Marking his 60th birthday, this is the autobiography of Sheridan Morley, the British theatre biographer and critic. Born the weekend of Pearl Harbour in 1941, Sheridan Morley grew up in California in the closing days of the Hollywood Raj, where he knew, albeit fleetingly, Garbo and Dietrich and the colony of English actors out in the midday sun. He went to school in England, and then Oxford University, followed by the start of his life in news and arts journalism and as a drama critic and biographer. He recounts tales of so many well-known faces in the media and theatre worlds, during a life of two marriages, three children, two grandchildren, one major nervous crack-up and 30 years of BBC radio arts programmes.
A highly readable work ... Niven emerges as gallant and gracious.' Chicago Tribune Sheridan Morley wrote this biography of the consummate on-screen English gentleman after speaking to over 150 of Niven's friends and colleagues (only Rex Harrison refused). The result is a picture which both supports and contradicts the charming vagabond persona depicted in Niven's own bestselling memoirs. While millions throughout his life were enchanted by Niven's happy-go-lucky charisma and world-class anecdotage, he was in many respects a private figure, haunted by a fear of failure, and a victim of several key tragedies in his personal life. Morley's biography is a warm, appreciative but perceptive account which captures both sides of one of Hollywood's most enduringly lovable figures. 'a compassionate account that goes past the blithe persona ... yet, there is much humor--the actor's and his biographer's--in this notable book' Publishers Weekly 'Head and shoulders above the average showbiz biography ... He understands many of Niven's deeper feelings' John Mortimer, Sunday Times 'A well-told story ... the darker side as well as the mask of a complex and perhaps desperate character. He was a life-enhancer off-screen as well as on' The Times 'Shrewd and pleasing; shows how dark Niven's moon could be' Alexander Walker, Evening Standard
A gold mine of gossip with a cast of thousands' GUARDIAN The unexpurgated diaries of one of the greatest, most talented, and wittily flamboyant characters of the 20th century - with a new introduction by Stephen Fry 'Compulsive reading' SUNDAY TIMES '19th February 1956. A A Milne has died. Lord Beaverbrook has not ... Larry is going to make a movie of The Sleeping Prince with Marilyn Monroe, which might conceivably drive him round the bend' '28th February 1960 Princess Margaret has announced her engagement to Tony Armstrong-Jones ... He looks quite pretty, but whether or not the marriage is entirely suitable remains to be seen.' Noel Coward was a renowned actor, dramatist, director - and star. His incredible zest, versatility and unrivalled wit are revealed in these diaries, with a cast of characters ranging from The Beatles to the Queen, Churchill to Marilyn Monroe. Touching, funny and revealing, THE NOEL COWARD DIARIES is a superb account of one of the greatest entertainers of all time.
Incredibly good-looking, in a dark way ... that curious quality of a man with an eternal secret. ... That was what was so arresting. ... That and the voice.' Geraldine Fitzgerald The reason for watching a James Mason film, as the film critic Pauline Kael once noted, was usually only James Mason himself. Mason was actually pointed toward a career in architecture before acting overtook him during his third year at Cambridge. He went on to make an indelible impression playing emotionally haunted characters on stage and screen, such as one early stand-out role, Johnny McQueen in Carol Reed's Odd Man Out (1947). Mason and his first wife, Pamela, arrived in the United States in the late forties, and the Hollywood phase of his career lasted through the 1950s. It memorably included diverse classics such as The Desert Fox, A Star is Born (for which he was Oscar-nominated) and North by Northwest. After his return to Europe, and remarried to Clarissa Kaye, he continued in landmark movies such as Lolita, Georgy Girl, The Verdict and, his last, The Shooting Party, receiving two more Oscar nominations in the process. But in this revealing book, Mason is shown to be a highly sensitive man uncomfortable with stardom, and often at odds with attempts to mould or typecast him. He remains, in legacy, the most intriguing and unpredictable of the great screen-actors. 'James knew how to steal movies, and give a performance that only really got noticed when the whole film was put together; so he would emerge with immense distinction having apparently been doing very little on the set.' Christopher Plummer
Sir John Gielgud's career as an actor was perhaps the most distinguished of any of his generation, and, in a lifetime that spanned almost a century, he appeared in hundreds of theatrical productions and films, receiving virtually every honor given, including an Academy Award. Now, in this wonderfully insightful biography, fully authorized and written with first-ever access to Gielgud's personal letters and diaries, bestselling biographer Sheridan Morley not only traces the actor's fascinating career, but provides a fresh and remarkably frank look into John Gielgud the man, showing how his success as an actor in many ways came at the expense of his personal happiness. Born into a theatrical family, John Gielgud took to the stage as naturally as a duck to water, and almost from the beginning, those who saw him perform knew that they were experiencing something extraordinary. A determined actor, intent on learning and polishing his craft, he worked incessantly, taking on one role after another, the greater the challenge, the better. During his long and remarkable career, he took on every truly great and demanding role, including all of Shakespeare's major plays as well as many contemporary and experimental productions. At ease in both great drama and light comedy, he was blessed with a great range and a seemingly infinite capacity to inhabit whatever character he attempted. Basically a somewhat shy man offstage, however, Gielgud for the most part limited his friendships to those with whom he worked, and as a result the theater -- and later, film -- made up just about his entire life. That he was flesh and blood, however, was reflected in the fact that he did enter into two long-term relationships, the first with a man who eventually left him for another, but with whom Gielgud maintained a strong tie, and the second with a handsome, mysterious Hungarian who lived with him until he died, just a few months before Sir John. True scandal came into Gielgud's life only once. In 1953, just weeks after Gielgud had been knighted by the Queen, he was arrested in a public men's room and charged with solicitation. The British press had a field day, but Gielgud's friends and fellow actors rallied to his support, as did his thousands of fans, and the result was the eventual change of law in England regarding sex between consenting adults. While these and many other aspects of his personal life are discussed for the first time in this distinguished biography, it is Gielgud's career as an actor, of course, that receives the greatest attention. And while British audiences had the pleasure of seeing him perform in the theater for his entire life, Americans came to know him best for his work in the movies, and most especially for his Oscar-winning performance as Hobson the butler in the Dudley Moore film Arthur. As dramatic and captivating as one of Sir John's many performances, this authorized biography is an intimate and fully rounded portrait of an unforgettable actor and a remarkable man.
This enthralling collection of weird and wonderful tales from the world of theatre includes such unusual stories as the legendary ghost of Drury Lane, how an actor can exorcise the curse of Macbeth, and the well-known theatre manager who fried bacon and eggs in the Royal Box to feed her starving cast at the interval. If you have ever wondered whether what happens in the stalls is actually more dramatic than what happens on stage, which shows were so bad that they closed during the interval on the first night, or how the ‘green room’ was named, then 'Theatre’s Strangest Acts' is the book for you.
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An entertainment devised by the writer, theatre critic and broadcaster Sheridan Morley, drawn from the songs, letters, poems, films and diaries of Noël Coward. Performed in the West End at the Comedy Theatre starring Patricia Hodge and Simon Cadell, and at the Duke of York with Edward Petherbridge and Susan Hampshire.
This lavish pictorial biography celebrates the woman with whom cinema came of age--Katharine Hepburn. Married only once with no children, the three things that she most cared about were Spencer Tracy, her privacy, and her career. All her wit, style, and grandeur are in abundant evidence in this fitting tribute. 264 photographs.
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