Ian Ogilvy

Highly enjoyable. A brisk trot through his acting career, people he's met and the usual celeb anecdotes told wittily and with more than a hint of self deprecation. He also talks about his early life sent away to boarding school early on - interesting to see how he and Rupert Everett (who's first memoir I also read) came from similar upper middle class backgrounds and how they turned out so differently. Everett doesn't seem to have changed too much, or regretted anything of his early life, whereas Ogilvy can at least look back and observe "oh dear, glad I'm not that person anymore".

The book opens with Ogilvy's detailed (but not lurid) account of how his father paid a girl to take his virginity at 15 and what a marvellous thing that was for a father to do. He doesn't say whether he did similar for his own son in later years... :-) But this story, amusing and touching as it is, sets the tone for the rest of the book. Somewhat light on detail and very little "bad times" (no mention really of his heavy drinking after his 1st marriage broke down, his parents' heavy drinking or of how tough he found it after Return of The Saint ended, other than stating he couldn't get any TV or film work for years and so returned to the theatre) although his nervous breakdown while appearing in a play and subsequent retirement from the Stage is dealt with. His move to America, meeting his 2nd wife, stopping drinking and becoming an author gets barely a mention, which is a shame.

As befits an ex public schoolboy (he went to Eton), he acknowledges he's not in touch with his emotions to the point where he cries - or can even stand men showing their emotions (admitting it actually makes him angry), so the nervous breakdown episode did show how temporarily broken he was. No real mention of how he recovered, or how long it took - other than he stopped going on stage and hasn't felt like returning to it since. But he's also honest about his own shortcomings (particularly in how his 1st marriage ended) and its that that makes the book entertaining - witty and well written, not taxing or high brow but an entertaining jaunt through the life of an actor who only briefly reached the top but was able to keep working nonetheless.… (more)

I found this title by sheer chance. I was familiar with the author's acting credits but hadn't known Ian Ogilvy wrote books, let alone children's books. Well, my ignorance has been remedied and thanks to the luminous vocal talents of Nicholas Grace, just about one of the most AMAZING actors to have graced stage and screen, Measle and the Wrathmonk is a delight to listen to let alone read. Grace's acting ability transforms what might normally be an ordinary but entertaining narration into a radio play like performance that dazzles listeners. Distinct accents as well as cadences for each character bring this story to life in a way reading on one's own never could. The first in a series of Measle tales, I look forward to Grace's future interpretation of Measle's adventures.… (more)