Who on Earth is Tom Baker? [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

One of the great British television phenomena of the 60's and 70's, known to all who are now entering or firmly placed in mid-life, was the advent of Doctor Who. This original and most British of television series chronicled the travels and tribulations of the famous Doctor Who and his merry band of followers. Tom Baker, though not the first but probably the most unforgettable of the actors who took on this role, has published an autobiography that not only lets us explore the man made famous but also the man himself. Tom inhabited the world of television production agencies, the BBC with its cast of thousands, and the drinking haunts of Soho with the likes of Jeffery Bernard, Anthony Hopkins and actors for whom feast and famine were a daily way of life.

Tom, with his expressive face and kind eyes was born in Liverpool to a raucous and lively Irish family where love and a good respect for the teachings of the Catholic Church were able to prepare him for an interesting and fulfilling life. In fact, Tom's early experiences with the church involved a trial at a monastery for an unsuccessful preparation as a priest and an insight into the daily workings of these institutions. A slow starting but rapidly improving acting career was followed by time spent pulling pints and on London construction sites before the big break. Then came with the casting agent and the meeting that allowed for instant world-wide recognition for the famous Doctor Who that still exists today.

The style of the story is very much that of a black comedy with a marriage, children and a certain fixation with a lawnmower and the mowing of the grass around his own gravestone, making for an enjoyable read. He is now happily married and living in a rural utopia outside of London, millions of miles and light years away from the hectic and all- consuming career of both straight acting and in the television role that has made him famous in more that 70 countries. --Brian Reinker --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

“Simply wonderful”
Eclipse Magazine 11/97

“Baker’s superb delivery of his own fine, funny prose shows how tape can enhance the printed autobiography.”
Guardian 13/11/97

Tom Baker's autobiography covers his childhood in the poor, spirited Irish community in Liverpool; his six years as a monk; his struggling times as an out-of-work actor; and onto appearances alongside Olivier at the National Theatre, work with Pasolino and his time as Doctor Who.

WHO ON EARTH IS TOM BAKER?

You won't have to hide behind the sofa while listening to this tape …Imagine a cross between Spike Milligan, Peter Ustinov and David Niven and you're some way to imagining the writings of Tom Baker.

After an Irish Catholic childhood, God service, National Service and a spell in the Merchant Navy, Tom Baker became an actor. Widely experienced in film, theatre and on television, he is most well known, in sixty-eight countries, for his portrayal of Doctor Who. To many, he is the ultimate Doctor Who.

Far exceeding the usual expectations of an actorly autobiography, 'Who on Earth is Tom Baker?' is a richly coloured, startlingly wild black comedy. Tom Baker is the kind of man who could drink the old off the wagon Anthony Hopkins under the table and who spends much of his leisure time mowing the grass around his own gravestone in the local churchyard. His memoirs are full of anarchic humour with surreal, ribald and revealing anecdotes.

Tom Baker was born in Liverpool in 1934. He became an actor and is most well-known, in seventy-four countries, for his portrayal of Doctor Who.