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01
Ustinov was fluent in French, German, English, Italian, Russian, and Spanish, and could speak passably in Turkish and Greek.
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02
On October 31, 1984, while waiting to interview Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for an Irish television documentary, she was assassinated by her Sikh bodyguards as she approached Ustinov and his film crew.
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03
During WWII, as a private, Ustinov served as batman to Lieutenant Colonel David Niven.
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04
Ustinov’s first wife, Isolde Denham 1920–1987, was half-sister to actress Angela Lansbury; they married in 1940 and divorced in 1950, having one child, Tamara.
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05
Winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus 1960, Ustinov remains the only actor to win an Oscar for a Stanley Kubrick film; Peter Sellers is the only other actor to receive even a nomination.
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06
He served as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF from 1968 until his death in 2004.
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07
Both his father and uncle were officers in the German army and fought against Britain in World War I.
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08
In the late 1950s, Ustinov made a comedy record titled Mock Mozart and Phoney Folk Lore, overdubbing himself to sing multiple parts. His producer was George Martin, who would later produce The Beatles.
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09
He directed his then mother-in-law Moyna MacGill in Private Angelo 1949.
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10
Ustinov received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Dundee University and an honorary Doctor of Music degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
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11
His father, a German subject, traveled to Soviet Russia on business, where he met his wife; they soon emigrated to Britain. Ustinov noted, It is for that very reason that I am addressing you today in English.
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12
In 1958, Ustinov received two Tony Award nominations: for Best Actor Dramatic and Best Play Author for Romanoff and Juliet.
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13
He was a Humanist Laureate and a member of the International Academy of Humanism.
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14
According to Peter Wright’s book Spycatcher, Ustinov’s father, Klop Ustinov, was an agent runner for MI5 during World War II and had held commissions in the Russian, German, and British armies.
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15
Ustinov proudly said, I have Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, French and Ethiopian blood in my veins. His ancestry traced to Russian nobility and the Ethiopian Royal Family.
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16
In January 1963, the Mirisch Company sued him for damages after he withdrew from The Pink Panther 1963; he was replaced by Peter Sellers.
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17
Ustinov was originally cast to play Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther but pulled out at the last minute; Peter Sellers was suggested to director Blake Edwards and accepted.
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18
He directed one Oscar-nominated performance, that of Terence Stamp in Billy Budd 1962.
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19
Ustinov wrote two plays before his army service; both were produced while he was in the army, one successful and one a disaster.
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20
His funeral service was held at Geneva’s historic Cathedral of St Pierre; he was buried in the village of Bursins, where he had lived in a château since 1971.
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21
Ustinov was appointed CBE in the 1975 Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to drama, and knighted in 1990.
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22
He served as Chancellor of the University of Durham from 1992 until his death in 2004.
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23
In 1964, Ustinov accepted the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress on behalf of Margaret Rutherford, who was not present.
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24
He co-wrote the script for The Way Ahead with Eric Ambler while in the army.
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25
He was Rector of the University of Dundee in Scotland from 1968 to 1974.
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26
Ustinov played five different English or British kings: Prince John and Richard the Lionheart in Robin Hood 1973; the future King George IV in Beau Brummell 1954; King Edward VII in a 1980 episode; and King William IV in Victoria & Albert 2001.
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27
He anonymously dubbed several Italian actors on the soundtrack of Beat the Devil 1953.
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28
Ustinov’s mother, Nadia Benois, was a niece of Alexandre Benois; both were designers for the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet in St. Petersburg and worked with Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. She was costume designer on two films he directed: Vice Versa 1948 and Private Angelo 1949.
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29
Ustinov was a Tony Award away from achieving EGOT. He made his Broadway debut in Romanoff and Juliet, which he also wrote, receiving two Tony nominations. Two days after the 1958 Tony Awards, he won his first Primetime Emmy.
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30
He played two roles later played by Jim Broadbent: Fix in Around the World in 80 Days 1989 miniseries and 1992 BBC Radio and William IV in Victoria & Albert 2001. Ustinov had unsuccessfully auditioned for Fix in the 1956 film over 30 years earlier.
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31
He wrote 23 plays, 13 books, 9 films, and numerous memoirs; he directed 8 films, 8 plays, and 14 operas, including one at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1997.
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32
Ustinov and Suzanne Cloutier had three children: Andrea, Pavla, and Igor.
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33
His children: Tamara born 1945, Pavla born 1954, Igor born 1956, and Andrea born 1958.
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34
Along with Anthony Quinn, Shelley Winters, and Jason Robards, Ustinov won two Best Supporting Actor Oscars.
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35
A memorial service for Ustinov was held at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, London on November 18, 2004.
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36
Lauren Christy wrote and recorded a song about him, The Night I Saved Peter Ustinov.
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37
His third marriage was to Helene du Lau d’Allemans in 1973.
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38
The New London Theatre in Drury Lane opened on January 2, 1973, with Ustinov’s play The Unknown Soldier and His Wife.
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39
Along with Hugh Burden, Ustinov is one of two actors to appear in both One of Our Aircraft Is Missing 1942 and One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing 1975.
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40
He held various academic posts and served as president of the World Federalist Movement.
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41
He was a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966.
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42
Ustinov was buried at Cimetière de Bursins in Bursins, District de Nyon, Vaud, Switzerland, an Alpine village overlooking Lake Geneva.
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43
He spoke several languages, including Russian and Spanish; his Spanish vocabulary sometimes gave him a comical appearance similar to a character speaking that language.
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44
He was a member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1986.
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45
Ustinov was involved in multiple capacities in seven Broadway productions from January 1953 through May 1984: The Love of Four Colonels written by, Romanoff and Juliet written by, co-wrote ballads, starred, Photo Finish written, directed, starred, The Unknown Soldier and His Wife written by, Halfway Up the Tree written and directed, Who’s Who in Hell written and starred, Beethoven’s Tenth written and starred.
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46
He was the original choice for the film The Pink Panther.
