Nickname:	Peter Ustinov / Sir Peter Ustinov /
Known for:	Spartacus, Death on the Nile, Billy Budd
Birth name:	Peter Alexander Ustinov
Birthday:	16 April 1921, London, England, UK
Height:	5' 11½" (1.82 m)

His mother was artist Nadia Benois, the niece of Alexandre Benois. Both were designers for the Mariinsky Opera and Ballet in St. Petersburg, Russia. Both also worked for the "Russian Seasons" and "Ballets Russes" productions by impresario Sergei Diaghilev. Was knighted Sir Peter Ustinov. [1990] Awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). [1975] The New London Theatre in Drury Lane WC2 first opened on 2nd January 1973 with Peter Ustinov's play "The Unknown Soldier and His Wife" Was the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF from 1968 until his death in 2004. During WWII Pvt. Peter Ustinov was batman to Lt. Col. David Niven. His father was a German subject who came to Soviet Russia on personal business where he met his future wife. Shortly after they were married they decided to leave Russia and settle in Britain. As Ustinov has said, "It is for that very reason that I am addressing you today in English." First marriage to Isolde Denham, daughter of Reginald Denham and Moyna MacGill. Their daughter is Tamara Ustinov. Isolde was half-sister of Angela Lansbury. In January 1963, the Mirisch Company sued him for damages after he pulled out of The Pink Panther, which was in production in Rome with his replacement, Peter Sellers. Peter and Suzanne had 3 children: two daughters, Pavla Ustinov and Andrea Ustinov, and a son Igor Ustinov. Chancellor of the University of Durham from 1992 until his death in 2004. Is 1/4 Ethiopian on his mother's side. Has a song written about him: "The Night I Saved Peter Ustinov" - written and recorded by Lauren Christy. Is fluent in French, German, English, Italian, Russian and Spanish and can pass in Turkish and Greek among others. He was known to proudly say "I have Russian, German, Spanish, Italian, French and Ethiopian blood in my veins." Funeral service held at Geneva's historic Cathedral of St Pierre. He was later buried in the village of Bursins, where he had lived in a Chateau since 1971. (April 2004) According to Peter Wright, in his book "Spycatcher," Ustinov's father was Klop Ustinov, who had been active in MI5 (British Security Service, Counterespionage) as an agent runner during the Second World War. He also had the distinction of having held commissions in the Russian, German and British armies (presumably at different times). He was a Humanist Laureate, a member of the International Academy of Humanism. In 1958, received two Tony Award nominations for "Romanoff and Juliet": as Best Actor (Dramatic) and as Best Play Author. In 1964, he accepted the Oscar for "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" on behalf of Margaret Rutherford, who wasn't present at the awards ceremony Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 Winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Lentulus Batiatus in Spartacus, Ustinov stands as the only actor to win an Oscar for a Stanley Kubrick film. In fact, Peter Sellers is the only other actor to receive so much as a nomination. Both his father and uncle were officers in the German army and fought Britain in WWI. Made a comedy record in the late 1950s, "Mock Mozart" and "Phoney Folk Lore". He had been performing these as party pieces. Overdubbing allowed Ustinov to sing multiple parts. His producer was George Martin, future producer of The Beatles. (Martin later described Ustinov as "Britain's answer to Orson Welles.") Member of the jury at the Venice Film Festival in 1986.

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