Hollywood lost two legendary stars over the weekend: Peter O’Toole died Saturday in London at the age of 81; Joan Fontaine was 96 when she died at her Carmel, California home on Sunday. Peter O’Toole is probably best know for his Oscar nominated performance in the 1962 film Lawrence of Arabia. His striking good looks prompted playwright Noel Coward to quip “if O’Toole had been any prettier, they would have had to call the movie “Florence of Arabia.” Nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards, including Becket, The Lion in Winter, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, The Ruling Class, and Man of La Mancha, Mr. O’Toole won an honorary Oscar in 2003. This NYT article is a fascinating look at this charismatic star.
Joan Fontaine was 24 years old when she won the best actress Oscar for the 1942 film Suspicion. Her film career thrived in the 1940s and 1950s with title roles in Jane Eyre (opposite Orson Welles); Letter From an Unknown Woman; and Island in the Sun. She and her sister actress Olivia de Havilland were “estranged for most of their adult lives, a situation Ms. Fontaine once attributed to her having married and won an Oscar before Ms. de Havilland did.” You can read more about this actress here.
Laura