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Tribute

O'Toole, Shakespeare's sonnets and beautiful movies

Abdullah Shibu
Today I write with a heavy heart. Peter O'Toole, actor, thespian, and one of "the giants of film and theatre", passed away in a London hospital at the age of 81 on December 13, 2013. Peter O'Toole shot to international fame for his role as T.E. Lawrence in the 1962 David Lean film epic "Lawrence of Arabia". Since then, he became pretty well known to Bangladeshis who came of age in the 1960s and 1970s and had the slightest interest in literature, theatre, world history, or cinema. As for myself, I was too young to have seen "Lawrence of Arabia" when it was released in Dhaka, but when his "The Night of the Generals" came to Dhaka, we all flocked to Madhumita Cinema. It was such a treat! His acting, portrayal of the historical characters he played, and his ability to turn each visit to the movie theatre into an experience to cherish and fondly remember, converted many of us into lifelong O'Toole groupies. It will not be an overstatement to assert that he was an actor for the actors, and many of my generation found his role in “The Night of the Generals" and later "Lion in Winter" so mesmerizing that we would talk about it even 25 years later.
Peter O'Toole played many historic roles in his lifetime. Besides the title character in "Lawrence of Arabia", he played King Henry II in "Becket", General Tanz in "The Night of the Generals" and King Henry II in "Lion in Winter". Incidentally, O'Toole is one of the few actors who received Oscar nominations for playing the same role in two different films: King Henry II in both Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968). During our Dhaka University days, we were so smitten by Peter OToole-his blue eyes, steely diction, and his ability to bring a character from the distant past alive-that we would always be on the lookout for newspaper announcements of the release of his movies in post-Independence Bangladesh. In those days, we had a very limited choice of movie theatres which imported foreign movies-our options were limited to Madhumita, Balaka, Naaz, and Gulistan—so, we would frequent British Council, American Cultural Center, Alliance Fran<;aise, and the German Cultural Center on their movie nights. Later, after some cine-enthusiasts formed the University Cine Club, our menu was considerably enriched, but we missed out on a lot of the best performances unless we went overseas and had the time and the resources to catch up on the backlog! Fortunately, when I came to Boston, I was able to spend my early years in Boston in the company of Rumi and my friend Gora and discovered not only the megaplexes with 15 to 20 theatres, but also art houses such as Harvard Square Theatre in Harvard Square, Kendall Square Cinema in MIT, and Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline. We also would frequently haunt the Museum of Science, Museum of Fine Arts, and the Community Theatres in the suburbs.
Coming back to my hero, Peter O'Toole, I later came to
admire not only his acting, swashbuckling, and devil-may-care attitude towards life, but became equally fascinated by his love of literature, language, and Shakespeare. After his passing away was announced, his fellow countryman and friend, Michael Higgins, President of Ireland, said in his homage: “He had a deep interest in literature and a love of Shakespearean sonnets in particular." O’Toole read and recited the sonnets on the air, and claimed to know all 156 of his sonnets by heart.
Of course, as I began to appreciate better the art and craft of acting, the work that goes into movie-making, and the craft of method acting, I could see another dimension to OToole's talent and the effort that he put in on and behind the silver screen. In his early life, as a student of the hallowed Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the stage in London, O'Toole dedicated himself to mastering dramaturgy and theatrical persona. In his interviews on radio andTV, O'Toole often talked about his preparation for a role, and heard him speak how he immersed himself completely in the 12th century time period for "Lion in Winter", in which he played King Henry II constantly trying to out-maneuver Queen Eleanor (played by Katherine
Hepburn) over royal succession.
Peter O'Toole was best in roles in which the plot involved intrigue and he was embroiled in conflict with his leading ladies or men. In "Becket”, he plays King Henry II again engaged in a tough war of nerves against Archbishop of Ganterbury Thomas Becket played by Richard Burton. In "The Night of the Generals" he runs into the determined Major Grau (played by Omar Sharif) investigating the murder of a prostitute in Warsaw World War II and is looking into the whereabouts of General Tanz on the night of the murder. In 1963, O’Toole played the title role in Shakespeare's "Hamlet" under Laurence Olivier’s direction in the premiere production of the Royal National Theatre in London, and his rendition of the soliloquy "To be or not to be" is still considered one of the finest.
Even at the age of 75, he showed some of his old flair in the movie "Venus" in which he is matching his wits against a young, charming grand-niece. In this movie, his love of Shakespeare comes through as he recites a sonnet to impress his clueless underling. In real life, when challenged by Melissa Block in a radio interview for the National Public Radio (NPR) on his claim that he knew all of the Bard's sonnets by heart, he shot back:
"I do. They're my life companion. They're at the side of my bed. They travel with me. I pick them up and I read them all the time. I find them endlessly informing, endlessly beautiful, endlessly - they say, they hit the spot so many times on so many things".
And then he went on to recite, Sonnet CXXX,
Oh, my mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun.
Coral is far more red than her lips red.
If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun..
Adieu, my friend, rest in peace, and hope you have the sonnets in memory.
DR. ABDULLAH SHIBU UVES AND WORKS IN BOSTON, USA.