His Wife
Ustinov at Eighty
Ustinov at Large
Ustinov in Russia
Ustinov Still at Large
Beethoven's Tenth
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World politics
Peter Ustinov was the
President of the
World Federalist Movement from 1991 to 2004, the time of his death.
WFM is a global
NGO that promotes the concept of
one world government. WFM wish to lobby those in powerful positions to establish a unified human government based on
democracy and
civil society. The
United Nations and other world agencies would become the institutions of a
World Federation. The
UN would be the federal government and
nation states would become like provinces.
He was also unintentionally a part witness to the assassination of India's Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. She was on her way to be interviewed by him for a documentary for Irish television, at her residence, when two of her bodyguards,Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, opened fire and riddled her with bullets.
During the run-up to the
2003 invasion of
Iraq, Ustinov said in an interview "I don't know whether I played
Nero or whether I played
George W. Bush."
Quotations
By Peter Ustinov:
As for being a General, well, at the age of four with paper hats and wooden swords, we're all Generals. Only some of us never grow out of it.
I imagine hell like this: Italian punctuality, German humour and English wine.
The only reason I made a commercial for American Express was to pay for my American Express bill.
Terrorism is the war of the poor, and war is the terrorism of the rich.
Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious.
Children are the only form of immortality that we can be sure of. About Ustinov:
On a visit to Hollywood, Noel Coward witnessed an avant-garde night club act that included a large, muscular, African-American man stripping off his clothes and burning them while dancing and playing drums. Confronted with this outlandish spectacle, Coward calmly turned to a companion and said "Is there no end to the talents of Peter Ustinov?".
Gallery
Image:Peter-Ustinov-at-a-book-signing-in-Brisbane-2.JPG|Peter Ustinov at a book signing session at the ABC Shop, in The Myer Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (photo taken in either 1992 or 1993)
Image:Peter-Ustinov-at-a-book-signing-in-Brisbane-3.JPG|Peter Ustinov at a book signing session at the ABC Shop, in The Myer Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia (photo taken in either 1992 or 1993)
Filmography
Hullo Fame (1940) (documentary)
Mein Kampf - My Crimes (1940) (documentary)
One of Our Aircraft is Missing (1942)
Let the People Sing (1942)
The Goose Steps Out (1942)
The New Lot (1943)
The Way Ahead (1944)
The True Glory (1945) (documentary)
Vice Versa (screenwriter, director, and producer)
Private Angelo (1949)
Odette (1950)
Hotel Sahara (1951)
The Magic Box (1951)
Quo Vadis (1951)
The King and the Mockingbird (1952) (voice)
Pleasure (1952) (narrator of English version)
The Egyptian (1954)
Beau Brummell (1954)
We're No Angels (1955)
Lola Montès (1955)
The Wanderers (1956)
The Spies (1957)
An Angel Passed Over Brooklyn (1957)
Spartacus (1960)
The Sundowners (1960)
Romanoff and Juliet (1961)
Billy Budd (1962)
Alleman (1963) (documentary) (narrator)
Women of the World (1963) (documentary) (narrator)
Topkapi (1964)
The Peaches (1964) (narrator)
John Goldfarb, Please Come Home (1965)
Lady L (1965)
The Comedians (1967)
The Comedians in Africa (1967)
Blackbeard's Ghost (1968)
Hot Millions (1968)
Viva Max! (1969)
The Festival Game (1970) (documentary)
Hammersmith Is Out (1972)
Robin Hood (1973) (voice)
One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing (1975)
Logan's Run (1976)
Treasure of Matecumbe (1976)
The Muppet Show (1976)
The Purple Taxi (1977)
The Last Remake of Beau Geste (1977)
The Mouse and His Child (1977)
Double Murder (1977)
Winds of Change (1978) (narrator)
Death on the Nile (1978)
Tarka the Otter (1979) (narrator)
Morte no Tejo (1979) (documentary)
My Friend as the Alien (1999) (voice)
Ashanti (1979)
We'll Grow Thin Together (1979)
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981)
The Great Muppet Caper (1981) (cameo)
Grendel Grendel Grendel (1981) (voice)
Evil Under the Sun (1982)
Memed, My Hawk (1984)
Thirteen at Dinner (1985)
Dead Man's Folly (1986)
Murder in Three Acts (1986)
Appointment with Death (1988)
Peep and the Big Wide World (1988) (narrator)
La Révolution française (1989)
Granpa (pencil animation) (1989) (voice talent)
There Was a Castle with Forty Dogs (1990)
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)
The Phoenix and the Magic Carpet (1995)
Stiff Upper Lips (1998)
The Bachelor (1999)
Alice in Wonderland (1999 film)
My Khmer Heart (2000) (documentary)
Majestät brauchen Sonne (2000) (documentary)
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) (documentary)
The Will to Resist (2002)
Luther (2003)
Siberia: Railroad Through the Wilderness (2004) (narrator)
Further Information
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