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Mon, 29 Mar 2004 20:20:42 -0500 |
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I first "met" Peter Ustinov in various movies many years ago, then
heard his voice on a Kodaly CD (Hary Janos, Decca 2-for-1) about 10 years
ago, and just last year bought a DVD of "The Magic Flute" (Salzburger
Marionettentheater) in which Sir Peter Ustinov was the story-teller.
The following obituary from The Wall Street Journal:
The Passing of Peter Ustinov
With a singularly expressive voice, a wealth of cleverness
behind his face and a big man's lightness on his feet, Peter
Ustinov was one of those late- 20th century actors who seemed
ubiquitous. No matter the role, he seemed tailored to fit
it, from the evil emperor Nero in "Quo Vadis" to the furtive
slave trader in "Spartacus," from a clumsy thief in "Topkapi"
to the self-possessed detective Hercule Poirot in "Death on
the Nile," one of several wit-over-adversity star turns
provided for Mr. Ustinov by Agatha Christie mysteries. He
was a born story-teller -- said to have been a perfect mimic
by age three -- and his voice could illuminate narratives
whether his image accompanied it or not, as he did playing
"Prince John" in Disney's swinging 1973 animated version
of "Robin Hood." Mr. Ustinov's narration of Tchaikovsky's
"Peter and the Wolf" won him a Grammy -- and he also recorded
a version in French, one of his eight languages.
His acting garnered two Oscars, but he was just as active a
writer and director, turning out plays, screenplays, novels
and what seems like a book's worth of pithy stories and
one-liners passed down by fans and critics. Mr. Ustinov
died of heart failure last night in a clinic near his home
at Bursins overlooking Lake Geneva. He was 82 years old.
(Question: Did the reporter mean to say "Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf""
instead of "Tchaikovsky"?)
Hi-Do Shin
Seoul, Korea
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