Cast Autobiographies

Barrychuckle

Barrychuckle

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Staff member
I love reading autobiographies and I know some have been briefly referenced in other threads before. I know many characters, Edie, Nora, Compo & Clegg (it's quicker to list them rather than the actors!!) have written autobiographies.

Can anyone recommend any of these or any others in the cast I've missed, the obvious one to start on is Peter Sallis's however the reviews I'm reading are quite negative, citing a disproportionately short commentary on his LOTSW time when it represented most of his career?

I particularly fancy reading Kathy Staffs book, so any guidance as ever would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance.
 
Barrychuckle said:
I love reading autobiographies and I know some have been briefly referenced in other threads before. I know many characters, Edie, Nora, Compo & Clegg (it's quicker to list them rather than the actors!!) have written autobiographies.

Can anyone recommend any of these or any others in the cast I've missed, the obvious one to start on is Peter Sallis's however the reviews I'm reading are quite negative, citing a disproportionately short commentary on his LOTSW time when it represented most of his career?

I particularly fancy reading Kathy Staffs book, so any guidance as ever would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you in advance.
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My wife has just bought me Peter Sallis' autobiography so I hope it's better than reviews suggest. It's titled something like "Summer Wine and Other Stories, My Autobiography" rather than "Fading Into the Limelight" which I'd seen it called previously.
 
If you get the chance you should read Allen JW Bell from the directors chair book it’s very interesting. Even tells you how difficult Brian Wilde was and the problems with Bill Owen and Michael Bates . It’s a very interesting read.
 
WellyMan said:
My wife has just bought me Peter Sallis' autobiography so I hope it's better than reviews suggest. It's titled something like "Summer Wine and Other Stories, My Autobiography" rather than "Fading Into the Limelight" which I'd seen it called previously.
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I think that it's refreshing to read about Peter Sallis' previous accomplishments. He appeared in some (or maybe many) theatrical plays and even did the lead where he sang and danced. When Brian Wilde and Michael Bates were members of the trio, off-camera he functioned as a buffer between Michael Bates and Bill Owen and between Brian Wilde and Bill Owen. Another off-camera incident was when he was in a canoe with Bill Owen and Michael Bates. The script called for paddling this canoe down a river. Peter Sallis did not know how to swim and was probably hesitant to do it. However, they went through with it. At the end of the scene, you can see the canoe start to wobble. A few minutes later, it tipped over. By some miracle, nobody drowned.
 
kriss freear said:
If you get the chance you should read Allen JW Bell from the directors chair book it’s very interesting. Even tells you how difficult Brian Wilde was and the problems with Bill Owen and Michael Bates . It’s a very interesting read.
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Thanks Kriss, yes I've read this along with Andrew Vines book which I think is even better. Yes Brian Wildes prima donna ways were certainly a surprise to me.
 
WellyMan said:
It looks that way. The new title is probably to attract more buyers who know about LotSW. There's only a short chapter in the book about SW.
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I think that's a shame, when a production represents most of your working life and the vast majority of people only know of him due to SW readers would expect more about his time on the show. The reviews I've read on Amazon state much of the book is just a roll call of I was in this production and acted with these actors... etc.

I'll probably give this one a miss tbh, I'm currently reading Barbara Windsors autobiography and about 3 or 4 chapters are about her Carry On work which is what you would expect.
 
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