Peter Ustinov, 1921 - 2004.

I always felt he was a most amazing man, a polymath polyglot who somehow managed to fit more into his life than anyone else I know. He not only had a very rich story to tell about where he came from, but was also very amusing when talking about life in general. He will, I'm sure, be greatly missed.

Chris Atkins, on the BBC tribute page.

I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me the most civilised music in the world.

Quoted by the BBC.

Being of extremely mixed blood, in Serbian terms, I'm ethnically filthy, and extremely proud of it. Therefore, my only real allegiance in this world, apart from civilized behavior, is the United Nations. I'm a firm believer that it's the only hope. After the failure of the League of Nations, we mustn't let the whole thing slip out of our hands, because it also recognizes things which NATO doesn't - that every nation is unfortunately, but inevitably, at a different stage of development at the same moment.

From "Peter Ustinov: Citizen of the World," Kevin Lewis, Moviemaker.

I don't think there's any alternative to optimism. One skeptical German journalist said to me, "Isn't all you try and do for UNICEF like just like a drop of water on a hot stove?" That's a German expression. I said I honestly think it's a little better than that: "It's a drop of water in the ocean: It doesn't get lost."

"The adventures of Sir Peter Ustinov," Daniel Mangin, Salon.

Posted by dwhudson at March 29, 2004 6:23 AM