Peter O'Toole and Joan Fontaine

Farewell to two indelible stars

A generation apart, each burst into fame in a great director's movie that won the Academy Award for Best Picture: Joan Fontaine in Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940), Peter O'Toole in David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962). They also represented two classic, nearly vanished styles of film acting. Fontaine played the gracious lady, quiet and querulous, unsure of her allure. O'Toole was the master thespian, lasering his reckless charisma to the farthest balcony. She was all emotional precision, he theatrical bravado. They took those styles with them when they died: O'Toole at 81 on Dec. 14 in a London hospital, Fontaine at...

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