British-born Peter Ustinov was a multi-talented, multi-award-winning actor. Classic movie fans know him well – “Spartacus,” “Topkapi,” both of which earned him an Oscar, but also “Quo Vadis,” “The Sundowners,” and “Hot Millions.”
But acting was only part of his Portfolio. Ustinov was also a director, a popular raconteur, and a novelist.
Indeed, the two times that I interviewed him were both conversations about his fiction.
One of those interviews was in 1991. That was the year Peter Ustinov wrote satire imagining God and the devil going on a kind of fact-finding mission in the modern-day world – as humans.
The book was called The Old Man And Mr Smith.
Now, Peter Ustinov described himself as a secular humanist, and his portrayals of God and the devil should be taken in that context.
In any case, I think you’ll find this interview a delight to listen to.
So here now, from 1991, Peter Ustinov.
Peter Ustinov died in 2004 at age 82.