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Behaving Badly: A Life of Richard Harris
Richard Harris was never an easy person to get along with. He was a difficult schoolboy (and was later disowned by his Limerick teachers), then he went to work in the family flour and milling business - where he organised a strike against his father.
His teenage dreams of becoming a professional rugby player were shattered when he contracted tuberculosis. 'If it hadn't been for the TB, I really believe I would be an ex-Irish international, writing poetry and telling the world how great I was', he later admitted. In 1953 he arrived in London to train as an actor with just Ýpounds¨21 in his pocket and his father's words ringing in his 'Go, For God's sake, go'.
It was as a gifted and compelling actor that Richard Harris dominated stage and screen for more than four decades. He was nominated for an Oscar for his earthy portrayal of a rugby player in This Sporting Life and as a dominant and bullish Irish farmer in The Field. More recently he delivered gripping screen performances in Gladiator and two Harry Potter films.
But it was his violent, drunken, womanising private life that fed the public myth and made Harris, one of a new breed of rogue male actors, an international celebrity. Married and divorced twice, with three sons - two actors, one a film director - he claimed the only time he had been miscast was as a husband. His lovers included legends such as Merle Oberon, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner and Vanessa Redgrave.
His teenage dreams of becoming a professional rugby player were shattered when he contracted tuberculosis. 'If it hadn't been for the TB, I really believe I would be an ex-Irish international, writing poetry and telling the world how great I was', he later admitted. In 1953 he arrived in London to train as an actor with just Ýpounds¨21 in his pocket and his father's words ringing in his 'Go, For God's sake, go'.
It was as a gifted and compelling actor that Richard Harris dominated stage and screen for more than four decades. He was nominated for an Oscar for his earthy portrayal of a rugby player in This Sporting Life and as a dominant and bullish Irish farmer in The Field. More recently he delivered gripping screen performances in Gladiator and two Harry Potter films.
But it was his violent, drunken, womanising private life that fed the public myth and made Harris, one of a new breed of rogue male actors, an international celebrity. Married and divorced twice, with three sons - two actors, one a film director - he claimed the only time he had been miscast was as a husband. His lovers included legends such as Merle Oberon, Sophia Loren, Ava Gardner and Vanessa Redgrave.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2003
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 24, 2018
I was disappointed with this biography as I didn't think it was particularly well written and lacked much analysis of Harris. The fact that it was only 250 pages long and I was particularly interested in the subject stopped me giving up on it.
There were some problems in the editing and at times when it mentions another actor it attributes them with something that Harris actually did or said. The book makes mention of the fact that Harris only made two films with his friend Sean Connery. Yet when I looked at the list of Harris's films at the end of the book I spotted a third Connery film, Ransom, which I couldn't recall Harris appearing in. When I checked this on IMDB I found I was correct but it did have in the cast an actor called Robert Harris.
Each chapter started with a page of what I thought was a preamble or synopsis but it turned out each time to be an extract from the chapter. So at times I found myself a few pages into a chapter reading two or three paragraphs that I had read word for word at the beginning of the chapter.
I later realised this is the second biography by Cliff Goodwin I have read ( the other was about Tony Hancock) and I was disappointed on both occasions.
There were some problems in the editing and at times when it mentions another actor it attributes them with something that Harris actually did or said. The book makes mention of the fact that Harris only made two films with his friend Sean Connery. Yet when I looked at the list of Harris's films at the end of the book I spotted a third Connery film, Ransom, which I couldn't recall Harris appearing in. When I checked this on IMDB I found I was correct but it did have in the cast an actor called Robert Harris.
Each chapter started with a page of what I thought was a preamble or synopsis but it turned out each time to be an extract from the chapter. So at times I found myself a few pages into a chapter reading two or three paragraphs that I had read word for word at the beginning of the chapter.
I later realised this is the second biography by Cliff Goodwin I have read ( the other was about Tony Hancock) and I was disappointed on both occasions.
December 10, 2025
I liked this biography. It held s lot of new information for me as a Richard Harris fan, plus it sidelined nicely, with interesting insights, onto other characters in his life. I'm going to read his Oliver Reed biography.
May 2, 2022
Having know nothing about Richard Harris previously, I really enjoyed this book.
September 5, 2013
There was some interesting information. Richard Harris was one of a kind. I've been a fan of his for over 40 years. This book was not well written. It didn't have a flow to it.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews