Overview

‘I’ll put you in my diary!’ comedian Kenneth Williams was known to threaten on occasion, although tantalisingly he kept the journal to himself during his lifetime. Here at last, in one spellbinding volume, are four million words of it. For more than forty years, from his sixteenth birthday until the eve of his unexpected death in 1988, the beloved actor and outrageous ‘Carry On’ star Kenneth Williams kept a candid diary. Devastatingly honest about himself, he is equally unsparing in his verdicts on his fellow man. In his descriptions of Tony Hancock, Maggie Smith, Joe Orton and countless others, his waspish sense of humour, love of anecdote and ear for dialogue are given full rein. Malicious, hilarious and harrowing, ‘The Kenneth Williams Diaries’ are a unique portrait of one of Britain’s most popular – and most misunderstood – performers.

Full Product Details

9780006380900

Table of Contents

Reviews

'Annihilatingly honest...fascinating...these diaries cast a bizarre spell. They appeal, they delight, and now and then do both at once.' Independent 'Caustically compelling.' Time Out 'Unputdownable...with the appeal of eavesdropping on the conversation of a unique personality.' Financial Times 'Hilarious anecdotes abound.' What's On

'Annihilatingly honest!fascinating!these diaries cast a bizarre spell. They appeal, they delight, and now and then do both at once.' Independent 'Caustically compelling.' Time Out 'Unputdownable!with the appeal of eavesdropping on the conversation of a unique personality.' Financial Times 'Hilarious anecdotes abound.' What's On

Irritated by a fellow performer or producer, Kenneth Williams would snap: 'I'll put you in my Diary'. No idle threat: very few people - even his most loyal friends - escape a whipping in these 800 or so pages of waspish (often very funny) vituperation. The diaries provide fascinating glimpses of a host of stars, including Ingrid Bergman, Richard Burton, Tony Hancock; but above all are an absorbing full-length portrait of an obsessive, sad, self-hating man. (Kirkus UK)

Author Information

Russell Davies, editor of ‘The Kenneth Williams Diaries’, is a journalist and broadcaster who has worked as a newspaper columnist and critic and presented numerous programmes on BBC Radio. He is also the editor of ‘The Kenneth Williams Letters’.

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