Straight Face [Hardcover]

Able to adroitly handle both comedy and tragedy, Hawthorne's extreme success as an actor was well deserved and no surprise (at least not to us!). However, being shy and very self-conscious, he spent his early years as an actor living pretty much hand-to-mouth. It was not until he was around fifty that he finally found his breakthrough with the character of Sir Humphrey, the role which brought him fame and recognition and was the catalyst his career needed. It was also around this time that Hawthorne, having lived an essentially lonely, unhappy life, finally met Trevor Bentham, the man with whom he would at last find happiness and go on to spend the rest of his life.

In addition to being a gifted actor, Hawthorne is a very capable writer, and he deftly moves between a chronicling of his career and of his personal life. He tells of growing up in Cape Town, South Africa, under an apartheid regime; of his school days at the guilt-instilling Christian Brothers' Catholic school; and of his uneasy relationship with his father--a man with no respect for the acting profession. He's candid in discussing both his homosexuality and the difficult long-term relationship he had with a man with whom he was wholly unsuited. He also holds back no punches when it comes to his career. He's forthright in chronicling (albeit briefly) the horrible experience he had working on the Hollywood film Demolition Man. The few comments he makes concerning his Yes (Prime) Minister co-star, Paul Eddington, whilst not unkind, are not particularly flattering; and he is positively scathing in his criticism of the Royal Shakespeare Company (for whom he performed King Lear), who he felt behaved appallingly, both by their lack of support and by their lack of manners. Hawthorne devotes a fair amount of space to his discussion of the RSC and his experience doing Lear--perhaps because it was freshest in his mind (not to mention an exasperating experience). Considering its immense popularity with the public and the fact that it signalled a turning point in his career, it is odd that he did not devote the same degree of attention to Yes (Prime) Minister, which would've been nice. But that is merely a minor complaint in what is overall a very interesting and informative memoir. That he even completed the book (let alone provided such a coherent, well-written account) is amazing in itself considering he started it shortly after being diagnosed with cancer and submitted the last chapter on Christmas Eve, two days before he died.

The book itself is 340 pages including index (mine is the hardcover version). It includes 16 pages of b/w photos, mostly from Hawthorne's personal collection. There are photos of his parents and siblings, of his maternal grandmother, of him at various ages and stages in his career, of Trevor Bentham (his partner of 22 years), and of other significant people in his life. Finally, Bentham provides a lovely four-page epilogue written after Hawthorne's death.

Though not a chatty memoir, like some, neither does it sacrifice accuracy for the sake of a good anecdote. It is a candid, forthright, well-written account--one which I enjoyed reading and highly recommend to anyone interested in discovering more about the man responsible for creating one of the most memorable and enjoyable characters in British comedy.

Unfortunately, Hawthorne does not offer the same thorough coverage of his work on Yes, Minister. He writes of it with an almost "oh, by the way..." attitude. The latter part of the book seems to have been written with more haste. Perhaps declining health is to blame. The last chapter was completed days before his death. Unfortunately, the book ends on a rather sour note with his last theater work as the lead in King Lear. His poor relationship with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the bad reviews seems to have left him with a bad taste. There are loose ends in this book (no description of receiving his knighthood, for instance) and one wonders if he was planning on writing another chapter or epilogue to put the book in better perspective. Due to his sudden death, longtime partner Trevor Bentham provides a very touching epilogue: "I hope there is an afterlife so he will have been aware of the shock caused by his death and the massive love that came (328)." The book includes two inserts of b&w photos. I also recommend the DVD set for Yes, Minister. It includes a bio on Hawthorne that has Sir Nigel taking the viewer to different places mentioned in his book, including the set of King Lear and to South Africa where he visits family maid Lena Goliath.