Oh, these Ustinovs
Family, war, and education
According to his own record, Peter Ustinov was born "in ordinary manner" on April 16, 1921, in London. The attempt to clarify his descent covers more than 40 pages in his memoirs. The father, Jona von Ustinov, nicknamed "Klop", is a German representative of the Wolff Telegraph Bureau in London, the mother, Nadia Benois, is a French painter and theatrical designer with Russian and Ethiopian ancestors. Furthermore, Spanish, Polish, Italian and Jewish roots can be found in the Ustinov family history.
This way, Peter imbibed his genius for languages right from his infancy. He grows up quadrilingual and, over the years, also adopts sundry languages that allow him to converse with his partners almost always in their respective mother tongue.
Peter grows up as the only child – his family ties therefore grow all the more over the years. He is married three times, the last time to Lady Hélène, and has four children. Tamara and Pavla become actors, following their father's footsteps, Andrea is a goldsmith, and son Igor is a well-known sculptor and keeps his father's heritage in continuing the fight against prejudices. To commemorate his father, he dedicates the sculpture "Open Minds" to him in 2005, which is exhibited to the public in Lucerne, Switzerland.
First Steps
One note in Peter's school record reads: "He shows great originality, which must be curbed at all cost." His nature does not seem to be compatible to the routines at school for long. So, he leaves Westminster school aged 16 in favour of being educated as an actor at the London Theatre Studio. Peter is irresistibly attracted by the theatre. It is a way to escape the "dull rat race at school", as he tells us in his autobiography "Dear me" (1978). He already starts to write plays in his days at school - the first one has fifteen pages and is supposed to be full-length. Obviously, his dramaturgy still requires some fine-tuning, but five years later the time has come: In 1942, Peter Ustinov debuts as a playwright with "House of Regrets".
The Second World War slows down the ascent of Ustinov as a theatrician for now: From 1942 to 1946, his repertoire consists of army service for the most part. To spend this time in a halfway bearable way, Peter changes to a unit that produces educational films for the British army. His new mate is Carol Reed (who later directs the classic movie "The Third Man" with Orson Welles), and David Niven is his superior - certainly a pleasant company and a splendid opportunity for Peter to take tentative steps towards the movie business and to make useful contacts.
In 1946, he finishes his first own screenplay for the movie "School for Secrets". The shooting is a welcome opportunity to get out of the uniform and back into civilian clothes. The cast of this early work might raise some eyebrows: Richard Attenborough and Ralph Richardson have the honour.
Later, Peter regarded the following five years as his apprenticeship. Numerous theatre productions with his own and other people's plays emerge, get staged and are received by the audience sometimes more and sometimes less enthusiastically. Two more films are produced - in short: The second half of the 1940's is a time of creation and gathering experience for Peter Ustinov.
But what ends this apprenticeship?
Quote Peter Ustinov: "A disapproving voice came from above and asked: Where are you going?"
