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Peter Ustinov 1921 - 2004

Peter Ustinov of New York, New York County, NY was born on April 16, 1921 in London, Greater London County, England United Kingdom. He married Isolde Denham in 1940 and they later divorced on February 3, 1950. They had a child Tamara Ustinov. He married Suzanne Cloutier on February 14, 1954 and they later divorced in 1971. They had children Pavla Ustinov, Igor Ustinov, and Andrea Ustinov. Peter Ustinov died at age 82 years old on March 28, 2004 in Genolier, Nyon District County, VD Switzerland, and was buried at The village cemetery of Bursins, Switzerland in Bursins.

Peter Ustinov

New York, New York County, NY 10154

April 16, 1921

London, Greater London County, England, United Kingdom

March 28, 2004

Genolier, Nyon District County, VD, Switzerland

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Peter Ustinov Peter Ustinov (1921 - 2004)

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Peter Ustinov's History: 1921 - 2004

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Introduction

Peter Ustinov Date of Birth 16 April 1921, London, England, UK Date of Death 28 March 2004, Genolier, Vaud, Switzerland (heart failure) Birth Name Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov Height 5' 11½" (1.82 m) Peter Ustinov was a two-time Academy Award-winning film actor, a director, writer, journalist and raconteur. He wrote and directed many acclaimed stage plays and led numerous international theatrical productions. In 1939 he made his London stage debut in a revue sketch, then had regular performances with Aylesbury Repertory Company. In 1940 he made his film debut in Hullo, Fame! (1940). In the 1980s Ustinov recreated brilliantly Poirot in several subsequent television movies and theatrical films, such as Evil Under the Sun (1982) and Appointment with Death (1988), while his cinema work in the 1990s also includes his superb performance as Professor Gus Nikolais in George Miller's excellent dramatic film Lorenzo's Oil (1992), a character partially inspired by Hugo Wolfgang Moser, a research scientist who had been director of the Neurogenetics Research Center at the Kennedy Krieger Institute and Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins University. "I am an international citizen conceived in Russia, born in England, working in Hollywood, living in Switzerland, and touring the World" said Peter Ustinov. Spouse (3) Helene du Lau d'Allemans (17 June 1972 - 28 March 2004) (his death) Suzanne Cloutier (14 February 1954 - 1971) (divorced) (3 children) Isolde Denham (1940 - 3 February 1950) (divorced) (1 child) Trivia (35) His mother was artist Nadia Benois, the niece of Alexandre Benois. Both were designers for the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. Both also worked for the "Russian Seasons" and "Ballets Russes" productions by impresario Sergei Diaghilev. He was knighted in the 1990 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1975 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to drama. The New London Theatre in Drury Lane WC2 first opened on 2nd January 1973 with Peter Ustinov's play "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife" Was the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF from 1968 until his death in 2004. During WWII Pvt. Peter Ustinov was batman to Lt. Col. David Niven. His father was a German subject who came to Soviet Russia on personal business where he met his future wife. Shortly after they were married they decided to leave Russia and settle in Britain. As Ustinov has said, "It is for that very reason that I am addressing you today in English." First marriage to Isolde Denham, daughter of Reginald Denham and Moyna MacGill. Their daughter is Tamara Ustinov. Isolde was half-sister of Angela Lansbury. In January 1963, the Mirisch Company sued him for damages after he pulled out of The Pink Panther (1963), which was in production in Rome with his replacement, Peter Sellers. Peter and Suzanne had 3 children: two daughters, Pavla Ustinov and Andrea Ustinov, and a son Igor Ustinov. Chancellor of the University of Durham from 1992 until his death in 2004. Has a song written about him: "The Night I Saved Peter Ustinov" - written and recorded by Lauren Christy. Was fluent in French, German, English, Italian, Russian and Spanish, and could pass in Turkish and Greek among others. He was known to proudly say "I have Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, French and Ethiopian blood in my veins." Funeral service held at Geneva's historic Cathedral of St Pierre. He was later buried in the village of Bursins, where he had lived in a Chateau since 1971. (April 2004) According to Peter Wright, in his book "Spycatcher," Ustinov's father Klop Ustinov had been active in MI5 (British Security Service, Counterespionage) as an agent runner during the Second World War. He also had the distinction of having held commissions in the Russian, German and British armies (presumably at different times). He was a Humanist Laureate, a member of the International Academy of Humanism. In 1958, received two Tony Award nominations for "Romanoff and Juliet": as Best Actor (Dramatic) and as Best Play Author. In 1964, he accepted the Oscar for "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" on behalf of Margaret Rutherford, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 Winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus (1960), Ustinov stands as the only actor to win an Oscar for a Stanley Kubrick film. In fact, Peter Sellers is the only other actor to receive so much as a nomination. Both his father and uncle were officers in the German army and fought Britain in WWI. Made a comedy record in the late 1950s, "Mock Mozart" and "Phoney Folk Lore". He had been performing these as party pieces. Overdubbing allowed Ustinov to sing multiple parts. His producer was George Martin, future producer of The Beatles. (Martin later described Ustinov as "Britain's answer to Orson Welles.") Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1986. On 31 October 1984 he was waiting in the garden of Prime Minister of India Mrs. Indira Gandhi to interview her for an Irish television documentary when she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards (Beant Singh, who was killed while trying to escape after his arrest, and Satwant Singh, sentenced to hang in 1988) as she was approaching Ustinov and his film crew. His father was of one quarter Polish Jewish, one half Russian, one eighth African Ethiopian, and one eighth German, descent, while his mother was of one half Russian, one quarter Italian, one eighth French, and one eighth German, ancestry. Peter was a member of the royal family of Russia and the royal family of Ethiopia. Peter's paternal grandfather, Plato Grigorivich von Ustinov, was Russian. Peter's paternal grandmother, Magdalena Hall, was born in Magdala, Ethiopia (Magdalena's father, Moritz Hall, born in Krakow, was of Polish Jewish descent, while Magdalena's mother was born in Ethiopia, to a German father, Christoph Eduard Zander, from Kothen, and to a black Ethiopian mother, Woizero Essete Work Meqado de Choa, making Peter of 1/16th Ethiopian descent). Peter's maternal grandfather, Leontij Ludovic Benois, was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a prominent artistic family, and was of one quarter French, one quarter German, and one half Italian, ancestry. Peter's maternal grandmother, Maria Alexandrovna Sapjhnkoff, was Russian. He played five different English / British kings: leonine versions of Prince John (the future King John) and his elder brother Richard the Lionheart in Robin Hood (1973), the future King George IV in Beau Brummell (1954), his great-nephew King Edward VII in Strumpet City: Episode #1.1 (1980) and George IV's younger brother and eventual successor King William IV in Victoria & Albert (2001). Anonymously dubbed several Italian actors on the soundtrack of Beat the Devil (1953). Auditioned for the role of Detective Fix in the movie Around the World in 80 Days but was rejected. Would later get the part in television remake more than 30 years later. Directed one Oscar nominated performance: Terence Stamp in Billy Budd (1962). Rector of the University of Dundee in Scotland from 1968 to 1974. Along with Hugh Burden, he is one of two actors to appear in both One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942) and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing (1975). He directed his then mother-in-law Moyna MacGill in Private Angelo (1949). His mother Nadia Benois was the costume designer on two films that he directed: Vice Versa (1948) and Private Angelo (1949). The actor spoke several languages, Russian and Spanish among them, in the latter his vocabulary used to give him an appearance of comic character, very close, speaker and peculiar, much appreciated and similar to the character of that language.
04/16

1921

Birthday

April 16, 1921

Birthdate

London, Greater London County, England United Kingdom

Birthplace

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Ethnicity & Family History

He was born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov on April 16, 1921, in Swiss Cottage, London, England, the son of Nadezhda Leontievna (Benois) and Iona von Ustinov. His father was of one quarter Polish Jewish, one half Russian, one eighth African Ethiopian, and one eighth German, descent, while his mother was of one half Russian, one quarter Italian, one eighth French, and one eighth German, ancestry. Ustinov had ancestral connections to Russian nobility, as well as to the Ethiopian Royal Family. His father, also known as
Early Life & Education

Young Peter was brought up in a multi-lingual family--he was fluent in Russian, French, Italian and German, and also was a native English speaker. He attended Westminster College in 1934-37, took the drama and acting class under Michel St. Denis at the London Theatre Studio, 1937-39, and made his stage debut in 1938 in a theatre in Surrey.
Military Service

From 1942-46 Ustinov served as a private soldier with the British Army's Royal Sussex Regiment. He was batman for David Niven and the two became lifelong friends. Ustinov spent most of his service working with the Army Cinema Unit, where he was involved in making recruitment films, wrote plays and appeared in three films as an actor. At that time he wrote and directed The Way Ahead (1944) (aka "The Immortal Battalion").
Professional Career

Ustinov had a stellar film career as actor, director and writer, appearing in more than 100 film and television productions. He was awarded two Oscars for Best Supporting Actor--one for his role in Spartacus (1960) and one for his role in Topkapi (1964)--and received two more Oscar nominations as an actor and writer. His career slowed down a bit in the 1970s, but he made a comeback as Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile (1978) by director John Guillermin.
Personal Life & Family

Outside of his acting and writing professions, Ustinov served as a Goodwill ambassador for UNICEF and president of WFM, a global citizens movement. He was knighted Sir Peter Ustinov in 1990.
03/28

2004

Death

March 28, 2004

Death date

Heart Failure.

Cause of death

Genolier, Nyon District County, VD Switzerland
Death location

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Gravesite & Burial

mm/dd/yyyy
Funeral date
The village cemetery of Bursins, Switzerland in Bursins Switzerland
Burial location
Obituary

From 1971 to his death in 2004, Ustinov lived in a château in the village of Bursins, Vaud, Switzerland, He died of heart failure on March 28, 2004, in a clinic in Genolier, Vaud, Switzerland. His funeral service was held at Geneva's historic cathedral of St. Pierre, and he was laid to rest in the village cemetery of Bursins, Switzerland. He was survived by three daughters, Tamara, Pavla, and Andrea, and son, Igor Ustinov.

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Peter Ustinov lived 6 years longer than the average family member when died at the age of 82.

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21 Memories, Stories & Photos about Peter

Peter Ustinov - a Montage by Robert Dockery.

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

04/16/2023

Peter Ustinov - a Montage by Robert Dockery.

Peter Ustinov's illustrious career.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

04/16/2019

Peter Ustinov

A photo of Peter Ustinov. I took the photograph.

Date & Place: July 1958 at On the way to ROMANOFF AND JULIET. West 46th Street, in New York, New York County, New York 10036, United States

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

02/21/2021

Jonathan Winters

Peter Ustinov and Jonathan Winters. I met both of them when I was a teenager. But I had conversations with Ustinov several times. I also met Peter again when I was older.

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

04/16/2019

Peter Ustinov

A photo of Peter Ustinov

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

04/16/2019

Peter Ustinov

A photo of Peter Ustinov

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

02/10/2019

Peter Ustinov Gravesite

A photo of the grave of Peter Ustinov

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

Comments

Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

02/10/2019

Peter Ustinov and Amanda S. Stevenson

A photo of Peter Ustinov and fan Amanda S. Stevenson

Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.

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Amanda S. Stevenson

17.7k+ favorites

02/10/2019

I went to see Quo Vadis as a small child with strong psychic images. When I got home I announced to my mother: Some day I will be friends with Peter Ustinov even though he was Nero. I will also meet Deborah Kerr. But I will never meet Robert Taylor. My mother was happy that we had become friends. Years later we met again. Such a wonderful man.

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