Reed All About Me: The autobiography of Oliver Reed

by Oliver Reed

Out of step, out of time, Oliver Reed rollicks the world's headlines as a hellraising chauvinist who doesn't give a damn. Now, in "Reed All About Me", the man who does it his way tells it his way in a delightfully funny autobiography that is happily free of the usual showbusiness pretensions. Ollie bows to no man, only to the ladies. And he writes about them with devasting charm. Read about how Oliver clashed with Bette Davis; the night Shelley Winters poured a bottle of whiskey over his head on a TV show; the antics which resulted in him being banished from the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Hollywood; and how he took away Lee Marvin's cloak. He was a true original...and he still doesn't care what you might think about him either.

Genres: Biography, Film, Autobiography, Memoir

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1979

Reviews

[Max Tachis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hilarious, wild, and likely not entirely truthful; words that describe both the man and his autobiography. Oliver Reed's 1979 memoirs are a fun look at the infamous Hellraiser's life and career that often ends up being self-indulgent and borderline sanctimonious rather than educational. At best, it is the remarkable true story of a self-taught star who brought a rough and rugged simplicity to the screen that was unmatched at the time. At worst, it feels like an attempt to half-heartedly apologize and help resurrect a career hurt by scandals both on and off the screen. As a fan of Oliver Reed, I'll devour pretty much any media of his that is released. It was certainly entertaining and, perhaps, is the most authentic telling of his life we'll get because, for all its exaggerations and untruths, it's the "real Oliver Reed" that Oliver Reed wanted to craft for the public. But "Hellraisers" and "What Fresh Lunacy is This?", both by Robert Sellers, offer a more complete picture of the man and his era of filmmaking, for better and worse.

[Triad · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Life shouldn't be about sitting around staring at frosted glass. Life should be lived and that's all there is to it."
That quote of Mr. Reed discribes him very well.
This book is well written with a fine sense of humour and with some interesting notes about his life and career.

[Stuart Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

The question here is not do you like the book but do you love Mr. Reed. Personally I do and always have and yet still, I found the book extremely funny, insightful, surprisingly tender and incredibly well written

[Ross Maclean · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a figure as garrulous and gregarious as Oliver Reed, it was always going to be near-impossible for this not to be entertaining. But what starts out soberly with lots of detail and insight into his family history and upbringing —unsurprisingly— descends into a ramshackle collection of unrelated anecdotes. There are fascinating glimpses of the man behind the image to be had in his processing of his unconventional lineage and family dramas, and it’s clear to see he at least partly feels inspired by his ancestry to behave the way he did. While those early sections are quite dry, there’s an entire fascinating tome to be written about his paternal grandmother and grandfather and those sections do at least seem linear and structured to provide context for what follows. But while some of the shaggy dog stories recounted after that point are amusing, an equal number are a bit unpleasant and large stretches are coloured by notably of their time attitudes to race and flat-out misogyny in the way he discusses women. Even in the telling of his tales, some had to be read multiple times and still weren’t fully understood, couched in euphemism and his own style of irregular phrasing as they were. Though noted as a bruiser and a boozer, he seems keen to inform us that there’s more to him than that, while constantly reminding us of it. There are rare moments when discussing his craft in between recounting offscreen adventures when it’s bordering on reflexive, but the work itself seems almost a secondary consideration here — and, being written in 1979, stops short of addressing some of the more notorious behaviour and notable roles that would follow in later years. As it reaches its climax, it comes close to a stunning volte-face, seeming to recognise a squandered ambition in the book’s opportunity to pull together the threads he tugged loose early on and ending on something approaching poignant, but even that gets abandoned in favour of cramming in a couple more celebrity encounters. A mildly frustrating read about a fascinating, singular man that almost inadvertently acts as extra-textual commentary on the life being depicted within. Or maybe that was the plan all along?

[Y. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A brilliant actor with a complicated personality that restricted his mark in the world and in cinema to a state of arrested development (in my opinion); yet in spite of this I found him (from a fan's perspective) to have remained a genuine person throughout his life.

Before reading his book I had little doubt that Reed had the ability and talent within him to have potentially become one of the greatest actors that ever lived, to even eclipse many of his bigger named peers like O'toole and Harris. "Why is it that I can't find a single movie where he's the star and his performance is spectacular??" His best performances are always as one-of-many like in the Musketeers, Women in Love, or as a side character like in Lion of the Desert, or Gladiator--which were superb! If you're a modern viewer and have seen him in the Devils (where he stars) for example, you realize it's one of the campiest low-historical-accuracy movies to come out of England. Tommy also looks horrible (but I haven't watched it.)

His favorite director was Ken Russell, but Ken Russell in my opinion was a lecherous quack of a visionary. Reed probably had a lot better chance of landing a starring role that would've best fit his talents with Michael Winner (who I believe admired him as an actor) but Winner didn't like his alcoholism and their relationship probably got soured when Reed did a hilarious impersonation of him in his Parkinson's interview 1973 (see 10 mins into the interview, it's on Youtube). That probably was bad career move on Reed's part (but it was HILLARIOUS.)

After reading this book, coming face to face with his life-long passion for extreme-alcohol and his "Peter-The-Great-Tough-Guy" self-image-syndrome, I suspect the root of his problems originated in his childhood. He even alludes to it near the end of the book. In the beginning of the book, he mentions a memory where he tried to run away from home (probably a subconscious attempt to get love from his mom) and she reacts with complete indifference. If I was Freud, I might guess his life-long tough-guy alcoholic hell-raising antics were just a subconscious striving to appeal love from people, the public, and those that knew him--God knows. His most redeeming qualities were his absolute love for animals, for his kids, innocence, life, and the rejection of societal conventions.

The book tends to ramble a bit here and there, another symptom of his arrested development, but there are some good stories in it (the one about Lee Marvin was my favorite) and he makes a few profound observations and a number of beautifully poetic statements. He was probably a much sweeter soul and soft person underneath then he felt comfortable being, but that aside, his failings considered; I am grateful to him for adding some magic into our lives.

[Benjamin Sawyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man from privileged background suceeds in life. An almost whimsical look at a life that includes adventures in prep schools (midnight tuck raids included). Some time as a bouncer in a soho strip club, days in the army ( for which prep school served as a training ground) before Reed decided to be an actor.
Its difficult to identify with Reed and his struggles to get ahead. His uncle was famed film director, Carol Reed. Reed goes to great lengths to point out that he never went cap in hand for work from his uncle, but the connection certainly wouldnt have harmed his career.
Reeds life on the breadline is far from convincing. As a bachelor, he lived in a one room flat. Once married, however, he and his bride were 'given' a flat in Kensington. Nice.
Reed really does want us to beleive that he came from the gutter when in reality, poverty was never close to his door.
He was 'Mr England' but its England from bygone days. He was mystified for example as to why after spending five years fighting Hitler, the the British should vote in a Socialist government. He refused to have stitches done by an NHS surgeon ( all trainees he says ) and preferring the services of a drunk, private doctor instead (better class of person, I imagine)
He was an uncompromising man with uncompromising views. More of a playground fool than an actor

Okay if you like him as an actor.

[Sarospice · Rating 2 out of 5]

Someone convinced Oliver Reed to start his autobiography. Maybe for money. Certainly not for history. And it begins where he began as a child then I assume he started drinking and the stories all start to meander... My favorite part is the end and optimism that 1984 is to begin and no one wants to lose time worrying for the past then... This isn't All About him, but you get a sense of the man...

[Ksenia]

first of all great title, no notes.
second of all THAT'S what i call literature, maybe the only 'celeb memoir' that came close to klaus kinski's 'autobiography'.
cannot believe it has only 45 ratings on goodreads dot com, people should get into this.
also some of his opinions made me think of that classic 'the worst person you know just made a great point' onion post.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reed appears to have had a very small attention span and a high sense of the ridiculous when not focussed on his acting commitments, and garnering trouble by reputation alone. I doubt anyone could say his life has been anything but interesting.

[Vincent Darkhelm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Oliver Reed. I liked this a lot. He was a brilliant actor when given the chance. His performances in several collaborations with Ken Russell prove this. In the end he was killed, Murder On the Orient Express style, by a pub full of morons.

[Chris C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this one in a secondhand bookshop and am giving it 4 stars because it was most enjoyable. If you like Oliver Reed then I don't know why you wouldn't read it, it's his autobiography.

[Susan Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Being a big Ollie fan I devoured this!

[Emily Craft · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good book, he writes like he's talking to you and it's very beautiful. It's a little jaunting at times. Also why I'm off and on on reading it is because of my moods.