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