When The Wind Changed : The Life and Death of Tony Hancock [Illustrated] (Hardcover)

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Amazon.co.uk Review
The story of Tony Hancock is well-known; East Cheam's most famous resident, star of classic episodes such as "The Blood Donor" and "The Radio Ham", the first British comedian to earn 1,000 pounds a week, whereupon he blew both his money and his dignity on drink before taking his own life in a flat in Australia in 1968 aged 44. It is the stuff of legend. Modern British comedians such as Paul Merton idolise him, characters such as Alan Partridge or Victor Meldrew still feast on his legacy. Cliff Goodwin's new biography adds flesh to the much pored-over bones to bulk out a life that seemed to define "doomed". In post-war Britain, Hancock tapped into a reserve of frustration and forlornness, and rather than act he learned to react. However, as is the way with such talent, success only begot dissatisfaction. A hard-headed belief that he could only emulate his hero Sid Field by working alone led him to sack the architects of his success, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, as well as the talented team of actors who contributed so crucially to the success of 'Hancock's Half Hour', particularly Sid James (a subject of Goodwin's last biography). His treatment of Galton and Simpson was masochistic; the scripts they wrote for him defined his comic being, and their mastery of colloquial nuance in the late 1950s was comparable to more "serious" writers for theatre such as Beckett and Pinter. He had little success with either films or America, and as the drinking increased so did the violence and anger, until he had pushed away or walked over any lover or friend who sought to help him. Goodwin has researched and read around his subject comprehensively, and he succeeds in shaping Hancock's life in a way the comic actor was never able himself. If his approach eschews too much interpretation, perhaps he is right not to analyse the man too deeply; it is a recognisably cautionary tale well-told, of a peculiar man who held the cup of plenty, but preferred a tankard of vodka. --David Vincent

Product Description
This work tells the story of Tony Hancock, one of Britain's top comedians. Despite his success he was racked by doubt and insecurity, haunted by irrational obsessions, a chronic alcoholic and temperamental to the point of collapse. This book details his complex and troubled life. Aggressive, possessive, untidy, vague, unreliable, drunken, seedy, overweight, a survivor of endless breakdowns, Tony Hancock was a complex character. His ruthless and often shabby ingratitude alienated many of his closest friends and left his two wives battered and broken. He also felt his own identity was being swallowed up in the fictional persona of Antony Aloysius St John Hancock, the pompous buffoon of 23 Railway Cuttings, East Cheam. Tony Hancock committed suicide in Sydney in June 1968. He was jsut 44 years old.

10 Reviews 5 star:  (3) 4 star:  (3) 3 star:  (1) 2 star:  (1) 1 star:  (2)           Average Customer Review 3.4 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   13 of 13 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars Tony Hancock, 10 Jan 2004 By  John Howarth-brown (Emsworth, Hants United Kingdom) - See all my reviews This book was presented in a very readable style - easy and relaxed. I bought the book because I have a keen interest in geneaology and already knew that Tony Hancock was a relative of mine. However I found that many of the details about Tony's early family life and relations were incorrect and clearly not thoroughly researched. As to his professional life; well I can't vouch for the accuracy of that, but knowing that the first part was not all correct, made me wonder about the rest of it. I had attempted to get in contact with the author,and had been assured that in subsequent additions the errors would be corrected, so far that hasn't happened. To anyone using the book as a source for research - beware. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   10 of 11 people found the following review helpful: 1.0 out of 5 stars yellow press journalism, 1 April 2004 By A Customer This review is from: When the Wind Changed: The Life and Death of Tony Hancock (Paperback) This is piece of poorly researched journalism. There is almost nothing new in the book and appears to be very little first hand material. Mr Goodwin appears to have simply collated a mass of press cuttings and fan club magazine articles and glued them together. Written in an easy, chatty style, and well edited. But in all key respects its a waste of money. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   9 of 10 people found the following review helpful: 2.0 out of 5 stars Muck is raked aplenty but little new is revealed., 9 Aug 1999 By A Customer The jacket of this books proclaims it to be 'The first authoratative and detailed account' of Tony Hancock's life, something that probably came as a bit of a surprise to David Nathan and Freddie Hancock who co-wrote "Hancock-A biography." Perhaps this bold claim led me to expect from this book but I can't honestly say that I was very much enlightened about Hancock's life after reading it. The outline of Hancock's life is well known and this book recounts it fluently enough but adds little to what is already known. True, Cliff Goodwin goes into more detail about Hancock's decline in alcoholism but this gives the impression of coming from a desire to muck rake rather than to produce any deep analysis (especially as some of the anecdotes, such as Hancock frequenting known homosexual bars come from such dubious sources as corrupt detectives). There is much that can, and still needs to be said about Hancock's life, but this biography does not do this. In the end, it is the failure of Cliff Godwin to produce any sort of analysis that makes this biography unnecessary when compared to the previously mentioned book by David Nathan & Freddie Hancock Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 10 customer reviews...		Ad feedback   Most Recent Customer Reviews 4.0 out of 5 stars Good stuff If you are interested in Hancock and what affected his life, moods and work this is as good a place to gather information as any I have found. Read more Published on 30 Sep 2006 by D. W. Miller 5.0 out of 5 stars "the lad himself" in immense detail. a ground-breaking biography of the comedian tony hancock and also the best book ever published about him. Read more Published on 27 Aug 2005 by Mr. A. E. Ward Davies 4.0 out of 5 stars A good place to start This book attracts a lot of criticism for it's simplistic style and (some) factual inaccuracies. That said it's an excellent introduction to a complex and ultimately elusive... Read more Published on 29 Nov 2004 by anil1108 5.0 out of 5 stars A sympathetic but realistic picture of a very confused man A terrific book. If you are at all interested in why someone who had so much talent could not live with himself this is the book for you. Read more Published on 24 Feb 2001 4.0 out of 5 stars Another sad book about a funny man I'm not going to criticise the author for 'muck raking'. the fact that hancock's last few years were fairly sordid is not news - both the books by his second wife and David Nathan... Read more Published on 23 Jan 2000 5.0 out of 5 stars A fine portrait of a well loved comic Many people have critiscised this book for being sensational, prurient and muck-raking. I say to them that if the facts as presented in this book are correct (and we have no... Read more Published on 30 Sep 1999 3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, but flawed. This is the first indepth, full length bio of Hancock, since the original in 1969 by Freddie Hancock. Read more Published on 9 Sep 1999 Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews › See all 10 customer reviews...

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