Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Extra-ordinary, 4 Jul 2004
I'm writing this without reading any other review. Simply because this is a most extraordinary book about depression and, although I may repeat sentiments contributed by other review authors, I wanted this to be untainted by what I can only imagine is their (the reviews) just-worthy praise.
On one level the book is an extraordinary inisight into the machine of 50s-80s British comedy.
On another level the book is an extraordinary insight into the work and life of a genius.
On yet another level this is an extraordinary life story from a quite wonderful wonderful - the kind of woman that every good and creative man needs in his life. I a fortunate to have that woman in mine.
But on the most extraordinary level, this book paints the graphic, wild picture of uncontrollable depression that seems to be born to the best and most productive minds.
For all those who suffer from depression PLEASE READ THIS. There is no other book written on the subject - the disease or gift? - that comes close to explaining to others how one feels when life tumbles from the peaks and hits the troughs.
And unfortunately, still today we with depression must master the art of explanation first before trying to conquer the demon.
As Norma quotes Spike "if a man had a leg removed would you ask him to walk?"
Profound, deep, enlightening and - extra ordinary. Thank you Norma.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An interesting insight, 30 Aug 2004
Fans of Spike's earlier career (including the Goon Show years) may be disapointed by this book as it dwells primarily on the latter half of his life as told by his long-term manager Norma Farnes.The initial chapters provide a brief overview of his earlier career plus some background to the author before continuing with some priceless insight into the man behind the legend. The book is easy to read and provides a highly personal account of what made Spike Milligan tick but if you want a more academic biography then you're probably better off getting hold of Humphrey Carpenter's offering. However, 'An Intimate Memoir' should be on the bookshelf of any fan of british comedy. Spike was a pivotal character in the development of british humour from the post-war years unto the present day. It would be impossible to imagine where british comedy would be without him.
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1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Oddly uninsightful, 16 Feb 2009
Spike an intimate memoir Norma Farnes 2003
It's not easy to describe another human being. I'm not a huge fan of Milligan, but at any rate he played a distinctive part in post-war Britain, with its odd uncertain path. Just a few notes on Norma Farnes' book:-
[1] She got a job as a secretary with Milligan more or less by pure chance, and as she got settled in expanded into being his agent. There's an amusing account of her negotiating an advertising deal for him basically by asking twice what they offered, with no idea at all what typical rates were. Milligan offloaded most of his decisions onto her (she states, probably correctly).
[2] Milligan downed pills like smarties (for US readers, something like M&Ms) - Norma gives the trade names of these drugs, which I regard as a worrying sign. I wouldn't be at all surprised if his depressions were caused by pill-popping.
[3] Milligan despite moments of Catholic sense-of-sin, and being married, had lots of sex - Norma says typically from 6 to 12 women at any one portion of his life. One had his child and tried to exploit him, she says. Norma seems not too interested in this aspect of his life - though it does make it seem odd that the Goons and Q5 and so on have female characters, if at all, of a Benny Hill type. I would guess these women were often groupie types - the BBC has that effect of some people.
[4] This book is curiously confined. The 'Goons' [Milligan, Sellers, Michael Bentine, Harry Secombe] are discussed of course, especially Peter Sellers and his wives and death, but not their early story. A few impresario types - Sydney Bernstein for example - are in. But the whole sense of the 1960s is empty - Beatles, Rolling Stones, other film actors, clothes designers, are missing. The Monty Python team are unmentioned - despite Milligan often complaining they plagiarised him.
[5] There's not much looking at the way creative types are in thrall to money. From one viewpoint Milligan was enormously lucky; the BBC had a monopoly in broadcasting until ITV was invented in the 1950s so anybody on it - typically wartime entertainers of the troops, from ENSA - had a career boost worth a fortune in publicity, and this must have helped him as he went into TV shows, books, wartime autobiographies, theatre, TV commercials, pantomime and so on. I saw him myself in about 1966, in 'The Bed Sitting Room', though the theatre was half-empty. Of course this publicity factor continued - Eric Sykes, Hancock, Sid James, Hattie Jacques... the Pythons, and many others up to say Jonathan Ross, were beneficiaries. When the extension of black and white telly to ITV ['Independent'] was being debated, it was with a sort of intense anxiety and dread - would British culture be ruined and commercialised by this dreadful Americanisation? Most of this feeling - the entire societal framework around Milligan and others - is missing from this book.
[6] Milligan disliked the BBC though I'm not sure Norma really worked out why. This is (I hope) a far more common outlook now, as many people have become aware of BBC lies - largely due to Internet, which of course post-dates most of Milligan. A story I read was that 'The Goon Show' was broadcast on a strange radio slot - because the wife of a controller didn't like the show. He was furious about this but I doubt he made much impression on the BBC - all his life he felt undereducated, and that he was patronised by smart types.
So - OK, and for any serious fans essential. But I found it rather disappointing. By the way - it occurs to me that the title might have been designed to pull in readers wondering about Milligan's sexual skill. Norma says that they never had any such activity. I suppose that's slightly disappointing too.
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