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More About the Author
Product Description
Spectator, November 2001
Lewis evokes Hawtrey’s weird by wholly joyful persona in a monograph worthy of Ken Tynan.
Review
'A winningly queer little book about a winningly queer little man.' Matthew Sweet, Independent on Sunday; 'A pungent, opinionated and brilliantly intuitive biography of the saddest act in the history of British cinema... Lewis, in this diverting little book, hits on Hawtrey... and distils something alchemical from his sadness: a quintessence of a sort of Englishness.' New Statesman
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
115 of 119 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Oh dear oh dear! How did this hastily assembled collection of notes and off topic ramblings by a hack author make it into a hardback book? A poorly researched and condescending appreciation of an actor with over sixty years of cinema work to his name, who surely deserved a lot better from his first major biography than this slim and poorly written polemic pamphlet. Lewis is a sneering and haughtily superior writer who casts his snickering scorn and disdain on Hawtrey's career and mocks all his major achievements and those of his contemporaries. Will Hay and the Carry Ons, milestones in British comedy as well as Hawtrey's life, are laughingly brushed aside with a kind of offhand snobbish attitude. I honestly believe most people would learn more about Hawtrey from conducting their own research rather than raking over the half baked nonsense and pointless suppositions that Lewis regurgitates endlessly, including a frankly sickening dialogue which reimagines Hawtrey as Peter Pan. Lacking narrative, coherence, a point and attempt at an engaging style, this is a unilluminating and patronising tome that insults both the memory of a great comic actor and the intelligence of his fans. Avoid at all costs unless you are a masochistic Carry On completist. This book treats the reader and its subject with utter scorn.
66 of 68 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I tried to like this book -- I really did. I've been a fan of Hawtrey for 30 years and I really wanted to find out about the man behind the twitchy, sadly under-used, Carry-On "Oh Hello" character, and about his previous career on stage and film. So, I tried to like this book -- I really did.
I couldn't like it one bit.
Why? Because on almost every page we get the opinions and suppositions of the author written large, and proper biography of his subject written small. This is a terrible shame, and a terrible waste of ink, paper and publishing. I am interested in Charles Hawtrey, NOT his biographer's outlook on the world, and his opinions on British comedy.
It was actually terrible timing, because I happened to read this shabby book immediately after reading Graham McCann's SUPERB biography of Frankie Howerd, which is a model of good, authoritative biography of a 20th Century British comedian. McCann worships Howerd, which of course has coloured his biography, but you don't care because McCann has invested a huge amount of care and reserach in his book, and it really shows. Roger Lewis, on the other hand, in his slim, thin, unsatisfying biography of Charles Hawtrey, has not. (To make matters worse, in "Hawtrey", Roger Lewis makes references to Frankie Howerd that go no deeper than Frankie's catchphrases -- indicating, at least to me, that Mr Lewis really has no clue at all about character and talent, except perhaps an exaggerated view of his own).
Mr Lewis is often lacking in taste. For example, in the last chapter which describes Hawtrey's final days in hospital, when his doctors had suggested the only hope for his survival was amputation of both legs, Mr Lewis writes, referring to Hawtrey's chronic alcoholism: "Hawtrey had been legless often enough in his life not to want to go the whole hog...". One can only read such leaden, tasteless prose and gasp, wondering how on earth the Editor at Faber & Faber let this pass.
Well, these are too many words already. In short, I disliked this book with an intensity that made my toes curl, and I can't recommend it to anyone. Yes, there were some "facts" about Hawtrey, but who can say whether they're reliable or not. There's an appendix of some film appearances, and some reprinted letters, which are of interest. If you want photographs, you'll be sorely disappointed -- in my version the few photos are printed in newsprint style of poor quality.
Charles Hawtrey deserves better than this miserable little book and I hope there's someone out there to do a proper job.
I couldn't like it one bit.
Why? Because on almost every page we get the opinions and suppositions of the author written large, and proper biography of his subject written small. This is a terrible shame, and a terrible waste of ink, paper and publishing. I am interested in Charles Hawtrey, NOT his biographer's outlook on the world, and his opinions on British comedy.
It was actually terrible timing, because I happened to read this shabby book immediately after reading Graham McCann's SUPERB biography of Frankie Howerd, which is a model of good, authoritative biography of a 20th Century British comedian. McCann worships Howerd, which of course has coloured his biography, but you don't care because McCann has invested a huge amount of care and reserach in his book, and it really shows. Roger Lewis, on the other hand, in his slim, thin, unsatisfying biography of Charles Hawtrey, has not. (To make matters worse, in "Hawtrey", Roger Lewis makes references to Frankie Howerd that go no deeper than Frankie's catchphrases -- indicating, at least to me, that Mr Lewis really has no clue at all about character and talent, except perhaps an exaggerated view of his own).
Mr Lewis is often lacking in taste. For example, in the last chapter which describes Hawtrey's final days in hospital, when his doctors had suggested the only hope for his survival was amputation of both legs, Mr Lewis writes, referring to Hawtrey's chronic alcoholism: "Hawtrey had been legless often enough in his life not to want to go the whole hog...". One can only read such leaden, tasteless prose and gasp, wondering how on earth the Editor at Faber & Faber let this pass.
Well, these are too many words already. In short, I disliked this book with an intensity that made my toes curl, and I can't recommend it to anyone. Yes, there were some "facts" about Hawtrey, but who can say whether they're reliable or not. There's an appendix of some film appearances, and some reprinted letters, which are of interest. If you want photographs, you'll be sorely disappointed -- in my version the few photos are printed in newsprint style of poor quality.
Charles Hawtrey deserves better than this miserable little book and I hope there's someone out there to do a proper job.
84 of 87 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A missed opportunity. This book is more about the author than about the life and career of Charles Hawtrey.
If you want to find out more about the eccentric life of the mysterious Hawtrey you will be fed a few scraps of information tucked within what Lewis thinks of the Carry On's, what Lewis thinks of Kenneth Williams, what Lewis thinks of Kenneth Connor, diversions into far less interesting subjects and ridiculous Peter Pan analogies.
It reads more like a pretentious student thesis rather than an informative biog and the amount of research is minimal.
For instance, one of Hawtrey's last TV appearances was in the series Supergran and this is just mentioned in a footnote and Lewis had never hard of the programme, named the wrong actress who played her and didn't even bother to get a copy of the show to watch. Considering how reclusive and obstinate Hawtrey was in the 80's it would be interesing to hear how this appearance came about and what he was like to work with during the filming of it.
Lewis didn't bother finding out.
In fact, he shouldn't have bothered at all really.
If you want to find out more about the eccentric life of the mysterious Hawtrey you will be fed a few scraps of information tucked within what Lewis thinks of the Carry On's, what Lewis thinks of Kenneth Williams, what Lewis thinks of Kenneth Connor, diversions into far less interesting subjects and ridiculous Peter Pan analogies.
It reads more like a pretentious student thesis rather than an informative biog and the amount of research is minimal.
For instance, one of Hawtrey's last TV appearances was in the series Supergran and this is just mentioned in a footnote and Lewis had never hard of the programme, named the wrong actress who played her and didn't even bother to get a copy of the show to watch. Considering how reclusive and obstinate Hawtrey was in the 80's it would be interesing to hear how this appearance came about and what he was like to work with during the filming of it.
Lewis didn't bother finding out.
In fact, he shouldn't have bothered at all really.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
The worst biography ever?
This book stands unchallenged as the worst biography ever written in English. It is poorly researched, poorly written and a pain to read. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Mark Webb
Charles Hawtrey 1914-1988 The man who was Private Widdle
This is a great book on the late actor Charles Hawtery.
Its very detailed and covers everything i was wanting to know from the start of his acting career to the sad end. Read more
Its very detailed and covers everything i was wanting to know from the start of his acting career to the sad end. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Bumblezzz
Terrible
This is the worse book I have ever read. Virtually nothing about Charles Hawtrey, only rambling opinions by the author.
Published 15 months ago by Boycie
Nasty
This is a badly written and spiteful "biography" of the former Will Hay / Carry On actor Charles Hawtrey. Read more
Published 16 months ago by mike allaway
Avoid
Like many reviews say, this is a book more about the author's opinions, than about Hawtrey himself. Roger Lewis peppers this small book with his opinons, the vulgarity and... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2010 by Downesyboy
Charles Hawtrey 1914-1988: The Man Who Was Private Widdle
I found the author was emphasising to much on Hawtrey's sexuality rather than more detail to his heritage/life. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2010 by Michael J Dempsey
The Roger Lewis biography!
I was very disappointed with this book. The author has no feel for the subject; no understanding or feeling - or ability to try to feel, even - for Hawtrey, who deserved a book... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2009 by Royale
Oh, goodbye ...
I can only reiterate what has been said before. I couldn't wait to read Charles Hawtrey's biography, but was sorely disappointed. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2009 by Noel Corden
Charles Hawtree - The man who was Private Widdle
This is a good book. Not much went on in his life, which is why it isnt a fat book, but its interesting and a recommended read for all "Carry On" enthusiasts.
Published on 5 Feb 2009 by Ms. A. Meadows
Don't bother dear
What a dreadful waste. Why did Roger Lewis bother putting this book together, it is awful. Badly researched, badly written, just a total waste of time. Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2008 by Michael Murphy
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