Hellraisers: The Life and Inebriated Times of Burton, Harris, O’Toole and Reed
£9.40£10.40 (-10%)
‘God put me on this earth to raise sheer hell.’ Richard Burton
‘I was a sinner. I slugged some people. I hurt many people. And it’s true, I never looked back to see the casualties.’ Richard Harris
‘Booze is the most outrageous of all drugs, which is why I chose it.’ Peter O’Toole
‘I don’t have a drink problem. But if that was the case and doctors told me I had to stop I’d like to think I would be brave enough to drink myself into the grave.’ Oliver Reed
This is the story of four of the greatest thespian boozers who ever walked – or staggered – off a film set into a pub. It’s a story of drunken binges of near biblical proportions, parties and orgies, broken marriages, drugs, riots and wanton sexual conquests. They got away with it because of their extraordinary acting talent and because the public loved them. They were truly the last of a breed, the last of the movie hellraisers.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Preface Publishing (19 Feb. 2009) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 304 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1848090188 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1848090187 |
| Dimensions | 12.93 x 2.11 x 19.71 cm |
by Broga
A fascinating story of four drunken, promiscuous, selfish, destructive and talented actors. I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Just when you thought the behaviour of these thugs could not get any worse it often did and certainly got no better. Women were treated like shagging material and casually cast aside in their scores when they had served their brief purpose. Faithful wives were treated appallingly. The exception being the spoilt, demanding, drunken Elizabeth Taylor who screwed Richard Burton, in every sense, till the end of their two marriages. A former husband of Taylor, Eddie Fisher, said a $50,000 diamond would please her for only a few days.
They got away with their destructive behaviour – smashing up restaurants and hotels was their forte – because of the adulation, amounting to a societal disease, that we accord to those we deem to be celebrities. But Nemesis stalked them in the form of alcohol. Their daily consumption, throughout their days and much of their nights, was gargantuan. And when the party was over their end was pitiful as they deteriorated in body and mind.
Yet this was a story with lessons offered to rest of us. Most of us, certainly myself, lead constricted lives, anxious to please, concerned about our reputations. These four renegades defied authority, ignored the restrictions of society and lived life without restraint. Having read their
stories I found myself wondering if I too could benefit from being a lot less ready to submit to the petty tyranies that are visited on us. The
book is full of stories that will make you laugh and at other times your skin will crawl. And, as another reviewer rightly said, they are so
different to the bland celebrities of today and the telling of their banal activities.
If you want an entertaining escape into lives so outrageous that they seem to recognise no limits then this is the book to provide it.
by 263EL
An interesting collection of antidotes and I like how it jumps between the four subjects, but I found the author inserts their opinions a bit too much for a biography. At least for my taste, others might like that!
by John Green
Excellent book having read it previously. Very disappointed with this edition. Hard back but no dust cover and pages of photographs cut out inside. Very disappointing. Will not be buying from this seller again. Pages missing from books is very poor form.
by SByoungie
As another has said, Hellraisers definitely puts the luvvie, stuck up stars of today to shame. At the height of their fame Burton, O’Toole, Reed and Harris could be found drinking in an average pub with your average Joe, not at a top class establishment surrounded by 7ft bodyguards.
This book was funny, interesting and entertaining and can make you feel as though you yourself are a bit boring! These four men lived their lives to the full and reading this book its surprising how they could even stand up before the camera after the sheer amount of booze they would consume!
The reason I gave it four stars is that in my opinion the book concentrated too much on their drunken antics and not enough on their career’s and other area’s of their lives.
While these four men were world class drunks they were much much more than that also but reading this book you don’t really get a sense of that.
by Glenn Doran
What an absolutely fabulous book!! I haven’t laughed this much since someone explained Scientology to me. Excellently written and wonderfully told anecdotes of these legendary character’s lives. Harris and Burton were always heroes of mine growing up, and the book also tells little tales on the equally exciting Roger Moore, Rex Harrison and John Wayne, oh and even Steve Mcqueen. Now, I may be living vicariously through the antics described in the pages of this diary but I simply cannot put the thing down at night, filled with laughs and some quite shocking events and also very sad in parts, probably due to the entertainment and talent that these Gents brought to me over many years, so, to read of their demise and downfall being fuelled by the very thing that made them notorious is somewhat sobering.
A wonderful and enthralling read whether you’re an admirer of these movie legends or even if you’ve never heard of them. I gaurantee you’ll know them after.
Hope you enjoy it as much as I do, I haven’t finished it yet but when I do, which should be soon, I’ll be starting it from the beginning again.
Glenn.
by johnny boy
If you remember the bygone times when people had fun , without giving a s*** about what the rest of the world thought , then this is the book for you . Packed full of tales of afternoons on the lash that had me laughing out loud . Stories that make you regard the four men mentioned within , more as naughty schoolboys having a giggle than a menace to society . There’s no way half of it could be done today because of the way society frowns upon you having fun . At the end of the day , they didn’t kill anyone , just got hammered and had fun . The book is truly the stuff legend is made of
by Chris
Really good book, interesting read. Exciting and depressing in equal measures. Could have been shorter and I had hoped for more ‘new’ stories. I won’t fault the author though, so much is known about these hellraisers that it’s hard to pluck new material.
by Rockchick
Couldn’t put this book down. Bought it for my upcoming holiday but read it in 2 days. Very amusing.