Product Description

Peter Ustinov was renowned throughout the world as an actor, playwright, director, novelist, wit and raconteur. Born in England in 1921 of Russian immigrant parents, he discovered an ability to mimic while at school. He wrote his first play before he was 20 and he had more than a dozen produced, three of which were later filmed. As an actor he won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in SPARTACUS and TOPKAPI, and he also made three appearances as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. More recently he directed operas in every major opera house in Europe. His one-man show, AN EVENING WITH PETER USTINOV was a hit in London and on Broadway, and he published several novels and one early volume of memoirs. This warm and revealing biography looks behind the public image to give an enthralling portrait of a man whose unique gift of laughter made him one of the world's most popular and respected entertainers.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #268784 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

Synopsis
Peter Ustinov was renowned throughout the world as an actor, playwright, director, novelist, wit and raconteur. Born in England in 1921 of Russian immigrant parents, he discovered an ability to mimic while at school. He wrote his first play before he was 20 and he had more than a dozen produced, three of which were later filmed. As an actor he won Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor in SPARTACUS and TOPKAPI, and he also made three appearances as Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. More recently he directed operas in every major opera house in Europe. His one-man show, AN EVENING WITH PETER USTINOV was a hit in London and on Broadway, and he published several novels and one early volume of memoirs. This warm and revealing biography looks behind the public image to give an enthralling portrait of a man whose unique gift of laughter made him one of the world's most popular and respected entertainers.

From the Inside Flap
As actor, playwright, screenwriter, director, novelist, historian, broadcaster and incomparable raconteur, the name of Peter Ustinov is one to conjure with in theatre, film, radio, television, opera, concert-hall or the recording studio. British by birth, Russian by lineage, and international by reputation, Ustinov has often said 'I act for a living, I write because I must,' but as John Miller researched his life, he observed at first-hand how his subject also has a powerful compulsion to entertain. It first showed itself in Ustinov's precocious gift for mimicry as a child, and has continued through his rise to stardom in every aspect of his profession. In his eighties he has shown no sign of letting up - and not just in the theatre or cinema, but as an ardent human rights compaigner, and as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. What is the compulsion that drives him to go on working so hard, and in so many different fields? Ustinov, who has collaborated fully with John Miller, talks as frankly about his setbacks and disappointments, as he does of the rewards and excitements of his multi-faceted career. Friends and colleagues, too, have helped Miller in his search for the man behind the public image of the great entertainer. This warm and revealing biography is the enthralling story of a man whose unique gift of laughter has been delighting audiences for more than six decades. ILLUSTRATED 20 in UK only John Miller has previously collaborated with John Gielgud on his memoirs for radio and television, and their two subsequent books - An Actor and his Time and Acting Shakespeare. He has also written the authorised biographies of Ralph Richardson and Judi Dench, the latter now in its third edition. He has worked for BBC, UNESCO and TVS, and broadcast regularly on theatrical and historical subjects. For the Millennium celebrations he wrote and produced Men in Scarlet - a Son et Lumiere history of the Chelsea Pensioners presented at the Royal Hospital. In 2001 he collaborated with John Mills on his updated autobiography, Up in the Clouds, Gentleman Please. Credits: Front: Robin Mathews, Camera Press Back: Ustinov in Beethoven's Tenth: John Timbers Author : Tony Nutley Weidenfeld & Nicolson The Orion Publishing Group Orion House 5 Upper Saint Martin's Lane London, WC2H 9EA

About the Author
John Miller's career has principally been in TV and radio (for the BBC) and for ten years until 1992 for the South of England ITV company, TVS. He is the author of biographies of Ralph Richardson, and for W&N/Orion: Judi Dench and Peter Ustinov. He collaborated with John Gielgud on AN ACTOR AND HIS TIME (Pan pb). He has also edited DARLING JUDI (W&N/Orion) which celebrated Judi Dench's 70th birthday.