Peter Ustinov

**Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov**, CBE, FRSA (/ˈjuːstɪnɒf/, /ˈuː-/; [1] 16 April 1921 – 28 March 2004), was an English actor, voice actor, writer, dramatist, filmmaker, theatre and opera director, stage designer, screenwriter, comedian, humourist, newspaper and magazine columnist, radio broadcaster and television presenter. He was a fixture on television talk showsand lecture circuits for much of his career. An intellectual and diplomat, he held various academic posts and served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF and President of the World Federalist Movement.

Ustinov was the winner of numerous awards over his life, including two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor, Emmy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTA Awards for acting and a Grammy Award for best recording for children, as well as the recipient of governmental honours from, amongst others, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. He displayed a unique cultural versatility that has frequently earned him the accolade of a Renaissance man. Miklós Rózsa, composer of the music for *Quo Vadis* and of numerous concert works, dedicated his String Quartet No. 1, Op. 22 (1950) to Ustinov.

In 2003, Durham University changed the name of its Graduate Society to Ustinov College in honour of the significant contributions Ustinov had made as chancellor of the university from 1992 until his death. In 1939, he appeared in *White Cargo* at the Aylesbury Rep, where he performed in a different accent every night.[9] Ustinov served as a private in the British Army during the Second World War, including time spent as batman to David Niven while writing the Niven film *The Way Ahead*. The difference in their ranks‍—‌Niven was a lieutenant-colonel and Ustinov a private‍—‌made their regular association militarily impossible; to solve the problem, Ustinov was appointed as Niven's batman.[10] He also appeared in propaganda films, debuting in *One of Our Aircraft Is Missing* (1942), in which he was required to deliver lines in English, Latin and Dutch. In 1944, under the auspices of ENSA, he presented and performed the role of Sir Anthony Absolute, in Sheridan's *The Rivals*, with Dame Edith Evans, at the theatre in Larkhill Camp, Wiltshire, England.

After the war, he began writing; his first major success was with the play *The Love of Four Colonels* (1951). He starred with Humphrey Bogart and Aldo Ray in *We're No Angels* (1955). His career as a dramatist continued, his best-known[*clarification needed*]play being *Romanoff and Juliet* (1956). His film roles include Roman emperor Nero in *Quo Vadis* (1951), Lentulus Batiatus in *Spartacus* (1960), Captain Vere in *Billy Budd* (1962) and an old man surviving a totalitarian future in *Logan's Run* (1976). Ustinov voiced the anthropomorphic lions Prince John and King Richard in the 1973 Disney animated film *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).

In half a dozen films, he played Agatha Christie's detective Hercule Poirot, first in *Death on the Nile* (1978) and then in 1982's *Evil Under the Sun*, 1985's *Thirteen at Dinner* (TV movie), 1986's *Dead Man's Folly* (TV movie), 1986's *Murder in Three Acts*(TV movie) and 1988's *Appointment with Death*. Ustinov won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor for his roles in *Spartacus* (1960) and *Topkapi* (1964). He also acted in Lorenzo's Oil (1992) and Animal Farm (1999).