16 Dec - Irish-born British actor Peter O'Toole, who is best known for his role in the classic epic "Lawrence Of Arabia", passed away yesterday in a hospital at London after years of battling various health problems, his agent confirms. The 81-year-old actor who had announced his retirement from acting mid last year, had through his career battled with stomach cancer caused by years of heavy drinking and chain-smoking. O'Toole shot to fame as the lead in David Lean's 1962 film "Lawrence Of Arabia" where he played British adventurer and army officer T.E. Lawrence, who led the Arab rebellion against the Ottoman Turkish rule during World War One.
The actor had been nominated eight times for an Academy Award, where he had set the record for receiving the most Oscar nominations without ever winning. In 2003, O'Toole was finally presented with an honorary Oscar by the Academy. The actor's prior Oscar nominations were first for "Lawrence Of Arabia" in 1962, followed by nominations for"Becket" (1964), "The Lion In Winter" (1968), "Goodbye, Mr Chips" (1969), "The Ruling Class" (1972), "The Stunt Man" (1980) and "My Favourite Year" (1982).