Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2075440 in Books
• Published on: 2000-03
• Format: Audiobook
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 6
• Binding: Audio Cassette

Synopsis
Martin Jarvis traces his show business career beginning with his first role at the age of twelve when, as a Croydon schoolboy, he made the sound effect of a yodel.

Customer Reviews

What's good on the page is even better when the author reads
The virtues of Martin Jarvis's breezy, insightful and well-crafted autobiography have been noticed here and elsewhere. I can report that the pleasure to be derived from it is increased ten fold by listening to Martin Jarvis reading it. The voice is beautifully modulated, and apparently undamaged by forty years of theatre, TV, film and radio work. Not only is the text beautifully read, but there are also many demonstrations of Martin's Jarvis's uncanny ability to mimic and adopt other voices. You'll not only hear what Sir John Gielguid, Sir Alan Ayckbourn and Harold Pinter say, you actually believe they are there, speaking to you. Even the great radio actress Marjorie Westbury, to whom Martin Jarvis pays a high tribute, is somehow heard again in Jarvis's reading. There is also a Polish film director, and a Hollywood agent whose impersonations you will never forget.
Whether you're a theatre enthusiast, an admirer of Martin Jarvis's work, a budding actor, or just someone who likes to be amused and entertained, you'll find this audio book set to be a great investment.

Superbly funny life-story from 'The King of Audio'
Martin Jarvis has surpassed himself with this elegantly told account of his acting life. The bonus is that, on the audio, we get to hear all the voices too. Long regarded as the radio and audio King, Jarvis brilliantly brings to vocal life the cast list of his book. Listen to his dark-timbred stories of times with Harold Pinter, the self-effacing tones of Alan Ayckbourn and the Captain Ahab resonances of Titanic director James Cameron. There's some wonderful new John Gielgud tales; I almost believed it was Gielgud himself acting them out. I found the stories of Sir Peter Hall and Jarvis' time at the National Theatre absolutely spellbinding and nearly crashed the car listening to the hoaxes on stage with Judi Dench and Anna Massey. It's fascinating to hear how he first created the voice of Just Wlliam and how, as a young actor, he came perilously close to losing his voice altogether. Thank god for all his fans that he recovered his health. From his early beginnings as a Widow Twankey-style Lady Capulet in his school play, to adventures on the film sets of Hollywood, Martin Jarvis is in tremendous storytelling form. With his unique gift for humerous, self-deprecating characterisation, I really 'saw' all these remarkable people. Possibly the most amazing character is the whacky, American manager, Travis. You simply must hear the way Jarvis vocalises this Hollywood hysteric. I had such a good time listening to this three hour tape. Now I'm going to read the book. What fun!

Beautifully written account of this versatile actor's life
I had no idea, when I settled down to read Martin Jarvis's autobiography, that I would literally be unable to move for six hours. I just had to read it right through. It begins with a compelling account of his schoolboy acting attempts in the nineteen fifties (including a hilarious sequence when he was cast as an off-stage yodeller). I found myself laughing out loud on so many occasions -and no one else was in the room - which I should think must be a compliment to his comic writing. I loved his stories of success and failure when he acted with the National YouthTheatre and Rada, and his first appearance as Prince Hilio in Dr Who is a riot. But this book is definitely more than just a series of (very funny) stories. Beneath the comic humour, it seems to me that Jarvis is addressing, quite seriously, the whole question - fascinating to the public - of what it's really like to be an actor. The way he describes his experiences at the Royal NationalTheatre and in the West End made me feel I was actually on stage with him and Judi Dench, or in the rehearsal rooms with Sir Peter Hall and Harold Pinter. Wonderful pen-portraits of Pinter and Hall as well as a brilliantly observed section where he describes his first meeting with Sir Alan Ayckbourn. He interesting about horror actor Christopher Lee. AndI loved his film screen-test experiences with the Polish director in Rome. I think Jarvis writes with real insight into the way actors, writers and directors go about their work. I felt I learnt a lot about different acting techniques. I found I was moved by the self-deprecating way he relates the near-tragic loss of his voice when he was starring in The Forsyte Saga and how he recovered his health and went on to record all those Just William tapes and programmes. The last chapters are riveting as the author takes us to Mexico where he was filming in Titanic. I thought the atmosphere where all the actors were endlessly waiting, for weeks on end, to film their next scene was amazingly well caught. It reminded me of Waiting For Godot. I've watched Martin Jarvis ever since I saw him in the sit-com Rings On Their Fingers and have heard him on many audio tapes. My favourite theatre performance of his was the sharp (almost mad) doctor in The Doctor's Dilemma at the Almeida Theatre last year. I thoroughly recommend Acting Strangely as a comic (and sensitive) read by this highly intelligent actor. But beware, take breaks, or you'll be trapped like I was, unable to put it down.