Actor Peter O’Toole, who starred in Sir David Lean’s 1962 film classic Lawrence of Arabia, died yesterday aged 81.
He was being treated at London’s Wellington hospital after a long illness, his agent said.
O’Toole received an honorary Oscar in 2003, having initially turned it down.
In a letter the actor asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to delay it until he was 80, saying he was “still in the game and might win the bugger outright.”
The Irish-born star got his big break when Sir David cast him as British adventurer TE Lawrence.
Lawrence of Arabia earned him the first of eight Oscar nominations, with others coming for such films as Becket, The Lion in Winter, and Goodbye, Mr Chips.