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Re: JAM related auto/biographies

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MiriamMar 5, 2007
 

 
--- In just-a-minute@..., Dean Bedford <dbedford@...>
wrote:

>
>
> On Tuesday, March 6, 2007, at 01:31 PM, Miriam wrote:
>
> > Pardon if this subject has already been dicussed but I love to

read

> > auto/biographies. I just read Ian Messiters "My Life and Other

Games"

> > in January and before that Wendy Richard's 'My Life Story'. Other

JAM

> > related ones I have read are "Just Williams"/Kenneth Williams and

The

> > Straight Man/ Nicholas Parsons- (a few yrs back) I also have

Freud Ego

> > on Cassette. ( I warned you all that I was an Addicted Anglophile)
> > I found Ian's very interesting epecially about his 'war' job at

the

> > BBC.
> > Any thoughts or recondmendations?( AmazonUK is a God send for me!

I

> > also bought and read the ronnie corbett one one the 2 ronnies for
> > christmas) Miriam
>
> Hi Miriam
>
> I posted on the blog a big chunk from Michael Palin's recently

published

> diaries, where he describes in detail his experiences at his one
> recording. It's a page and a half in the book, and certainly worth
> reading, although I don't know whether you'd buy the whole book for

that

> section (though someone I know who might have the initials DB did).
>
> The Kenneth Williams Diaries contain many JAM references and are

very

> revealing as indeed is the whole book. The Williams Letters contain

a

> long reference to one particular show.
>
> the biography of Kenneth Williams by Michael Freedland includes a
> chapter on JAM and is probably the longest section on JAM in a book

that

> I've seen. It's not without factual errors but is full of insight

into

> the way Kenny played the game and includes comments from many of

his

> colleagues.
>
> Sheila Hancock mentions JAM briefly in her memoirs - now 25 years

old

> ( I'm not referring to her recent book about the death of her

husband).

>
> Graham Norton's book gives only the briefest of mentions to JAM but

is a

> fascinating read if you wonder about growing up gay in Ireland and

how

> he became a big name as a gay star while his parents still thought

him

> straight.
>
> The recent tribute book to Linda Smith includes an excerpt from

Linda on

> JAM and brief chapters by Nicholas and Claire Jones which are quite

good.

>
> anyway some suggestions...

Thanks Dean- been waiting for the Palin book to hit the USA-maybe i
should check and see if it has by now--BTW got to briefly meet Palin
at a booksigning here a few yrs ago- very nice and he stayed at least
30 minutes over the time scheduled for him so everyone could get a
book signed.
I had forgotten that I have Laid Bare by Graham norton and i have
read sheila's one about her and john thaw-so there is another one?--
another visit to amazonuk is beckening- i got the notices from them
about the recent linda smith one.
Paul Merton has a book about the Silent era clowns coming out soon
and I do have several of his including the one written with Juilan
Cleary.
Although not JAM related I found a Harry Secombe autobio on a trip
to Vancouver BC Canada and nearly fell over in the store when i saw
that it had been SIGNED by him! ( this was shortly before he died) to
have a Goon autograph was awesome.
boy i am really glad that I wandered over to your site the other
night and found this discussion group-you may never get rid of me now
LOL Miriam

>

 
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