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| Peter O'Toole was not the drunken hell-raiser he made out, says author | Peter O'Toole was not the drunken hell-raiser he made out, says author |
| (11 days later) | |
| Peter O’Toole was writing two screenplays just before his death at the age of 81, according to research that also suggests the actor’s hell-raising image was a myth that he cultivated himself. | Peter O’Toole was writing two screenplays just before his death at the age of 81, according to research that also suggests the actor’s hell-raising image was a myth that he cultivated himself. |
| While working on a book about the actor, the biographer Alexander Larman had a glimpse of screen versions of the Seán O’Casey play Juno and the Paycock, and Chekhov’s work Uncle Vanya. He said O’Toole starred on stage in those plays, which each had characters with some similarities to O’Toole’s personality. | While working on a book about the actor, the biographer Alexander Larman had a glimpse of screen versions of the Seán O’Casey play Juno and the Paycock, and Chekhov’s work Uncle Vanya. He said O’Toole starred on stage in those plays, which each had characters with some similarities to O’Toole’s personality. |
| Larman said material from dozens of boxes from the actor’s extensive personal archive, which was acquired by the University of Texas in Austin, this year, was still being catalogued. “This a massive archive of his letters, papers, journals … It’s not yet publicly available, but I’ve been in contact with them and I’ve now got a fairly good idea of what’s in it.” | Larman said material from dozens of boxes from the actor’s extensive personal archive, which was acquired by the University of Texas in Austin, this year, was still being catalogued. “This a massive archive of his letters, papers, journals … It’s not yet publicly available, but I’ve been in contact with them and I’ve now got a fairly good idea of what’s in it.” |
| Following interviews with O’Toole’s friends and fellow actors, and given the orderly way in which the star organised his archive, Larman believes that his hell-raising, hard-drinking image had been “massively exaggerated”. | Following interviews with O’Toole’s friends and fellow actors, and given the orderly way in which the star organised his archive, Larman believes that his hell-raising, hard-drinking image had been “massively exaggerated”. |
| He said: “Of course he drank, and he drank to excess. But I don’t think that a lot of the stories about him are true. He liked to create these stories because it was much easier to play a part of a hell-raiser.” | He said: “Of course he drank, and he drank to excess. But I don’t think that a lot of the stories about him are true. He liked to create these stories because it was much easier to play a part of a hell-raiser.” |
| O’Toole’s eight Oscar nominations included his masterful performances in Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion in Winter, and Goodbye Mr Chips. In 2003 he was awarded an honorary Oscar. | O’Toole’s eight Oscar nominations included his masterful performances in Lawrence of Arabia, The Lion in Winter, and Goodbye Mr Chips. In 2003 he was awarded an honorary Oscar. |
| His acting genius was only matched by his off-screen reputation for bad behaviour, but Larman said that those close to him are painting a different portrait. One actor has recalled being with O’Toole when he was “pretending to be drunk, shouting things and generally being un-politically correct”. | His acting genius was only matched by his off-screen reputation for bad behaviour, but Larman said that those close to him are painting a different portrait. One actor has recalled being with O’Toole when he was “pretending to be drunk, shouting things and generally being un-politically correct”. |
| Larman, who wrote Byron’s Women, an acclaimed study of the key women in the poet’s life, said that after O’Toole died in December 2013 parts of the media magnified and distorted “prurient stories” about him. He planned to redress this in his biography, entitled Who Are You: The Life of Peter O’Toole. | Larman, who wrote Byron’s Women, an acclaimed study of the key women in the poet’s life, said that after O’Toole died in December 2013 parts of the media magnified and distorted “prurient stories” about him. He planned to redress this in his biography, entitled Who Are You: The Life of Peter O’Toole. |
| The author added that the archive had material that would “make people reassess” the actor. “What the letters and the journals are going to show – just based on the glimpses I’ve managed to have so far – are a man who was very efficient and very organised. He knew precisely what he was doing in his career. He knew he had to leave the Royal Shakespeare Company to take the film role in Lawrence of Arabia. He knew he wanted to be famous, and he wanted to be a star. | The author added that the archive had material that would “make people reassess” the actor. “What the letters and the journals are going to show – just based on the glimpses I’ve managed to have so far – are a man who was very efficient and very organised. He knew precisely what he was doing in his career. He knew he had to leave the Royal Shakespeare Company to take the film role in Lawrence of Arabia. He knew he wanted to be famous, and he wanted to be a star. |
| “None of this really fits with this idea of a man who was so drunk he didn’t know what he was doing. You’ve got all these fantastic stories, lots of them that he would come out with on chat shows and which have been reproduced … The legend is being crystallised … But he’s a much more intelligent and sensitive man than he’s been given credit for.” | “None of this really fits with this idea of a man who was so drunk he didn’t know what he was doing. You’ve got all these fantastic stories, lots of them that he would come out with on chat shows and which have been reproduced … The legend is being crystallised … But he’s a much more intelligent and sensitive man than he’s been given credit for.” |
| Larman said he was planning a psychological portrait of an extremely complex man, drawing on previously unpublished documents, including a volume of his memoir. “He actually wrote candidly about his stage and screen career, but it’s never been published and it’s in this archive.” | Larman said he was planning a psychological portrait of an extremely complex man, drawing on previously unpublished documents, including a volume of his memoir. “He actually wrote candidly about his stage and screen career, but it’s never been published and it’s in this archive.” |
| Further insights will emerge from the screenplays, he believes, noting that Juno and the Paycock, about the dysfunctional Boyle family living in Dublin tenements, has a character “who’s very similar to O’Toole’s father, who was quite a nasty man”. | Further insights will emerge from the screenplays, he believes, noting that Juno and the Paycock, about the dysfunctional Boyle family living in Dublin tenements, has a character “who’s very similar to O’Toole’s father, who was quite a nasty man”. |
| He added: “The character Captain Jack Boyle calls himself a captain but has no credentials whatsoever. That’s exactly the same as O’Toole’s father, who didn’t have any of the kudos he claimed for himself … He tried to be a bookmaker, but wasn’t very good at it. He and O’Toole found themselves on the run across northern England quite a lot during O’Toole’s childhood.” | He added: “The character Captain Jack Boyle calls himself a captain but has no credentials whatsoever. That’s exactly the same as O’Toole’s father, who didn’t have any of the kudos he claimed for himself … He tried to be a bookmaker, but wasn’t very good at it. He and O’Toole found themselves on the run across northern England quite a lot during O’Toole’s childhood.” |
| Discussing the autobiographical overtones found within Uncle Vanya, he said: “When O’Toole was middle-aged, he began to see himself as something of a failure. He had this very glittering career as a young man. But, as he got older, the roles dried up … Uncle Vanya, the play, is all about failure, disappointment and disillusionment. I think that’s what appealed to him so strongly.” | Discussing the autobiographical overtones found within Uncle Vanya, he said: “When O’Toole was middle-aged, he began to see himself as something of a failure. He had this very glittering career as a young man. But, as he got older, the roles dried up … Uncle Vanya, the play, is all about failure, disappointment and disillusionment. I think that’s what appealed to him so strongly.” |
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