|    Login    |    Register

Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor

(Paperback)


Publishing Details

Full Title:

Charles Laughton: A Difficult Actor

Contributors:

By (Author) Simon Callow

ISBN:

9780099581956

Publisher:

Vintage Publishing

Imprint:

Vintage

Publication Date:

15th December 2012

UK Publication Date:

29th November 2012

Country:

United Kingdom

Classifications

Readership:

General

Fiction/Non-fiction:

Non Fiction

Main Subject:
Other Subjects:

Biography: arts and entertainment

Dewey:

791.43028092

Physical Properties

Physical Format:

Paperback

Number of Pages:

384

Dimensions:

Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 24mm

Weight:

271g

Description

A definitive biography of one of the twentieth century's finest actors and directors, written with great insight and verve by Simon Callow, & reissued here with a new preface. The creator of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, Henry VIII and Captain Bligh, Charles Laughton's career spans 50 films and 40 stage roles. This entralling biography follows him from his parents' hotel in Scarborough to his climactic assumption of the role of King Lear in Statford at the end of his life. Along the way we meet a galaxy of Hollywood greats - from Korda, Hitchcock and Billy WIlder to Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum and Marilyn Monroe. We also discover a hugely talented and complex man - a legend in his own lifetime who nonetheless counted himself a failure.

Reviews

One of the very best theatre books ever -- Alec Guinness
Remarkable...extraordinarily well written, perceptive and rivetingly sympathetic -- John Gielgud
Simon Callow is a writer - and a very good one too. Few people can match him in catching with words the physical excitement of a great performance -- Peter Hall
Callows emphatic biography certainly presents this complicated man in all his contradictory roles -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *
a fine character actors tribute to the king of the tribe. The numerous insights show Callow to be that rarity, an actor who can write about acting -- Jake Kerridge * Sunday Telegraph *

Author Bio

Simon Callow is an actor, director and writer. He has appeared on the stage and in many films, including the hugely popular Four Weddings and a Funeral. His books include Being an Actor, Shooting the Actor, Love is Where it Falls, the first two volumes of his four-volume life of Orson Welles, his theatrical memoir My Life in Pieces, and, most recently, the highly acclaimed Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World.

See all

Other titles by Simon Callow

See all

Other titles from Vintage Publishing