lifestyle
April 29, 2024

Sir Peter Ustinov: What a man!

"Most people are afraid of death because they have not made enough of their lives," Peter Ustinov once said. So he was not afraid to die. Even if he actually intended to enrich the world a little longer. At least until 2008, because his passport was valid for so long: "For me a matter of honor not to run before," he joked recently. He died at least four years early, on March 29, 2004, at the age of 82. The two-time Oscar winner became famous around the world as an actor - in 1951 he made his breakthrough as "Emperor Nero" in "Quo Vadis", and received the coveted trophy for his roles in "Spartacus" and "Topkapi". In the 1970s, Ustinov, as a detective, discovered Hercule Poirot in several Agatha-Christie adaptations, his most famous case, Death on the Nile. He played his last role as Frederick the Wise in the monumental film "Luther".

But in addition to acting, Sir Peter Ustinov was still very different things important. For more than 30 years, he was a Unicef ambassador: "I got a lot of love, I did not know how to give it back ... but I found a way through Unicef," said the fourfold father. Since 1999, with his "Peter Ustinov Foundation", he has tried to give children all over the world a better future, for example with projects like the "Peace School" in Afghanistan. As chairman of the "Organization of World Federalists", he campaigned for the further development of the UNO into a world parliament. In 2000, he started to set up an international network for the study of prejudice: Ustinov Institutes at the Universities of Budapest, Vienna and Durham are now there - the latter being the chancellor since 1992. Ustinov was what some would-be cosmopolitan likes to claim for himself: a citizen of the world.

Sir Peter was fortunate to be able to look across national borders from an early age. He was born according to personal information in St. Petersburg, he was born in 1921 in London, baptized in Baden-Württemberg. His father was Russian, his mother had next to French Italian, Ethiopian and Russian ancestors. "I am ethnically very dirty and very proud of it," Ustinov once said. He had the privilege of growing up with four different languages.

His mother, the stage designer Nadja Benois, had given him the love of the arts: Ustinov not only excelled as an actor and director, he also staged highly acclaimed operas at the best houses in the world. He was an entertainer, painter, set designer, conférencier, filmed documentary films, moderated. He wrote plays and screenplays, directed and starred in more than 40 films and plays. He wrote stories, novels, memoirs and made the world happy as a comedian. He felt a great need to always learn and to try new things, because he was convinced: "Those who step on the spot can only make sauerkraut."

In addition to so much greatness, dedication, talent and creativity, we can only hope that Peter Ustinov at least had a few weaknesses in private. He hinted at this when he said, "Everybody makes mistakes, the trick is to make them when no one is watching." This feat then mastered Peter Ustinov probably also perfect.

Susanne Arndt

1001 Bonmots by Peter Ustinov

The last voice heard before the world explodes will be the voice of an expert saying, 'That's technically impossible!'
I think I was a very nice kid, but when other kids were naughty, they obviously threatened them with me as a playmate.
If you are already the prisoner of your own mind, you have to at least set it up properly.
The church says you should love your neighbor. I am convinced that she does not know my neighbor.
Childhood is that glorious time when you gave your brother the measles for your birthday.
In 1933 many wanted to leave Germany. Today, many want to get in. That must mean something.
I'm rounder than square ...
To see how children grow up is a great pleasure. One recognizes their own mistakes and the virtues of his wife, which can have a pronounced stabilizing effect on marriage.
Vanity is only tragic if you have nothing to be vain on.
Marriage is the only war in which one sleeps with the enemy.
I find it most unbearable that there is poverty in rich countries and rich people in poor countries. In both cases, they are out of place.
I keep on working because even after my age I feel a little better after a gig than before, and I think it's smarter and more lucrative than jogging.
The opposite of "stressed" is "desserts".
Love is no excuse for bad manners.
Political forecasts are like weather forecasts:
Everyone sticks to it, only the weather is not.
So some people get to the top,
because he has no ability
that's why you want to hold him down.
The greatest love is always the,
which remains unfulfilled.
The only thing that distinguishes humans from animals,
is the laugh.
The people,
that shift something from one day to the next,
are the same,
who have already moved it from yesterday to today.
The only home that counts for me,
is the civilized behavior.
Climbing on the ladder of social prestige
often ends with a terrible sore muscles.
Planning means
to replace chance with error.
Fate is far too serious to be left to chance.
When you see what the good Lord allows on earth,
you have the feeling that he is still experimenting.
We generally agree on our doubts ... What separates us are our beliefs.
Modesty is the unhealthiest form of self-assessment.
Two forms of animal life that I absolutely hate are lip-reading and people who ask a question without waiting for an answer.
Life is too short, but it would be terrible if it were too long.
The generals say the war is over, if the last one
Shot has fallen. But that is not true: the war is going on
on and on and on.
In my army uniform, I looked like the loser in sack racing.
Men think about women. Women think about what men think about them.
It is essential to learn more each year than the year before.
Courage is not a precondition for the loss of life.
I firmly believe in beginner happiness. That's why I'm trying so many different things.
I'm not afraid of death because of me
also had no fear of birth - as far as I remember.
We admire people for their strengths, but love them for their weaknesses.
Money corrupts - especially those who do not.
God created the world in six days. Only humans invented the five-day week.
An anniversary is a date on which a zero is honored for a zero of several zeros.
Religion is God's work, perfected by the devil.
The Englishman loves the feeling that he can laugh at himself. But he only does that to make others laugh and laugh at him.
There are people in America who have more important things to do than to be president.
Anyone who has not been considered in a will finds comfort in the thought that the deceased probably wanted to save him inheritance tax.
Any child who is fit for anything becomes more through rebellion than through obedience.
Sincerity is a virtue
who already bears their wages in the name:
She sets up.
I am especially happy when happiness is imperfect. Perfection has no character.
The best thing about Sunday is that you never have to dress completely. Mostly I do not even get to wear my socks.
I never had a good relationship with children - not even as a child.
NATO: Six states are looking for an enemy ...
My father wanted me to become a lawyer, but I told him I would rather go to the theater, which was basically the same thing - only less dangerous for my fellow human beings.
The Americans hold the freedom for their invention. They have already sent Peace Corps units to Athens to teach the Greeks the meaning of the word democracy.
I never encouraged my children to be creative. The role model of a parent is far more eloquent than anything that could be said to them.
The prejudice is one of the biggest villains in the cast list in history. It uses the sheer ignorance as a weapon.
The truth is naturally tendentious. The truth in Ghana undoubtedly differs from the truth in the United States. I could not possibly swear in court that I'll tell the truth. I could only swear to tell my truth.
Who does not doubt, must be crazy ...
Meaning of life: Something that nobody knows exactly. Anyway, there is little point in being the richest man in the cemetery.
Now are the good old days, after which we will be back in ten years.
"I am very lazy from the ground up, I am very, very lazy, at school I was accused of being lazy, and my father also accused me of being lazy, and all of them accused me of being a lazybones. and a Zauderer, so that I made a great effort to prove to myself "unsuccessfully? that I am not lazy ...".