Peter Ustinov

Actor, writer, director, raconteur and all-round bon vivant, Peter Ustinov would have been 93 today. A large glass is being raised to his memory at Agitation Towers, and I’m luxuriating in some of his wit and wisdom:

“A diplomat these days is nothing but a head waiter who’s allowed to sit down occasionally.”

“Two members of my profession who are not urgently needed by my profession, Mr Ronald Reagan and Mr George Murphy, entered politics, and they've done extremely well. Since there has been no reciprocal tendency in the other direction, it suggests to me that our job is still more difficult than their new one.”

“If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can’t be done.” 

“Critics search for ages for the wrong word, which, to give them credit, they eventually find.”

“Beliefs are what divide people. Doubts unite them.”