Ivor Novello

Novello was portrayed in the fictional film Gosford Park (2001) by Jeremy Northam and several of his songs were used for the film's soundtrack. In 1984, he was nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award as "Worst Actor" for his role in the abysmal Supergirl. The Ivor Novello Award is a prize awarded for songwriting, named for Ivor Novello, and awarded each year by the record industry to song writers and arrangers rather than the performing artistes. He is tied with Becket costar Richard Burton for most nominations for an acting Oscar (7) without winning. It was alleged by W. Somerset Maugham that Winston Churchill confided in him that he had once been to bed with Novello. O'Toole also has the distinction of being the only actor ever nominated for Academy Awards for playing the same character in two different films; he played King Henry II in both 1964's Becket and 1968's The Lion in Winter. Novello was a homosexual, well known for some of his more glamorous affairs. For 35 years, he was the lover of the British actor Bobby Andrews, and he had an affair with the British poet and writer Siegfried Sassoon. O'Toole initially balked about accepting and wrote the academy a letter saying he was "still in the game" and would like more time to "win the lovely bugger outright." In the end, O'Toole relented and agreed to appear at the ceremony and pick up his Oscar.

However, he continued to appear on stage until the day before his sudden death. In 2003, the Academy bestowed upon him the Academy Honorary Award for his lifetime achievements in film. This downfall from his luxurious lifestyle completely broke his spirit, and he was never the same man after his release. After Lawrence of Arabia, O'Toole received six more nominations for the Best Actor Oscar but never won the award. During World War II, Novello was convicted of illegal use of rationed petrol (gasoline) and was briefly imprisoned. Severe illness related to his heavy drinking almost ended his life in the late 1970s, but he recovered and returned to work, although he found it harder to get in films, resulting in more work for television and occasional stage roles. He generally composed his music to the librettos of Christopher Hassall. His subsequent film choices have ranged from superb to mediocre (with a couple of clinkers tossed in for good measure).

Novello wrote his musical shows in the style of operetta, and was one of the last major composers in this form. His performance introduced him to US audiences and earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He also went to Hollywood and appeared in films, but the stage remained his first love and the medium for his major successes. O'Toole's major break came when he was chosen to play Lawrence in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962), after Albert Finney turned down the role. He first became well known as a result of the song, "Keep the Home Fires Burning", which he composed during World War I. After the war, he appeared on stage in the West End, in musical shows of his own devising, the best known being The Dancing Years (1939). In 1958 he married actress Siān Phillips; they divorced in 1979. He was born at Llwyn-yr-Eos (Grove of Nightingales), Cowbridge Road East, Cardiff, Wales, to Dame Clara Novello Davies (1861-1943), a well-known singer and teacher, and David Davies, a tax collector. He worked in theatre, gaining recognition as a Shakespearean actor at the Bristol Old Vic and with the English Stage Company, before making his television debut in 1954 and a very minor film debut in 1959.

David Ivor Davies (January 15, 1893 - March 6, 1951), better known as Ivor Novello , was one of the most popular entertainers of the 20th century. But after National Service he attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (1952-54) on a scholarship. "Yesterday". He left school at an early age and became a journalist, working at the Yorkshire Evening News. "Someday my Heart will Awake". He was born Peter Seamus O'Toole in County Galway, Ireland, and was raised in Leeds, England. "We'll Gather Lilacs". Peter O'Toole (born August 2, 1932) is a famous Irish film actor.

"When I Curtsied to the King". Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell (1989). "My Dearest Dear". Troy (2004). "I can Give you the Starlight". Hitler: Rise of Evil (2003). "Rose of England". Phantoms (1998).

"Shine Through my Dreams". FairyTale: A True Story (1997). "Fold Your Wings". The Seventh Coin (1992). "Keep the Home Fires Burning". King Ralph (1991). Gay's the Word (1951). Wings of Fame (1990).

King's Rhapsody (1949). High Spirits (1988). Perchance to Dream (1945). The Last Emperor (1987). Arc de Triomphe (1943). My Favorite Year (1982). The Dancing Years (1939). The Stunt Man (1980).

Crest of the Wave (1937). Caligula (1979). Careless Rapture (1936). Zulu Dawn (1979). Glamorous Night (1935). Power Play (1978). Rosebud (1975).

Under Milk Wood (1973). Man of La Mancha (1972). The Ruling Class (1972). Murphy's War (1971).

Brotherly Love (1969). Chips (1969). Goodbye, Mr. The Lion in Winter (1968).