Moon Boots and Dinner Suits

by Jon Pertwee

Jon Pertwee's acting career began with a public performance at the age of four. He seems to have been expelled from most of the schools his actor-writer father Roland Pertwee sent him to and finally joined RADA in 1936. From there too, he was asked to leave. Jon went into Rep and had a checkered career. In Brighton panic set in when he dressed as an old gardener in "Love from a Stranger" instead of as a young cleric in "Candida". In 1938 came Jon's first radio role in the BBC's "Lillibulero", in which year he also appeared in his father's play, "To Kill a Cat", directed by Henry Kendall at the Aldwych Theatre. When war came he joined the Navy, ramming Douglas Pier with an Isle of Man Steam Packet boat. He was blown up twice, once being put on a marble slab presumed dead, and spent many months stationed in the Scapa Flow. He was the founder of the Service Players in the Isle of Man. He was commissioned in the RNVR and transferred to Naval Intelligence where he worked and became good friends with the future Prime Minister James Callaghan. Then Jon joined Naval Broadcasting. His radio series, "The Navy Lark", ran for eighteen years and produced some truly vintage memories of radio. Whether telling stories of misspent youth, of his posterior's first painful introduction to a fives bat or his exploits with the McKenzie sisters in the north of Scotland, Jon Pertwee's humour and natural wit never fail him. "Moon Boots and Dinner Suits" is a wry, funny and endearing portrait of the early years of a most innovative and well loved actor. ~from inside jacket flap

Genres: Biography, Doctor Who, Autobiography, Nonfiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Born in Chelsea, London, in 1919, Jon Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge. He is also well-known for his 18-year stint on BBC Radio as Chief Petty Officer Pertwee in The Navy Lark. he died at a Connecticut Doctor Who convention in 1996.

Reviews

[Kalwinder Dhindsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

A fantastic read. I find it quite unbelievable that any true fan of Jon Pertwee would give this book a poor review just because he has not mentioned his time as the 3rd incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who.

The clue is on the most recent front cover.... The early years of the man who was Doctor Who.

I thought it was a thoroughly enjoyable read about the life of one of Britain's great entertainers during a difficult and frightful period in the nation's history. Some of the revelations and the people he met along the journey are quite breathtaking. WoW moments indeed.

If you want to know more about the 'Doctor Who' years i suggest you read the official second part of the autobiography written by Jon Pertwee and David J. Howe called "I am the Doctor!: Jon Pertwee's Final Memoir".

Sadly the second part was completed a couple of weeks before Jon Pertwee's death.

I also look forward to reading "Worzel Gummidge: A very special scarecrow by Gary Wharton"

[Ken · Rating 3 out of 5]

An enjoyable autobiography that charts the early life of actor Jon Pertwee.

I do feel slightly mean only giving it 3 stars to a book that clearly states that it only covers the early years, it's such a shame that he's second book 'I am The Doctor' is currently out of print as this would serve as a great appetizer.
It's probably more my own fault as a read as I much prefer reading about an autobiography that covers what I know the named person in known to me for.

A did practically enjoy he's recollection of he's time in Brighton in the mid-30's and I do feel the section covering the Second World War should interest most readers.

[Gareth · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brisk, highly readable autobiography, the main flaw of Moon Boots & Dinner Suits is that Jon Pertwee didn’t write more of them. (A later book dealt with Doctor Who, but even that doesn’t seem like enough.)

Using a passage from Shakespeare about the different ages of man, he neatly justifies keeping his focus on growing up and starting out as an actor. There’s plenty to tell about his childhood and his stand-offish relationship with his parents. His lifelong irritation with authority figures reoccurs constantly, getting him thrown out of schools but later on getting him noticed as an actor. His time in the navy is rife with rude, memorable anecdotes, all of which culminate in a happy career starring in The Navy Lark.

It’s a mark of his career that he led such a life before getting to his most famous parts, which only warrant passing mentions here - as does his wife Ingeborg, who he never gets around to meeting in the book, and his first wife (actress Jean Marsh) who is not named. What we do get makes compulsive, fun, thoroughly uninhibited writing, though it leaves a feeling of “Okay, what next?”

[Josh Dean Coupland · Rating 3 out of 5]

Josh Dean Book Review #3:
"Moon Boots & Dinner Suits"
Autobiography of Jon Pertwee.

- I have been a fan of Jon's since first seeing him battle Daleks in the classic TV series Doctor Who where he played the timelord known as The Doctor. I have also seen him in his other most famous role as Worzel Gummidge the scarecrow both amazing performances so I brought this book thinking I was going to learn more about these two classic shows but what I got was something different.

As it turns out this is in fact the first of a two-part book the second called "I Am The Doctor" and that's the one that follows Jon's adventures in time and space this book is all about his early years and how he got his start in the acting business and all the drama and mishave that followed haha.

We get chapters about the schools he went too (Believe me there where lots) his family including his famous father (that gets brought up a lot) and also a few chapters dedicated to Jons time in the Navy which was a real treat for me since my big brother was a Navy Officer so I really liked reading about the life of a seaman in the 40's.

I quite enjoyed this book it gave me a better understanding of one my favourite Doctor Who's but also an insight in how hard it was to become an actor in the late 20's early 30's. I will say this dont go into this book expecting to hear about Doctor Who and if you can remember that you too will enjoy this book.

[Marie Sandland · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing about Doctor Who in this book - mostly about childhood and days in the navy. Uses far too many exclamation marks.

[morgan]

Growing up in the shadow of his author/playwright/screenwriter father Roland Pertwee, and an all-round showbiz family, it seems Jon Pertwee decided on a career in the performing arts from an early age. He shares a lot of anecdotes and tall tales from his early years. Toilets , urine, pooping, come up a lot. He talks about how toilets worked on naval vessels, the chamberpot and lack of toilet in his father's cottage, and how he was kicked out of school at one point for playing Tarzan with toilet chains and fell in.

It feels a bit sloppy and unedited at times how one train of thought shifts to another. I would argue it could have used a bit more narrative arc to tie all the anecdotes together. Things that I took away from the book - he would like to have had more love and affection from his parents. Getting recognition and acceptance from his father was challenging, and his mother was not a regular presence in his life, stemming from an early divorce. He is proud to have gotten a role in his father's play 'To Kill a Cat' in his early career. He and his father both appeared in the film 'The Four Just Men' in 1939 (co written by his pa), and in strange note of jealousy, seems to make a remark that his performance was better than his father's as I recall.

Writing wise, it did feel at times like Pertwee was in the room with me. His distinctive voice comes across with a wide vocabulary of words you don't see everyday. Some words that I jotted down - twizzle, bijouterie, bibulous, doddle, codicil, diaphanous, aspidistra, matelots, contumelious, strafed, slake, ophidiaphobic, insalubrious, cabouche, sansculottic, puce, pauciloquent, perspicacity, peregrination.

He does use exclamation marks quite liberally.

[Nicholas Whyte · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://fromtheheartofeurope.eu/moon-boots-and-dinner-suits-by-jon-pertwee/

First volume of Jon Pertwee’s autobiography, though he did not write much more apart from an out-of-print account of his time on Doctor Who. It’s an entertaining set of anecdotes about his early life, difficult relations with parents (he did not actually know that his father‘s friend was his biological mother), his wartime service in the navy (which takes up almost half of the book), his love of girls and cars. If I had been editing it, I might have taken out some of the exclamation marks.

Lots of names are dropped, many of them of showbiz figures now long forgotten, though a couple stood out; visiting his father’s friend A.A. Milne as a child, Milne’s son “was good enough to introduce me to his toy animal friends, Piglet, Owl, Kanga, Kanga’s son Roo, and best of all, his teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh.” At the other end of the book, when he is assigned to Naval Intelligence, one of his office-mates is future prime minister James Callaghan. (Callaghan, who lost the 1979 election, is the most recent prime minister to have served in the armed forces and the only one to have been in the Navy.)

But Doctor Who fans like me won’t find much to chew on here. Pertwee did not really have hidden depths; what you saw was what you got, and that personality is on display in his book.

[Mark Potts · Rating 5 out of 5]

For anyone of a certain age, this book will be on a list of ones to read. Jon Pertwee was 'My Doctor'. You will either know what that means or, not. I loved his tenure as the Time Lord, and he was a huge part of my childhood. In later life, I came to appreciate his contribution to the radio show The Navy Lark, which he talks about in here. I even got to meet him in the early '70s and he was as nice as he seemed to be.

I devoured this book and thoroughly enjoyed reading about his early life, and learning so much I didn't know. It's a charming read and, in the early 21st century, is almost a reminiscence from an unrecognisable time. Jon was a supremely talented actor who led a truly fascinating life, with experiences I can't even begin to appreciate. Well written and beautifully told, if I have one criticism, it is that it just leaves you wanting more. I wish there was another book that covers the 1960s onwards.

[James Churchill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating, informative, surprising and incredibly funny. Pertwee's unique voice wrings out from every page. Pertwee's life was, in a word, extraordinary and (through quite a bit of name dropping) he reveals that he practically knew everybody of any worth, from Noel Coward to the real Christopher Robin, even working with James Callaghan during the war. He does, alas, skip over some details, especially with the war section, which I found quite disappointing. Then again, this disappointment was only minor and the book was well worth reading.

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who?

I both enjoyed this and was disappointed at the end. Although the early life of Jon was both entertaining and interesting, I was disappointed that it stopped before his days as my favourite Doctor Who and beyond!

[Mark · Rating 2 out of 5]

… just skip this. At best it’s masturbatory.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jon Pertwee was such a character. If you don’t laugh out loud reading this book then I don’t think we have anything further to discuss. Highly recommended!

[John Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's all pre-Doctor Who, so if you are a fan of the Navy Lark radio show, this is the Pertwee autobio to get.

[Dave Lefevre · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book feels like it was intended to be the first part of a two part autobiography, and it is a pity that Jon never got the the second half.

Even though he never gets to his later days of Doctor Who and Worzel Gummidge, this is still a great read. About two thirds of the book ends up being a memoir of his days in the Royal Navy. If you like the multi-volumes of reminiscence that Spike Milligan wrote, you're likely to enjoy this book as well. It's obvious that the World War II years were formative for Pertwee (just like most people from his generation) and so, without realizing, he covers those years completely.

Not a Doctor Who book, but for those of us in the states that know him only from his Doctor Who work it's a great way to know someone who because a U.K. national treasure.

[Taksya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se cercate aneddoti e retroscena degli anni trascorsi da Pertwwee nai panni del Dottore non potrete che restare delusi, perché la biografia copre solo la prima parte della sua carriera di attore.
Sfortunatamente non riuscì a scrivere la seconda parte... altrimenti sono certa che ne avremmo lette delle belle.
Gli eventi raccontati sono forse più interessanti, come sono sempre le biografie degli attori che hanno vissuto nei periodi bui della storia europea, e regalano spesso una risata imprevista. Una lettura interessante anche e soprattutto per chi non lo conosce come figura iconica della tv britannica.

[Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

The future Third Doctor certainly led an interesting life, from the dramatic exit of his mother in his infancy, to a childhood rife with bullying and pranks, to the struggles of a young actor, soldier, and budding spy, cheating death at least twice and getting by on luck more than anything else. This first volume of memoirs takes the reader only as far as his first big break in radio: everything from his famous roles to his wives and children are yet to come.

The writing style is rambling and hard to follow, but worth the effort for the real Pertwee fan.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

He was my Doctor, When I first discovered the show on PBS in the early 80's. This was a wonderful slice of his life, and As I read it, it was in his voice in my head. This covers most of his childhood and the war years, and not really anything about his years in the Blue Box. But well worth the read.

[Jaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this rambling tale of Jon Pertwee's life - especially as I found out, that he and my father were on HMS Hood at the same time. Reading of life in the Royal Navy in WW2 was an additional bonus, to learning more of this delightful man.

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

AWESOME book. Makes me sad that Jon is no longer around and I don't have the opportunity to hear some of these hilarious tales in person.

[D.J. Kettlety · Rating 5 out of 5]

We already know most of the Doctor Who stories, this is a chance to get to know the younger Mr Pertwee before his days as a travelling Time Lord. A fascinating insight into a remarkable man.

[Charlene Ratliff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great information about Jon Pertwee's life. Unfortunately does not cover his years on Doctor Who. Regardless, it's a great read if you are a Pertwee fan.

[Rosetta Sanchez]

Interesting reading. Resulted in viewing the man differently.

[Herb Costello · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant.

Does not cover any of the Doctor who years.
Looks at early childhood,
Navy experiences in WW2.
Britain in WW2
Early experiences in Acting and Radio.