Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Peter USTINOV CBE (1921-2004)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Peter Ustinov, actor, writer, director and broadcaster, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews while filming a scene for the feature film Death on the Nile at Pinewood Studios.
Peter, who was born in London, trained at the Michel Saint-Denis Acting Academy before making his professional stage début in 1938 at London's Players' Theatre. Having served in the Army during the Second World War, he later returned to the theatre - acting, directing and writing several plays, including Romanoff and Juliet, which he later adapted and directed for the screen.
In the 1960s, he won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his roles in the films Spartacus and Topkapi, directed several operas worldwide, published more plays and two novels, and, as a noted raconteur on television, became popular as a guest on several talk shows.
Peter Ustinov was a subject of This Is Your Life on two occasions - surprised again by Michael Aspel in September 1994 at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva.
"Never fell into a trap so gracefully!"
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Screenshots of Peter Ustinov This Is Your Life
Hollywood really was in London the night we surprised Peter Ustinov in November 1977. He was playing Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot in the movie Death On The Nile, and the whole cast came along to our studio.
And what a cast: Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith, Jane Birkin, Angela Lansbury, Lois Chiles, Jon Finch, Olivia Hussey and Simon MacCorkindale.
Henry Fonda spoke to Peter from Hollywood, and Sir John Gielgud arrived to put the icing on a very rich cake. But the final scene went to Bette Davis. Displeased with the hub-bub at the play-back she turned from her front-row seat and silenced the room with an imperious glare of those famous eyes, followed by 'Ssshhhussh!'
Series 18 subjects
Richard Beckinsale | Peter Ustinov | Virginia Wade | Robert Arnott | Lin Berwick | Bob Paisley | The Bachelors | David Broome