My Name Escapes Me: The Diary of a Retiring Actor

Rating:
Summary: This Will Only Interest the Most Dedicated Fans.
Review: "My Name Escapes Me" is a book of actor Sir Alec Guinness' personal diary entries from January 1995 to June 1996, which he wrote with publication in mind. I have to give Sir Alec credit: His diary is not as tedious as most people's would be. His writing has a nice pace, and the book is mercifully short. But there simply isn't anything interesting about it. Sir Alec was 82 years old and retired when he wrote this diary. He spent most of his time relaxing at his country home. If he were working, he might have had more interesting anecdotes to relate or perhaps some insight into the process of putting on a play or making a movie to share. But it takes a more talented writer to make something interesting out of the mundane. Sir Alec mentions music that he likes, plays that he sees, books that he reads, art in various forms, but he never expounds on these subjects, so we don't learn anything about the subjects or about him. He doesn't seem to be an opinionated person. Opinions, however trying, might make for better reading. All in all, "My Name Escapes Me" gives the impression of a man of moderate writing talent and moderate intelligence. It's really too bad that no publisher asked Alec Guinness to write a diary for publication earlier in his life. His style is both literate and easy-going. If it had been applied to the life of a working actor, an insightful and highly readable book might have resulted. But as it is, I think only obsessively curious fans of Alec Guinness will find anything of interest in "My Name Escapes Me".

Rating:
Summary: The man behind the Sir
Review: "My Name Escapes Me" is one of those audiobooks you want to spend an undisturbed evening with, curled up in your most comfortable armchair, armed with a pot of tea. I can't say what I expected when I bought this tape, but definately not "meeting" Alec Guinness on such a personal level. His gentle humor charmed me within the first minutes of listening, and his out-look on life itself is something you don't want to miss. You suffer with him upon the loss of another friend but moments later can join him in celebrating life and whatever it has to offer. You like Alec Guinness - this tape is a must.

Rating:
Summary: Lovely and laugh-out-loud
Review: Following is the beginning of our review of this book at our theater webzine, CurtainUp (http://www.curtainup.com): I would have posted this review of My Name Escapes Me the slim diary of Sir Alec Guiness with its slyly double entendre title. Blame it on Sir Alec that I got detoured into reading John Updike's 500 page novel In the Beauty of the Lilies. You see, as Guiness the actor was able to submerge his ego deep within a cornucopia of faces and personalities (not excluding women), Guiness the writer manages to seduce you with his still vigorous intelligence to follow the markers in his rendering of his ordinary out-of-the-mainstream existence. Thus, his comments worked like a link on a web page, prompting me to pick up the novel I began but did not finish last summer. Thank you Sir Alec--for nudging me into this second and very enjoyable re-reading of Lilies. (Incidentally, one of Updike's key characters, a budding movie star, mentions Guiness' multiple roles in The Lavender Hill Mob as a performance that inspired her). And thank you Sir Alec for reminding readers that whether you're a retired actor or financier, the life of the mind continues to provide much satisfaction even to those now sidelined to the spectator section of life's playing field. For the rest of this review and other theater-related reviews of books available from Amazon, visit curtainup at http://www.curtainp.com

Rating:
Summary: I thoroughly enjoyed this book
Review: In this, the first of his two volumes (so far, I hope) based on his journal, the great actor Sir Alec Guinness makes writing and reading seem as effortless as his acting. His graceful, lucid prose is remarkable, as are his observations and ruminations on his life, on the craft of acting (he never lets one forget that acting is a craft with exacting standards of professionalism), on his reading, on his religious life, on the world around him, and on his family and friends. He is one of the sharpest yet kindest observers of the human comedy, and reading him is not only an unalloyed pleasure but nourishing to the mind and the heart. Readers of this book should scour used-bookstores for BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE and should also hunt down his new book A POSITIVELY FINAL APPEARANCE.

Rating:
Summary: Superbly entertaining and thought-provoking
Review: In this, the first of his two volumes (so far, I hope) based on his journal, the great actor Sir Alec Guinness makes writing and reading seem as effortless as his acting. His graceful, lucid prose is remarkable, as are his observations and ruminations on his life, on the craft of acting (he never lets one forget that acting is a craft with exacting standards of professionalism), on his reading, on his religious life, on the world around him, and on his family and friends. He is one of the sharpest yet kindest observers of the human comedy, and reading him is not only an unalloyed pleasure but nourishing to the mind and the heart. Readers of this book should scour used-bookstores for BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE and should also hunt down his new book A POSITIVELY FINAL APPEARANCE.

Rating:
Summary: A WINNER ON STAGE AND IN PRINT
Review: Packed movie houses, SRO theaters, an Oscar award, countless honors, and a knighthood have taken the measure of the actor. Now, with My Name Escapes Me, a highly entertaining diary kept over a two year period, we are allowed to take the measure of the man. In life, as in acting, Sir Alec Guinness is impressive.

Jottings on matters both mundane and monumental reveal that at the age of 82 Sir Alec is generous and thoughtful, delighting in "giving" lunch or dinner, "splendid roast beef and Yorkshire pudding" to friends, or buying a "quantity of tulips, mimosa, hyacinths and bright anemones" to freshen the living room which is being used as a "bedsit" following his wife's surgery.

He is also irascible. A March, 1996 notation: "Oh, dear! I hate myself today. At Mass this morning I replied abruptly when a woman sat down beside me and asked, knowingly, if I was who she thought I was. I fear I spoiled Palm Sunday for both of us."

As charmingly self-effacing as he was in his 1986 autobiography, Blessings In Disguise, Sir Alec extravagantly praises fellow actors, while giving scant notice to his own distinguished career. Admirers who remember him for "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Star Wars" or as George Smiley in the TV adaptation of John Le Carre's novels, glimpse in this lively memoir the private man who rejoices in "the fortieth anniversary of my `reconciliation' with the Holy, Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church." We meet the inveterate observer who takes keen interest in world events, as well as his own yard, where he ponders the implausibility of blackbirds remaining airborne when only ten inches from the ground. Somehow, it is encouraging to learn that he also plays the lottery.

Well honed powers of observation and a wry wit enliven this all too brief memoir. He tolerates the vicissitudes of growing old with bemused understanding. Plagued by failing eyesight, Sir Alec writes, "Today I found myself making enticing cooing sounds to what I took to be a rather pale pigeon on the lawn outside my study. It turned out to be a knuckle-bone left by one of the dogs." Yet he determines not to fret about his frailty when another's vision is so poor that the man misses his wine glass by a good two inches.

The loss of many colleagues and friends causes him to observe, "My small world threatens to be underpopulated." Yet, there are gallery openings to attend, museums to visit, trips, friends, and celebrations of the day-to-day. Sir Alec's life, shared with his wife of 60 years, is satisfyingly full. How fortunate we are to share a small portion of that life in My Name Escapes Me.

We thank him for the pleasure of his company, both on stage and off.

Rating:
Summary: A WINNER ON STAGE AND IN PRINT
Review: Packed movie houses, SRO theaters, an Oscar award, countless honors, and a knighthood have taken the measure of the actor. Now, with My Name Escapes Me, a highly entertaining diary kept over a two year period, we are allowed to take the measure of the man. In life, as in acting, Sir Alec Guinness is impressive.

Jottings on matters both mundane and monumental reveal that at the age of 82 Sir Alec is generous and thoughtful, delighting in "giving" lunch or dinner, "splendid roast beef and Yorkshire pudding" to friends, or buying a "quantity of tulips, mimosa, hyacinths and bright anemones" to freshen the living room which is being used as a "bedsit" following his wife's surgery.

He is also irascible. A March, 1996 notation: "Oh, dear! I hate myself today. At Mass this morning I replied abruptly when a woman sat down beside me and asked, knowingly, if I was who she thought I was. I fear I spoiled Palm Sunday for both of us."

As charmingly self-effacing as he was in his 1986 autobiography, Blessings In Disguise, Sir Alec extravagantly praises fellow actors, while giving scant notice to his own distinguished career. Admirers who remember him for "The Bridge on the River Kwai," "Star Wars" or as George Smiley in the TV adaptation of John Le Carre's novels, glimpse in this lively memoir the private man who rejoices in "the fortieth anniversary of my 'reconciliation' with the Holy, Roman, Catholic and Apostolic Church." We meet the inveterate observer who takes keen interest in world events, as well as his own yard, where he ponders the implausibility of blackbirds remaining airborne when only ten inches from the ground. Somehow, it is encouraging to learn that he also plays the lottery.

Well honed powers of observation and a wry wit enliven this all too brief memoir. He tolerates the vicissitudes of growing old with bemused understanding. Plagued by failing eyesight, Sir Alec writes, "Today I found myself making enticing cooing sounds to what I took to be a rather pale pigeon on the lawn outside my study. It turned out to be a knuckle-bone left by one of the dogs." Yet he determines not to fret about his frailty when another's vision is so poor that the man misses his wine glass by a good two inches.

The loss of many colleagues and friends causes him to observe, "My small world threatens to be underpopulated." Yet, there are gallery openings to attend, museums to visit, trips, friends, and celebrations of the day-to-day. Sir Alec's life, shared with his wife of 60 years, is satisfyingly full. How fortunate we are to share a small portion of that life in My Name Escapes Me.

We thank him for the pleasure of his company, both on stage and off.

Rating:
Summary: wonderful and charming
Review: sir alec must have been a kind and gentle man. i found in this book that he was charming and witty and deliberately effacing. it takes us on a journey to his many memories of movies,tv,politics, and a great cast of characters that he's met over the years. it's a quiet and calm book. a very relaxing and entertaining read. and what a since of humor!

Rating:
Summary: A fine actor admires the twilight
Review: Where BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE and A POSITIVELY FINAL APPEARANCE are more organized as memoirs, this is simply a sequence of diary entries prepared for publication. They show a great actor, the dean of Ealing comedies and (to his chagrin) the great Jedi Master, admiring the twilight in his retirement. This is a gentlemanly, sensitive, yet vibrantly witty writer who once described heaven as sitting with one or two friends, sharing a drink and savoring the silence. There are no peekaboo stories about celebrities or iconoclastic commentaries on the state of the world; just an appreciation for an interesting life well-lived, deliciously and intimately inscribed for us in these daily entries.

For a more organized and literary memoir, the two titles mentioned above come highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: A fine actor admires the twilight
Review: Where BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE and A POSITIVELY FINAL APPEARANCE are more organized as memoirs, this is simply a sequence of diary entries prepared for publication. They show a great actor, the dean of Ealing comedies and (to his chagrin) the great Jedi Master, admiring the twilight in his retirement. This is a gentlemanly, sensitive, yet vibrantly witty writer who once described heaven as sitting with one or two friends, sharing a drink and savoring the silence. There are no peekaboo stories about celebrities or iconoclastic commentaries on the state of the world; just an appreciation for an interesting life well-lived, deliciously and intimately inscribed for us in these daily entries.

For a more organized and literary memoir, the two titles mentioned above come highly recommended.