57 Products

Morecambe & Wise

Audrey Hepburn and William Holden met on the set of Sabrina in 1954 and began a sensational love affair that, although it was short-lived, marked a turning point in both their lives. This double biography reveals the workings of Hollywood in the 1950s and 1960s, charting the rise to fame of the two stars and following their subsequent careers and private lives beyond the pivotal affair.

Illustrated with hundreds of photographs – portraits, informal snaps and movie stills – this is a comprehensive survey of Marilyn Monroe’s life and career, from her Academy Awards to Maurice Zolotow, her first biographer. Slightly off-mint.

A Scott Berg knew Katharine Hepburn for 20 years, during which time they shared many hours of private conversation – material, it was agreed, for a book to be published after the actress’s death. Covering details of her privileged background, her 50 years of stardom, her relationship with Spencer Tracy and her thoughts about other actors, interwoven with fascinating anecdotes, this is Hepburn’s life as she wanted it to be presented.

From childhood in wartime Pozzouli, near Naples, to her role in Cocteau’s The Human Voice in 2014, this photographic tribute follows the life and film career of the Academy Award-winning actress and singer. Felt tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

Dismissive of her own talent and largely remembered for her off-screen antics, this lavishly illustrated biography of Ava Gardner aims to set the record straight. Charting four decades of film history, the authors examine Gardner’s roles in movies such as The Killers and Night of the Iguana, the creation of her image, her tempestuous relationships (including with Hemingway and Sinatra) and her loyal friendships, revealing her to be far more than an MGM-created ‘cookie-cutter star’. Slightly off-mint.

This collection brings to life the greatest Shakespearian performances of the 19th and 20th centuries, from Irving’s Richard III and Terry’s Ophelia to Gielgud’s Romeo and Olivier’s Henry V. The second disc’s miscellany includes Edith Evans as Lady Bracknell and a dialogue by Laurel and Hardy.

In 1970s London the photographer Peter Gravelle shot portraits of The Sex Pistols, The Damned, Siouxsie Sioux and other punk icons. But the death of Sid Vicious convinced him to switch to fashion, beginning in 1980 with a shoot for Italian Vogue. This collection of Gravelle’s uncompromising and often experimental work also features personal musings on his relationships and career, both derailed by an addiction to heroin which would dominate his life. Contains graphic images and sexually explicit.

After stints in regional theatre in Leeds, Birmingham and Bristol, Tony Robinson played small parts on television during the 1970s, including presenting Play Away, and began to make his name as a comedian in the early 1980s with the sketch show Who Dares Wins. The Blackadder star reads his engaging autobiography in this 12-CD set.

As one of Fagin's boys in the original production of Oliver!, Tony Robinson's understudy was Steve Marriott, later of the Small Faces, and he'd had a 20-year career in regional theatre and minor television work before Blackadder and Time Team, for which he is now principally known. In this autobiography he discusses his long professional career as well as his childhood in North London and his political and campaigning work.

Greasepaint, sausage pie in the landlady’s Aga, alcoholic monkeys, Peter Wyngarde’s wig on fire... Phyllida Law gives a hugely entertaining account of her early acting career and her marriage to Eric Thompson.

Miss Emmeline Snively, head of the Blue Book Agency, nurtured 19-year-old Norma Jeane Dougherty at the beginning of the young woman’s modelling career, before she transformed into the movie icon Marilyn Monroe. It was Miss Snively’s archive, which includes previously unseen colour and black-and-white photographs, adverts, notes and press clippings from the agency, which enabled the authors to put together this unique and detailed account of Marilyn’s first tentative steps along the road to fame.

Philip Norman's history of The Beatles, Shout!, and his biography of John Lennon seemed to take a largely anti-McCartney stance so it was a surprise when Paul gave tacit approval to Norman to write this biography, enabling access to family members and close friends. The result redresses the balance, describing the importance of McCartney's creative leadership in The Beatles and exploring his later career and personal life from the early death of his mother to his highly publicized marriages. Felt-tip mark on upper trimmed edge.

Much loved as the Spanish waiter Manuel in Fawlty Towers, Andrew Sachs (1930-2016) was born in Berlin rather than Barcelona and fled to England in 1938 after his father was arrested by the Gestapo. In this compelling and often hilarious memoir he tells of his early years in showbiz, the success of the infamous Torquay hotel, and his acting career beyond Fawlty, which included Shakespeare, Dustin Hoffman's Quartet, a stint as Father Brown, and Snowy in BBC Radio 5's Tintin.

Natalie Wood's roles in Rebel Without a Cause and The Searchers in the mid 1950s made her an international star before the age of 18. Oscar-nominated performances in later films and a high-profile marriage to Robert Wagner kept her in the news until her mysterious death in 1981. This large-format photographic celebration contains stills, promotional shots and on-set and behind-the-scenes images from all her movies, as well as snaps from her private family collection. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

Achieving phenomenal success in America in the 1960s and 1970s, Tom Jones's image as a hairy-chested Vegas superstar contributed to his becoming deeply unfashionable by the 1980s, but his resilience and vocal ability saw him come back strongly after teaming up with the Art of Noise to cover Prince's Kiss in 1988. In this autobiography he discusses his childhood, teenage marriage and early struggles as well as the highs and lows of his showbiz career. Felt-tip mark on lower trimmed edge.

One of the most charismatic actors of his generation, Peter O'Toole (1932-2013) brought a dangerous edge to both his roles and his life. Drawing on exclusive interviews with colleagues and friends, this biography from the author of Hellraisers paints an intimate picture of a complex, much-loved man. From the mystery of his place of birth through his formative years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, it charts his celebrated performances, his turbulent relationships and his drunken antics.

Actress Charlotte Rampling’s early life included schooling and holidays in France and much time spent with her sister, Sarah, who committed suicide in 1967. The truth about the tragedy was initially kept from Charlotte and she then shared the secret with her father until her mother’s death. This short memoir is written in elegiac, fragmentary and sometimes poetic style and includes photographs from the family archive.

The distinguished Beckett scholar Gerry Dukes presents a photographic biography of one of the most interesting and challenging writers of the 20th century. Illustrated with family snapshots, formal portraits and many informal photographs taken during rehearsals and performances of his plays, the book traces Beckett’s life from his birth in Dublin in 1919 to his death in Paris, his adopted home, in 1989.

The comedy for which Mike Harding became well known in the 1970s and 1980s grew out of increasingly lengthy stories told between songs during folk-club performances, and was inextricably linked to his Lancashire background. This memoir focuses on his early life in post-war Crumpsall, his Irish Catholic upbringing and schooling, memories of Manchester in the early 1960s and his formative musical experiences playing in beat groups while studying for his A levels.

Jérôme Larcher traces Charlie Chaplin’s life and work from the London music hall to his tremendous success as the Little Tramp, and from the films he made in Hollywood after the advent of ‘talkies’, to his later work in Europe – minus the baggy trousers and bowler hat.

An icon of Hollywood's golden era, Marlene Dietrich first made her name in the Deutsches Theater in Berlin in the 1920s. The most famous German performer of the 1930s, Dietrich was a vocal critic of the Nazi regime, bravely denouncing it and later working to promote the American war effort. Recalling the great star during this turbulent period, this book is a collection of interviews with a range of people who knew her, from GIs to well-known fellow entertainers.

Now regarded as a national treasure, Joanna Lumley began her career as a model before becoming an actress and starring in well-known series such as Absolutely Fabulous and The Avengers. Her early life abroad, her complicated love life and her film and TV career are described in this lively biography, which brings the story up to date with her recent campaign for Gurkha rights.

Unearthing secrets in Budapest, getting arrested in Thailand, exalting in the art of Venice or facing down airline staff... life is anything but dull with Sheila Hancock. Following on from The Two of Us, this book describes life on her own, after the death of her husband John Thaw. Having heeded a piece of Quaker advice - 'live adventurously' - she faced the future with characteristic wit, gusto and curiosity.

Ronnie Corbett (1930-2016) was one of Britain's best-loved entertainers. Here he discusses his life and work with characteristic self-deprecating wit, including his Edinburgh childhood before the war; early ventures on the stage and screen; encounters with stars such as John Cleese, Noel Coward, Tony Hancock and Spike Milligan; plus his solo sitcom Sorry! and - of course - his long-running partnership with Ronnie Barker.

Already famous as a singer, Frank Sinatra (1915–1998) entered the film industry as a comedic song-and-dance man, but soon demonstrated his versatility in roles ranging from romantic leads to tough guys in films such as Ocean's 11 (1960) and The Manchurian Candidate (1962). This book celebrates his career as an actor, pairing more than 200 photographs and posters with reflections from co-stars including Grace Kelly and Sammy Davis Jr, and essays from his children Nancy, Tina and Frank Jr.

The star of landmark movies including Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter and Sergio Leone's legendary Once Upon a Time in America, Robert De Niro is indisputably one of the greatest actors of his generation, famous for his total immersion in roles such as Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull. This biography from the author of Rat Pack Confidential follows the trajectory of De Niro's career as actor and director, but also examines the life of the man behind the many characters.

There's no one quite like Brian Blessed: actor, storyteller, mountaineer and coffin-maker. In this frank, and frankly riotous, memoir, he recalls his childhood in a Yorkshire mining town, his breakthrough on Z Cars, falling for Katharine Hepburn, raising hell with Peter O'Toole, meeting the love of his life, the actress Hildegard Neil – and punching Harold Pinter down a flight of stairs. 'No long dramatic pauses this time, Harold; he got one right on the side of the jaw. Wham!'

Marlon Brando (1924–2004) is remembered for his charismatic screen presence, rugged good looks and rebellious stance. Drawing on unpublished documents, letters, the actor's own library and interviews with friends and colleagues, this major biography presents a very different portrait of the fascinating private man: a civil-rights activist and intellectual who collected 4,000 books, rewrote scripts to sharpen his dialogue, loved the poetry of Emily Dickinson, and embraced other cultures and let them shape both his politics and his art.

Destined for the limelight from childhood, Elizabeth Taylor (1932–2011) was just twelve when National Velvet made her a star. And while later films such as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) established her depth and power as an actress, she was better known for her many marriages and passion for diamonds. Illustrated with photographs, this handsome book charts her life and career, her turbulent relationship with Richard Burton, and her charity work. Off-mint.

One of the most charismatic actors of his generation, Peter O'Toole (1932–2013) brought a dangerous edge to both his roles and his life. Drawing on exclusive interviews with colleagues and friends, this biography from the author of Hellraisers paints an intimate picture of a complex, much-loved man. From the mystery of his place of birth through his formative years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the book charts his celebrated performances, his turbulent relationships and his drunken antics.

'Everything you see I owe to spaghetti.' Sophia Loren (b.1934) is one of the most magnetic actresses in the history of cinema, yet her off-screen life has been a quiet one, and she counts motherhood and her 40-year marriage to producer Carlo Ponti (1912–2007) as her greatest achievements. This lavish photographic biography covers her impoverished childhood, her early films and her subsequent international success, and explores the contradictions of her public and private personae.

In this touching memoir, the luminous Italian Oscar-winner reflects on her life, from her infancy in war-torn Naples to the dizzy heights of worldwide fame. Each chapter begins with an object such as a letter or a photograph that brings back memories: of her family; of her late husband, Carlo Ponti; of friends and co-stars such as Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando and Richard Burton; and of the joy and satisfaction of being a mother and a grandmother.

Joanna Lumley is not only a star of stage and screen but a national treasure. Luckily her magpie instincts have preserved a hoard of memorabilia that make this illustrated memoir a visual feast, with photos from her Indian childhood to the present. There are souvenirs of her early modelling career, her celebrated roles in The New Avengers, The Pink Panther and Absolutely Fabulous and, of course, the causes about which she feels passionate. Felt tip mark on upper trimmed edge.

Best known as one half of the TV sitcom duo Steptoe and Son, Harry H Corbett was a gifted classical actor who fought as a Royal Marine in the Second World War before his local theatre company offered him a role as the front legs of a cow. In this affectionate yet frank biography, his actress daughter charts his career, from Joan Littlewood's Theatre Workshop to the popular fame that sat uneasily on the shoulders of this shy, unassuming socialist.