- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Aurum Press Ltd (25 Sep 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1845133188
- ISBN-13: 978-1845133184
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.8 x 3.6 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 258,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Bounder: The Biography of Terry-Thomas
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Product Description
Review
‘As Graham McCann outlines in his welcome biography, T-T’s origins were far from top-drawer.’ (Daily Express )
‘[A] lucid, empathetic biography.’ (Time Out )
‘[A] lucid, empathetic biography.’ (Time Out )
Review
`fluid and engaging'
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
31 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I recently bought two books on characters who could be thought to have significant similarities,including one of their catchphrases, "Hello", and both living and working in roughly the same era. These were the autobiography of Lesley Philips,entitled "Hello" and "Bounder!". Fortunately I read "Hello" first and then "Bounder", so that I finished on a high!
The following are some of the positive aspects of "Bounder!", and possibly of many biographies over autobiographies:
There is a wealth of detail showing meticulous research, culled from a wide range of sources.
Relationships with significant characters who appear in both books, e.g. the Boulting Brothers, are seen and recorded from a detached viewpoint.
The innovative and imaginative contribution to different developing and international media (T-T in radio, fledgling UK TV and film)is much better documented.
Finally, the book is just a delight to read, through reading it T-T will be remembered by me as not just an entertainer that I enjoyed on radio and film (I missed the TV) but as an incredibly talented and creative artist, a true Alpha male, with all of an Alpha's strengths and weaknesses. His illness and death were tragic both for him and his family/friends but even in that he was a pioneer through publicising and raising the profile of Parkinsons.
His irony resounds throughout the book, as he commented he was, after all, Parkinson's first guest on his chat show.
The following are some of the positive aspects of "Bounder!", and possibly of many biographies over autobiographies:
There is a wealth of detail showing meticulous research, culled from a wide range of sources.
Relationships with significant characters who appear in both books, e.g. the Boulting Brothers, are seen and recorded from a detached viewpoint.
The innovative and imaginative contribution to different developing and international media (T-T in radio, fledgling UK TV and film)is much better documented.
Finally, the book is just a delight to read, through reading it T-T will be remembered by me as not just an entertainer that I enjoyed on radio and film (I missed the TV) but as an incredibly talented and creative artist, a true Alpha male, with all of an Alpha's strengths and weaknesses. His illness and death were tragic both for him and his family/friends but even in that he was a pioneer through publicising and raising the profile of Parkinsons.
His irony resounds throughout the book, as he commented he was, after all, Parkinson's first guest on his chat show.
52 of 55 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Terry-Thomas was one of those actors who seemed not simply to create a public persona for himself but actually BECOME that person in private as well. Although he grew up in an 'ordinary' middle class family in Finchley (Richard Briers was his second cousin), he became someone completely different through a sheer act of will. He dressed like a dandy, acted like a 'toff' and spoke like a character out of PG Wodehouse. And he had a fantastically lush and successful life until, tragically, illness took its toll. In this beauty of a biography, Graham McCann treats "T-T" with great warmth and respect, although he doesn't ignore the flaws, excesses and the odd 'absolute stinker' of a film choice! We get to hear about the pranks, the gambles, the crises and the triumphs, with some truly hilarious anecdotes (and not just in the main body of the text, either - remember to glance through the notes section at the end to see delightful little 'extras' about, for example, Terry's battles with the builders who were renovating his house and the day Peter Jones discovered that his fellow actor was sporting special 'bespoke' underpants!). The great period as one of the Boulting Brothers' key characters, and the 'fun' era as a Hollywood celebrity, are covered with care and good insight, as are the years as a Briton abroad in Ibiza, and then you are moved close to tears by the sensitive account of how Terry-Thomas was broken down by Parkinson's disease. It's all very well-researched but very brightly, engagingly presented, and a fitting tribute to one of the greats of British cinema, TV and comedy.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is full of surprises about the great T-T, as well as charming, funny and sometimes very poignant stories about his eventful life. It's a scholarly book that wears its learning lightly, and I'd recommend it to any fan of the man.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
What a shower!
I read this book in hospital recovering from a leg op.and found it very entertaining (which I needed), and informative. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Allan Broadfield
Had it all then lost it all
A well-researched and entertaining book. I can remember Terry-Thomas at the height of his film and TV fame, but there was so much in this book that was new to me. Read more
Published 15 months ago by CJM
Extremely Good
Terry-Thomas was a fixture of British films for many years, and his clever cheekiness was much admired internationally as well. This biography captures his appeal extremely well. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Alec Theobald
Rather!
T-T deserved a good biographical tribute, and this is it. The author writes very well indeed, capturing the man's mischievousness and wit extremely well, and, impressively, we... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Trish980
Bad show.
I started reading this book with enthusiasm, but was so disappointed by the writer's adulation for his subject that I quit reading in case I began to loathe Terry-Thomas. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Vonette
Good show!
As a great fan of T-T myself i was most impressed by this book. Detailed, exhaustively referenced ( a good third of the book contains - The entire list of all performances given by... Read more
Published 18 months ago by billyboy
a delightful biog
This is as bright and playful as its subject, and is paced so nicely to reflect on the personality of the star. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Les Livres
Great Christmas Present
I bought this book for my Sister's partner for Christmas last year,and he loved it - great read!
Published 21 months ago by S. Ashley
Hard cheese!
What a little gem of a book as Graham McCann takes an affectionate yet factual and very well researched glance back in time at the Great T-T. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Barrington Blythe
Dirty rotten scoundrel
Great read but a little short. Terry's early life is well accounted and his many exploits in mid life are very funny. Read more
Published 21 months ago by dubie
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