Today we have the multi talented Sir Peter Ustinov present, in two parts, his one man comedic tour-de-force (or should that be farce) of The Grand Prix of Gibralter. Simply the most wonderful comedy - up with the Goons. It seems incredible that it is a one man show with all the different voices. I bought this LP more years ago than I can remember.
I remember another skit I saw on TV when he explained how up until he was 7-8 years of age he thought he was a car and he then spent 20 minutes giving a comedy solo about his life as a child car.
Sir Peter Ustinov was born Peter Alexander Freiherr von Ustinov in 1921 . He was a mixture of Russian, French, Italian, German, Ethiopian stock. They of course also came from a Jewish background so his father, known as Klop, was a spy for MI5 against the Germans although in the First World War he fought for the Luftwaffe against the RAF.
During the Second World War Peter was the batman for the actor David Niven. Although Niven could have sat out the War in America he didn't hesitate to throw in his US acting career to return to Britain to take up a commission in the British Army where he became a highly decorated officer.
Sir Peter won numerous awards - Oscars, Bafta's, Emmys and many others. Listen to his genius here. He was a man of many parts, actor, playright, author, producer, commedian, raconteur, and a dozen other talents. Later in life he became an Ambassador for the United Nations.
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