Remembering Peter O'Toole: The most "talented" and "unlucky" actor in history

“Always a bridesmaid, never the bride, my foot”! (The Guardian) Peter O’Toole, the Oscar’s biggest acting loser, passed away on Saturday (14 December 2013) at 81 at the Wellington Hospital at London. The acclaimed actor succumbed to cancer following a long illness. Now why did we pop the statement Oscar’s biggest acting loser? Here’s the answer. Beginning with Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, right up to Venus in 2006, Peter O’Toole was nominated 8 times for the revered statuette, all in the leading actor category, coming up heartbreakingly short every time. To right this wrong, the Board of Governers finally decided to award the Honorary Oscar to the then 70-year old O’Toole. O’Toole survived through a supernova first decade, from 1958 to 1968 – that included two stage Hamlets, two filmed Henry II’s, an incandescent, career-defining title role in David Lean’s magnum opus, The Lawrence of Arabia, a blur of bombs in the 70s, a gratifying, but irresolute comeback in the 80s. With his career at a peak with heady performances during the 70s and early 80s, O’Toole’s career floundered as a result of personal problems, including a battle with alcohol. In 1975, he was diagnosed with an abdominal malignancy and told he was going to die. Only 43 at the time, he rebounded. "It proved inconvenient to a few people, but there you go," he later quipped with his characteristic blithe humor, says The Hollywood Reporter. In recent years, O’Toole won an Emmy for his role the 1999 miniseries Joan of Arc, played a king in Troy (2004) and collected his last Oscar nomination for his poignant portrayal as an elderly actor who finds himself increasingly attracted to his friend's great-niece in Venus. He also voiced a food critic in the animated film Ratatouille (2007) and appeared as Pope Paul III in the Showtime series The Tudors. “My professional acting life, stage and screen, has brought me public support, emotional fulfillment and material comfort,” O’Toole wrote when he announced his retirement. “It has brought me together with fine people, good companions with whom I’ve shared the inevitable lot of all actors: flops and hits. However, it’s my belief that one should decide for oneself when it is time to end one’s stay. So I bid the profession a dry-eyed and profoundly grateful farewell.” (Source: Hollywood Reporter) He 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.