Peter O’Toole died in London yesterday. He was one of the few actors I was happy to watch in any role. He improved almost anything he was in, although I wish there had been more late-career stuff after his charming turn in My Favorite Year.
I have a very tenuous six-degrees-of-Kevin-Bacon connection to him, in that his ex-wife, Siân Phillips, and I share the same musical director/pianist, Kevin Amos. But, that aside, it’s because of Peter O’Toole that I never dismissed the Obama-birther stuff out of hand. O’Toole had two valid, government-issued birth certificates — one stating he was born in Connemara in Ireland in June 1932, the other stating he was born in Leeds in England in August 1932. He had no idea which one was correct, but, being in showbiz, chose to celebrate his birthday on the later date.
And these are two of the oldest, most reliable birth registries on the planet.