What Was Peter O'Toole's Net Worth?
Peter O'Toole was a British actor, director, producer, and author who had a net worth of $50 million at the time of his death in 2013. One of Hollywood's most highly regarded actors, Peter O'Toole's rise to stardom began in 1962 when he played T.E. Lawrence in the Oscar-winning film "Lawrence of Arabia." Peter earned Academy Award nominations for eight of his film roles, and he had more than 90 acting credits to his name, including the films "Becket" (1964), "The Lion in Winter" (1968), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969), "The Ruling Class" (1972), "Man of La Mancha" (1972), "Caligula" (1979), "The Stunt Man" (1980), "My Favorite Year" (1982), and "Troy" (2004), the television series "The Tudors" (2008), and the TV movies "Pygmalion" (1983), "Gulliver's Travels" (1996), "Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell" (1999), and "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" (2003). O'Toole directed and produced "Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell," and he was credited as an executive producer on the 2017 film "The Performance," which was released posthumously.
Peter voiced Anton Ego in the 2007 Disney Pixar film "Ratatouille" and Sherlock Holmes in 1983's "Sherlock Holmes and the Baskerville Curse," "Sherlock Holmes and the Valley of Fear," "Sherlock Holmes and a Study in Scarlet," and "Sherlock Holmes and the Sign of Four." O'Toole appeared in numerous stage productions, such as "Pygmalion" (1987) on Broadway and "King Lear" (1956), "Othello" (1956), "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1957), "Waiting for Godot" (1957), and "Hamlet" (1958) at the Bristol Old Vic. Peter also published the memoirs "Loitering with Intent: The Child" (1992) and "Loitering with Intent: The Apprentice" (1996). After battling a long illness, O'Toole died on December 14, 2013, at the age of 81.
Early Life
Peter O'Toole was born Peter Seamus O'Toole on August 2, 1932, in Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. He was the son of Scottish nurse Jane Eliot Ferguson and Irish football player/metal plater/bookmaker Patrick Joseph "Spats" O'Toole, and he had an older sister named Patricia. Peter said that he wasn't sure of the date or place of his birth because he had birth certificates from both England and Ireland, but Leeds General Registry Office records confirm that he was born on August 2, 1932, at St James's University Hospital. O'Toole grew up in a Catholic household, and during World War II, he was evacuated from Leeds. Peter attended St Joseph's Secondary School near Leeds, then he took a job with the Yorkshire Evening Post as a trainee journalist and photographer. He was later called up for national service by the Royal Navy, where he served as a signaller. From 1952 to 1954, O'Toole attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art on a scholarship.
Career
Peter began his acting career in the theatre, appearing in plays at the Bristol Old Vic and English Stage Company. He made his onscreen debut in a 1955 episode of "The Scarlet Pimpernel," then he appeared in the 1958 TV movie "The Castiglioni Brothers." His first feature film was 1959's "Kidnapped," and he followed it with "The Savage Innocents" and "The Day They Robbed the Bank of England" in 1960. In 1962, O'Toole starred as T. E. Lawrence in "Lawrence of Arabia" and earned his first Academy nomination. He was also nominated for playing Henry II in 1964's "Becket" and 1968's "The Lion in Winter" and Arthur Chipping in 1969's "Goodbye, Mr. Chips." In the '60s, Peter also appeared in the films "Lord Jim" (1965), "What's New Pussycat?" (1965), "How to Steal a Million" (1966), "The Bible: In the Beginning…" (1966), "The Night of the Generals" (1967), "Casino Royale" (1967), and "Great Catherine" (1968). He played Don Quixote de La Mancha, Miguel de Cervantes, and Alonso Quijano in the 1972 film adaptation of the musical "Man of La Mancha" and Robinson Crusoe in 1975's "Man Friday," and around this time, he also starred in "Country Dance" (1970), "Murphy's War" (1971), "Under Milk Wood" (1972), "The Ruling Class" (1972), "Rosebud" (1975), "Foxtrot" (1976), and "Power Play" (1978).
(Stuart Wilson/Getty Images)
O'Toole received his first Primetime Emmy nomination for the 1981 miniseries "Masada," and he starred as Professor Henry Higgins in the 1983 TV movie "Pygmalion." He appeared in the films "The Stunt Man" (1980), "My Favorite Year" (1982), "Supergirl" (1984), "Club Paradise" (1986), "The Last Emperor" (1987), "King Ralph" (1991), "Rebecca's Daughters" (1992), "Phantoms" (1998), and "The Manor" (1999) and the miniseries "Heaven & Hell: North & South, Book III" (1994), and he won an Emmy for his performance as Bishop Cauchon in the 1999 Canadian miniseries "Joan of Arc." Peter portrayed German President Paul von Hindenburg in the 2003 TV movie "Hitler: The Rise of Evil," earning another Emmy nomination, and in 2004, he played King Priam in "Troy," which grossed $497.4 million at the box office. He appeared in the films "The Final Curtain" (2002), "Lassie" (2005), "One Night with the King" (2006), "Stardust" (2007), "Dean Spanley" (2008), and "Cristiada" (2012), and he received his final Academy Award nomination for 2006's "Venus." In 2008, O'Toole portrayed Pope Paul III on the Showtime historical fiction series "The Tudors," which earned him an Irish Film and Television Award. Peter's last two films, 2014's "Decline of an Empire" and 2015's "Diamond Cartel," were released posthumously.
Personal Life
Peter married actress Siân Phillips in December 1959, and they welcomed daughters Kate and Patricia before divorcing in August 1979. In Siân's autobiographies, she said that she was subjected to mental cruelty and extreme jealousy from Peter. In 1983, O'Toole had a son, Lorcan, with model Karen Brown. All of Peter's children have done some acting, and Kate has appeared in more than 30 film and television projects. In 1976, O'Toole underwent surgery to have his pancreas and part of his stomach removed because of problems doctors originally attributed to his drinking. The culprit was later discovered to be stomach cancer, and Peter developed insulin-dependent diabetes as a result of the surgery. In 1978, he came close to dying from a blood disorder.
Death and Legacy
In July 2012, Peter retired from acting after his stomach cancer returned. On December 14, 2013, he passed away at London's Wellington Hospital at the age of 81. O'Toole's funeral took place a week later at Golders Green Crematorium, and after he was cremated, his daughter Kate stated that the family would be taking his ashes to Connemara, Ireland, and scattering them near his hilltop home. In May 2014, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School established The Peter O'Toole Prize to be given to two actors every year. Kate said of the honor, "The Peter O'Toole Prize, named in honour of my father and something I know Peter would have been pleased to attach his name to, is an important springboard for talented young actors. By providing opportunities for gifted performers, we can afford deserving prize winners the same chance my father had to hone their craft on the very same stage." In April 2017, the University of Texas at Austin's Harry Ransom Center began housing Peter's archive at its humanities research centre. The collection includes "theatre and film scripts along with O'Toole's writings, including drafts, notes and working material for his multivolume memoir 'Loitering with Intent'" as well as photos, medical records, props, and letters.
Awards and Nominations
O'Toole received an Honorary Award at the 2003 Academy Awards, and he also earned eight nominations – Best Actor in a Leading Role for "Lawrence of Arabia" (1963), "Becket" (1965), "The Lion in Winter" (1969), "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1970), "The Ruling Class" (1973), "The Stunt Man" (1981), and "My Favorite Year" (1983) and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for "Venus" (2007). Peter won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Joan of Arc" in 1999, and he received nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special for "Masada" (1981) and Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" (2003). He earned 11 Golden Globe nominations, winning Most Promising Newcomer – Male for "Lawrence of Arabia" (1963), Best Actor – Drama for "Becket" (1965) and "The Lion in Winter" (1969), and Best Actor – Comedy or Musical for "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1970). O'Toole won a BAFTA Award for Best British Actor for "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1963, and he earned David di Donatello Awards for "Lawrence of Arabia," "The Night of the Generals," "Goodbye, Mr. Chips," and "The Last Emperor."
Peter won a CableACE Award for Actor in a Dramatic Series for "The Ray Bradbury Theater" in 1987, and he received National Board of Review Awards for Best Actor for "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" in 1970 and "Man of La Mancha" and "The Ruling Class" in 1972. He won Irish Film and Television Awards for Best Supporting Actor in Film/TV for "Troy" in 2004 and Best Actor in a Supporting Role in Television for "The Tudors" in 2009, and he was named Best Actor for "The Final Curtain" at the 2002 Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish & British Film. O'Toole received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Savannah Film Festival (2004) and Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards (2006), and he was honored with the Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival's Award of Excellence in 2013. He was inducted into the Online Film & Television Association Film Hall of Fame in 2005.
