What do you think?
Rate this book
The Other Side of the Moon: The Life of David Niven
‘A highly readable work … Niven emerges as gallant and gracious.’ Chicago Tribune
Sheridan Morley wrote this biography of the consummate on-screen English gentleman after speaking to over 150 of Niven’s friends and colleagues (only Rex Harrison refused). The result is a picture which both supports and contradicts the charming vagabond persona depicted in Niven’s own bestselling memoirs.
While millions throughout his life were enchanted by Niven’s happy-go-lucky charisma and world-class anecdotage, he was in many respects a private figure, haunted by a fear of failure, and a victim of several key tragedies in his personal life. Morley’s biography is a warm, appreciative but perceptive account which captures both sides of one of Hollywood’s most enduringly lovable figures.
‘A compassionate account that goes past the blithe persona … yet, there is much humor—the actor’s and his biographer’s—in this notable book’ Publishers Weekly
‘Head and shoulders above the average showbiz biography … He understands many of Niven’s deeper feelings’ John Mortimer, Sunday Times
‘A well-told story … the darker side as well as the mask of a complex and perhaps desperate character. He was a life-enhancer off-screen as well as on’ The Times
‘Shrewd and pleasing; shows how dark Niven’s moon could be’ Alexander Walker, Evening Standard
Sheridan Morley wrote this biography of the consummate on-screen English gentleman after speaking to over 150 of Niven’s friends and colleagues (only Rex Harrison refused). The result is a picture which both supports and contradicts the charming vagabond persona depicted in Niven’s own bestselling memoirs.
While millions throughout his life were enchanted by Niven’s happy-go-lucky charisma and world-class anecdotage, he was in many respects a private figure, haunted by a fear of failure, and a victim of several key tragedies in his personal life. Morley’s biography is a warm, appreciative but perceptive account which captures both sides of one of Hollywood’s most enduringly lovable figures.
‘A compassionate account that goes past the blithe persona … yet, there is much humor—the actor’s and his biographer’s—in this notable book’ Publishers Weekly
‘Head and shoulders above the average showbiz biography … He understands many of Niven’s deeper feelings’ John Mortimer, Sunday Times
‘A well-told story … the darker side as well as the mask of a complex and perhaps desperate character. He was a life-enhancer off-screen as well as on’ The Times
‘Shrewd and pleasing; shows how dark Niven’s moon could be’ Alexander Walker, Evening Standard
314 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 1, 1985
345 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
About the author
Sheridan Morley
84 books1 followerSheridan A. Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, including Noël Coward.
Morley was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson, via his mother Joan Buckmaster, of the actress Dame Gladys Cooper.
Morley was the eldest son of actor Robert Morley and grandson, via his mother Joan Buckmaster, of the actress Dame Gladys Cooper.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
November 30, 2013
'David Niven
The Other Side Of The Moon'
a biography by
Sheridan Morley
In general, books have to be read according to their contemporary style or timeless poetics. Irrespective of the writing, sometimes just the content of a book justifies the hours frittered away in a self world, ignoring the bleats of mobile phone to be charged or dishwasher to be emptied. When a book announces it will tell 'the other side' of a famous life story, filling in the bits left out by the author of no less than two autobiographies (both read and enjoyed), then there is a book screaming out to be read. But woe betide such a book that lets you down!
David Niven was a Hollywood actor, a British star; very well known during his five decades of picture-making and still remembered to this day, though he died thirty years back. He wasn't the most remarkable of actors and some of the ninety films he made were not what they promised to be ('Bonnie Prince Charlie', 1948), commercial flops ('Oh Men! Oh Women!' 1957) or just plain bizarre ('Casino Royale', 1967). The list of his blockbusters, though, tells of a career without parallel. Check out the movies you've either seen or heard of: 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', 1936; 'The Prisoner of Zenda', 1937; 'The Dawn Patrol', 1938; 'Wuthering Heights', 'Raffles', 1939; 'The First of the Few', 1942; 'Stairway To Heaven' 1945; 'Around The World In Eighty Days' 1956; 'Separate Tables', 1958 (for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor); 'The Guns of Navarone', 1961; 'The Pink Panther', 1964; 'Death On The Nile', 1978, and 'The Curse Of The Pink Panther', 1982. He was also one of the pioneers of live television drama in the US, both as actor and producer. He served his country on active service in the British Army throughout World War Two, only taking time off to make propaganda films (some good 'uns at that). Plus, he found time to write a couple of novels, and two highly successful volumes of autobiographical reminiscences: 'The Moon's A Balloon', 1971; and 'Bring On The Empty Horses', 1975.
I well remember us tuning in to the episode of 'Parkinson' (Britain's equivalent of the 'Dick Cavett Show') when he was promoting his first autobiography in 1971. I was fourteen at the time and by rights would have seen the old bean as another old square. The fact he dared to talk about his schoolboy sex life made him human to me. My father dismissed the man (he thought all actors were, “pimps, puffs or prostitutes”), but as a family we always watched 'Parkinson' together; and I then recalled how Dad had taken us to see Niven with Shirley MacLaine at the Odeon Cinema when 'Around The World In Eighty Days' was re-released (around 1965). In our wholes lives together, the only other film Dad took us to see was 'Lawrence of Arabia' (another Sixties re-release.)
Many, many years later, when I began researching for the second volume of my 'Leaves of the Poets', I picked up both of Niven's autobiographies and read them with amusement. These vols are light reads, not what is called 'literature', but flipping heck, books can be simple fun, can't they? Without reading between the lines, it wasn't hard to guess what Niven had done to become a writer. In fact, whenever the film career took a dip, he'd turn his hand to another medium to supplement his income. Before becoming a movie actor, for instance, he'd been a solider, sold liquor and promoted horse racing. Ensconced in Hollywood, whenever he was laid off, he would do some radio, television or even live theatre. So what would he write about, besides himself? He'd always been known as a raconteur. In the long hours movie actors have to stand about waiting for their turn to perform, he would keep everyone on the set amused by prattling about all the famous people he'd hung out with. These included legendary names such as Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gary Cooper, Merle Oberon, Olivia de Havilland, Laurence Olivier, Cary Grant, Shirley Temple... the list is quite without limit. On the set, he would hone the telling of these stories, embellishing them and taking liberties with the truth, as far as decorum and friendship would allow. Therefore his stories should not be seen as true in themselves, but rather as gossipy commentaries on great cinema celebrities and the times in which they lived. Reading his books, you soon twig the vein in which the stories are told and glimpse the real world which they gloss over.
For example, opening 'The Moon's a Balloon' at a random page, I find a typical anecdote. It is 1938, Niven is under contract to the producer Sam Goldwyn but has been suspended for turning down a script. With nothing else to do, he makes a couple of lucrative radio broadcasts; only to be informed by Goldwyn's lawyer that under the terms of his contract – despite suspension - he is not allowed to do any acting work at all. But Sam Goldwyn knows a good thing when he sees one, and instead of being sued, Niven has to cough up fifty per cent of his fees. Next off, he does a radio show with Bing Crosby, sponsored by the food corporation Kraft. In due course, along with his cheque, Niven is sent a hamper full of food. So the star writes out Sam Goldwyn a cheque for half this amount; then cuts every item of food in the hamper in half, too – including the contents of tinned sardines – and sends them off with the money.
What Niven doesn't stoop to tell us is that the odds of a half hamper of spoiled food landing on Sam Goldwyn's actual desk were far less than even. The most that could be achieved by the prank would be to give the man's front office staff the headache of disposing of it. However, he does admit,
“It was ridiculous and childish and I was behaving like a small boy attacking a heavy tank with a water pistol but rather enjoying it.”
...then he quickly segues into the intervention of Fred and Phyllis Astaire on his behalf, leading to a new seven-year contract, huge salary increase and promise of the game-changing 'Raffles' role. That, of course, is Niven-on-Niven, a man with enough material to achieve such clever use of juxtaposition. I'm coming to Morley-on-Niven in a jiffy.
Rex Harrison was perhaps the only influential person in the movie world who admitted never caring for our subject. Another Englishman in Los Angles, Harrison (star of “Dr Dolittle” and “My Fair Lady”) was present when Primmie, Niven's first wife, was fatally injured in a bizarre house party accident. He didn't give a reason for not liking the star of “Raffles”, but it seems strange of him to refuse to contribute anything to Sheridan Morley's biography - other than an off-the-record dislike for his compatriot. Morley reports Harrison's refusal, but offers no clue as to why. Which brings me to why this biography was such a size nine disappointment.
Morley kicks off by informing us his book will not be a simple retelling of Niven's well-known stories. Moreover that he has dug deep to find “The Facts Behind The Façade” and, in-line with his main sub-title, will tell 'The Other Side Of...' the man who wrote 'The Moon's A Balloon'. Not only that, in one of the first anecdotes (actually another Niven-on-Niven yarn), he promises juicy revelations,
“...Some of the best of the stories sadly never made it into print, though they have a kind of 'ageing Englishman abroad' quality of considerable and hilarious charm, like the night at a grand Malibu gathering when he was apparently asked by a glamorous hostess if he would like a blow. Unable to believe his luck, David whispered that he would and is told to follow his hostess into an upstairs bathroom. Finding her there with his back to the door and standing by the bathroom cupboard, David removes his trousers in delighted expectation, only to have her scream in horror and surprise at his nudity. In her hand is a glass phial containing an exotic powdered drug – and I know of no better generation gap story than that.”
Morley's vapid deconstruction, “I know of no better...” does nothing to unmask the real Niven; who, though I am sure was the author of the reported gag, would never have behaved with such crass naivety: “Unable to believe his luck” & “delighted expectation” - what phooey! While crack cocaine only emerged on the scene in the 60s or 70s, the snorting of coke was rife in Hollywood in the 1930s when Niven would have been no stranger to it, if no user himself. Furthermore, the terms 'blow' and 'blow job' being close enough to confuse an uninitiated observer, would scarcely overlap in Malibu circles – even cross-generational ones. The truth is, Niven was given to the embellishment of such risqué stories, but the grain of truth embedded in this particular yarn was most likely as much aural as oral. Overhearing the words “blow” and “upstairs bathroom” at a party, Niven might have quipped that he was game, only to be informed he would have to keep his trousers on. To which, soberly snorting his Manhattan, he would have shrugged and said you couldn't blame a chap for wishing. I'm sad to say, this kind of one-click forwarding of Niven myths is really all Morley has to offer.
Even the revelation that heart-throb Merle Oberon and David Niven spent much of the 30's shacked up together is useless to us without some sort of analysis of why he rejected her pleas to get married. Why, for example, he was reluctant to marry someone in the same profession, shouldn't the author ponder what held him back? Isn't that what a biographer is supposed to do? Isn't that was makes Roger Lewis' 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers' such a monumental work? Morley's book, through some weird shift in the time/space consortium of publishing, manages to tell us less than nothing. Who was Niven's father, for gawdsake? Beyond a name and the suggestion of wealth squandered, we learn precisely nought with-the-rim-off. The news that he died at Gallipoli, but his death was not confirmed by the War Office for two years, goes without comment. Egad! Did he have no comrades in arms? Nor does Niven's own reticence on the subject of his father go challenged. Throughout the book, serious analysis is parried by reassuring depictions of the man's privacy, his stiff upper lip, his utter discretion, old chap. Instead of lifting the lid on his sexual relationships, all we are given are a few inconsistencies of date and place. For instance, in 'The Moon's a Balloon', Morley smartly points out, Niven puts first wife Primmie's age at death as twenty-five instead of twenty-seven. It's not as if she was a case of gaol-bait, is it? What I would like to know, just for the toss, is how did his early experiences with prostitutes colour his romantic relationships? But Morley, family friend and official biographer, hangs out the old linen with only the whitest of stains.
Even the promise to refrain from repeating well-known Niven anecdotes is broken. He repeats stories broadcast on the 'Parkinson' show, and the above-quoted yarn of the Kraft food hamper, from “The Moon's A Balloon” is repeated almost word for word. What purpose does that serve? Is there any analysis? No. He even manages to purloin the actor's narrative style, so you can hear an echo of Niven's voice, almost smell the faint whiskied breath of him as though the book were a third, ghosted volume of reminiscences wafting up from the grave. “The Other Side Of The Moon” should have been like “The Far Side Of Paradise” - Arthur Mizener's well-researched biography of Scott Fitzgerald – the title a play on Fitz's first novel, “This Side of Paradise.” It is not. In fact, it hardly qualifies as the type of second-rate biography you expect of much lesser stars. Morley has simply chatted to a few of Niven's old chums (including his father, the actor Robert Morley), read the star's own books and consulted a few newspaper and magazine archives. True, from his childhood onwards, young Sheriden knew Niven personally, and you get the feeling the actor may have been somewhat of an uncle figure to him. So he recounts his life in chunks of five years or so, pausing frequently to remind us that “The Moon's A Balloon” and “Bring On The Empty Horses” will arrive in old age, as though his whole life had been leading up to them. Along the way Morley heavily criticises many of Niven's choice of parts and films and in so doing denigrates his career. His attitude reiterates the idea that the life of a jobbing actor is somehow demeaning to the gentleman he surely was. Which seems rather hypocritical since his father Robert Morley's career fared no better, you could say a lot worse. I saw Robert in a dull revival of the Ben Travers farce, “Banana Ridge” at the Savoy in 1977; but remember him principally as the first film actor to play Oscar Wilde - a role he revelled and excelled in. In my opinion, for all it's worth, Niven deserved better than this dishonest, rushed out semi-biography to accompany the reissue of his own witty confessions.
The Other Side Of The Moon'
a biography by
Sheridan Morley
In general, books have to be read according to their contemporary style or timeless poetics. Irrespective of the writing, sometimes just the content of a book justifies the hours frittered away in a self world, ignoring the bleats of mobile phone to be charged or dishwasher to be emptied. When a book announces it will tell 'the other side' of a famous life story, filling in the bits left out by the author of no less than two autobiographies (both read and enjoyed), then there is a book screaming out to be read. But woe betide such a book that lets you down!
David Niven was a Hollywood actor, a British star; very well known during his five decades of picture-making and still remembered to this day, though he died thirty years back. He wasn't the most remarkable of actors and some of the ninety films he made were not what they promised to be ('Bonnie Prince Charlie', 1948), commercial flops ('Oh Men! Oh Women!' 1957) or just plain bizarre ('Casino Royale', 1967). The list of his blockbusters, though, tells of a career without parallel. Check out the movies you've either seen or heard of: 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', 1936; 'The Prisoner of Zenda', 1937; 'The Dawn Patrol', 1938; 'Wuthering Heights', 'Raffles', 1939; 'The First of the Few', 1942; 'Stairway To Heaven' 1945; 'Around The World In Eighty Days' 1956; 'Separate Tables', 1958 (for which he won the Oscar for Best Actor); 'The Guns of Navarone', 1961; 'The Pink Panther', 1964; 'Death On The Nile', 1978, and 'The Curse Of The Pink Panther', 1982. He was also one of the pioneers of live television drama in the US, both as actor and producer. He served his country on active service in the British Army throughout World War Two, only taking time off to make propaganda films (some good 'uns at that). Plus, he found time to write a couple of novels, and two highly successful volumes of autobiographical reminiscences: 'The Moon's A Balloon', 1971; and 'Bring On The Empty Horses', 1975.
I well remember us tuning in to the episode of 'Parkinson' (Britain's equivalent of the 'Dick Cavett Show') when he was promoting his first autobiography in 1971. I was fourteen at the time and by rights would have seen the old bean as another old square. The fact he dared to talk about his schoolboy sex life made him human to me. My father dismissed the man (he thought all actors were, “pimps, puffs or prostitutes”), but as a family we always watched 'Parkinson' together; and I then recalled how Dad had taken us to see Niven with Shirley MacLaine at the Odeon Cinema when 'Around The World In Eighty Days' was re-released (around 1965). In our wholes lives together, the only other film Dad took us to see was 'Lawrence of Arabia' (another Sixties re-release.)
Many, many years later, when I began researching for the second volume of my 'Leaves of the Poets', I picked up both of Niven's autobiographies and read them with amusement. These vols are light reads, not what is called 'literature', but flipping heck, books can be simple fun, can't they? Without reading between the lines, it wasn't hard to guess what Niven had done to become a writer. In fact, whenever the film career took a dip, he'd turn his hand to another medium to supplement his income. Before becoming a movie actor, for instance, he'd been a solider, sold liquor and promoted horse racing. Ensconced in Hollywood, whenever he was laid off, he would do some radio, television or even live theatre. So what would he write about, besides himself? He'd always been known as a raconteur. In the long hours movie actors have to stand about waiting for their turn to perform, he would keep everyone on the set amused by prattling about all the famous people he'd hung out with. These included legendary names such as Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Gary Cooper, Merle Oberon, Olivia de Havilland, Laurence Olivier, Cary Grant, Shirley Temple... the list is quite without limit. On the set, he would hone the telling of these stories, embellishing them and taking liberties with the truth, as far as decorum and friendship would allow. Therefore his stories should not be seen as true in themselves, but rather as gossipy commentaries on great cinema celebrities and the times in which they lived. Reading his books, you soon twig the vein in which the stories are told and glimpse the real world which they gloss over.
For example, opening 'The Moon's a Balloon' at a random page, I find a typical anecdote. It is 1938, Niven is under contract to the producer Sam Goldwyn but has been suspended for turning down a script. With nothing else to do, he makes a couple of lucrative radio broadcasts; only to be informed by Goldwyn's lawyer that under the terms of his contract – despite suspension - he is not allowed to do any acting work at all. But Sam Goldwyn knows a good thing when he sees one, and instead of being sued, Niven has to cough up fifty per cent of his fees. Next off, he does a radio show with Bing Crosby, sponsored by the food corporation Kraft. In due course, along with his cheque, Niven is sent a hamper full of food. So the star writes out Sam Goldwyn a cheque for half this amount; then cuts every item of food in the hamper in half, too – including the contents of tinned sardines – and sends them off with the money.
What Niven doesn't stoop to tell us is that the odds of a half hamper of spoiled food landing on Sam Goldwyn's actual desk were far less than even. The most that could be achieved by the prank would be to give the man's front office staff the headache of disposing of it. However, he does admit,
“It was ridiculous and childish and I was behaving like a small boy attacking a heavy tank with a water pistol but rather enjoying it.”
...then he quickly segues into the intervention of Fred and Phyllis Astaire on his behalf, leading to a new seven-year contract, huge salary increase and promise of the game-changing 'Raffles' role. That, of course, is Niven-on-Niven, a man with enough material to achieve such clever use of juxtaposition. I'm coming to Morley-on-Niven in a jiffy.
Rex Harrison was perhaps the only influential person in the movie world who admitted never caring for our subject. Another Englishman in Los Angles, Harrison (star of “Dr Dolittle” and “My Fair Lady”) was present when Primmie, Niven's first wife, was fatally injured in a bizarre house party accident. He didn't give a reason for not liking the star of “Raffles”, but it seems strange of him to refuse to contribute anything to Sheridan Morley's biography - other than an off-the-record dislike for his compatriot. Morley reports Harrison's refusal, but offers no clue as to why. Which brings me to why this biography was such a size nine disappointment.
Morley kicks off by informing us his book will not be a simple retelling of Niven's well-known stories. Moreover that he has dug deep to find “The Facts Behind The Façade” and, in-line with his main sub-title, will tell 'The Other Side Of...' the man who wrote 'The Moon's A Balloon'. Not only that, in one of the first anecdotes (actually another Niven-on-Niven yarn), he promises juicy revelations,
“...Some of the best of the stories sadly never made it into print, though they have a kind of 'ageing Englishman abroad' quality of considerable and hilarious charm, like the night at a grand Malibu gathering when he was apparently asked by a glamorous hostess if he would like a blow. Unable to believe his luck, David whispered that he would and is told to follow his hostess into an upstairs bathroom. Finding her there with his back to the door and standing by the bathroom cupboard, David removes his trousers in delighted expectation, only to have her scream in horror and surprise at his nudity. In her hand is a glass phial containing an exotic powdered drug – and I know of no better generation gap story than that.”
Morley's vapid deconstruction, “I know of no better...” does nothing to unmask the real Niven; who, though I am sure was the author of the reported gag, would never have behaved with such crass naivety: “Unable to believe his luck” & “delighted expectation” - what phooey! While crack cocaine only emerged on the scene in the 60s or 70s, the snorting of coke was rife in Hollywood in the 1930s when Niven would have been no stranger to it, if no user himself. Furthermore, the terms 'blow' and 'blow job' being close enough to confuse an uninitiated observer, would scarcely overlap in Malibu circles – even cross-generational ones. The truth is, Niven was given to the embellishment of such risqué stories, but the grain of truth embedded in this particular yarn was most likely as much aural as oral. Overhearing the words “blow” and “upstairs bathroom” at a party, Niven might have quipped that he was game, only to be informed he would have to keep his trousers on. To which, soberly snorting his Manhattan, he would have shrugged and said you couldn't blame a chap for wishing. I'm sad to say, this kind of one-click forwarding of Niven myths is really all Morley has to offer.
Even the revelation that heart-throb Merle Oberon and David Niven spent much of the 30's shacked up together is useless to us without some sort of analysis of why he rejected her pleas to get married. Why, for example, he was reluctant to marry someone in the same profession, shouldn't the author ponder what held him back? Isn't that what a biographer is supposed to do? Isn't that was makes Roger Lewis' 'The Life and Death of Peter Sellers' such a monumental work? Morley's book, through some weird shift in the time/space consortium of publishing, manages to tell us less than nothing. Who was Niven's father, for gawdsake? Beyond a name and the suggestion of wealth squandered, we learn precisely nought with-the-rim-off. The news that he died at Gallipoli, but his death was not confirmed by the War Office for two years, goes without comment. Egad! Did he have no comrades in arms? Nor does Niven's own reticence on the subject of his father go challenged. Throughout the book, serious analysis is parried by reassuring depictions of the man's privacy, his stiff upper lip, his utter discretion, old chap. Instead of lifting the lid on his sexual relationships, all we are given are a few inconsistencies of date and place. For instance, in 'The Moon's a Balloon', Morley smartly points out, Niven puts first wife Primmie's age at death as twenty-five instead of twenty-seven. It's not as if she was a case of gaol-bait, is it? What I would like to know, just for the toss, is how did his early experiences with prostitutes colour his romantic relationships? But Morley, family friend and official biographer, hangs out the old linen with only the whitest of stains.
Even the promise to refrain from repeating well-known Niven anecdotes is broken. He repeats stories broadcast on the 'Parkinson' show, and the above-quoted yarn of the Kraft food hamper, from “The Moon's A Balloon” is repeated almost word for word. What purpose does that serve? Is there any analysis? No. He even manages to purloin the actor's narrative style, so you can hear an echo of Niven's voice, almost smell the faint whiskied breath of him as though the book were a third, ghosted volume of reminiscences wafting up from the grave. “The Other Side Of The Moon” should have been like “The Far Side Of Paradise” - Arthur Mizener's well-researched biography of Scott Fitzgerald – the title a play on Fitz's first novel, “This Side of Paradise.” It is not. In fact, it hardly qualifies as the type of second-rate biography you expect of much lesser stars. Morley has simply chatted to a few of Niven's old chums (including his father, the actor Robert Morley), read the star's own books and consulted a few newspaper and magazine archives. True, from his childhood onwards, young Sheriden knew Niven personally, and you get the feeling the actor may have been somewhat of an uncle figure to him. So he recounts his life in chunks of five years or so, pausing frequently to remind us that “The Moon's A Balloon” and “Bring On The Empty Horses” will arrive in old age, as though his whole life had been leading up to them. Along the way Morley heavily criticises many of Niven's choice of parts and films and in so doing denigrates his career. His attitude reiterates the idea that the life of a jobbing actor is somehow demeaning to the gentleman he surely was. Which seems rather hypocritical since his father Robert Morley's career fared no better, you could say a lot worse. I saw Robert in a dull revival of the Ben Travers farce, “Banana Ridge” at the Savoy in 1977; but remember him principally as the first film actor to play Oscar Wilde - a role he revelled and excelled in. In my opinion, for all it's worth, Niven deserved better than this dishonest, rushed out semi-biography to accompany the reissue of his own witty confessions.
March 20, 2020
This is about the life and career of the late actor David Niven from his birth , his career on the silver screen and his retirement after being diagnosed with ALS leading to his death in the eighties
May 30, 2025
The friendly Englishman.
I love David Niven's autobiography - "The Moon's a Balloon" (published in 1971) and his book of Hollywood stories - "Bring on the Empty Horses" (published in 1975.) People are always astonished when an actor writes a readable book, but some actors ARE good writers and Niven's trademark charm and deprecating humor come through in his books.
After his death in 1983, his friend Sheridan Morley decided to write a biography which would give a fuller picture of the much-loved actor. This book was certainly not intended to tarnish Niven's reputation, but Morley has written many biographies of entertainment icons and he believes in telling the truth.
The son of English actor Robert Morley and the grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, he grew up among stars and was neither intimidated by nor resentful of their status. As a long-term film critic, he saw all the movies and plays (good and bad) from the standpoint of a professional. He was the ultimate insider and I think his biographies reflect his knowledge of the entertainment industry and the people in it.
Many readers were shocked to learn that the popular David Niven had a darker side. I can't imagine how any intelligent person could believe that the improbably cheerful life Niven claimed to have lived was reality. He was writing to entertain and to make money. His version of events wasn't out-right lies, but he slanted it to suit himself and he left a lot out. Morley's version is much more believable.
Niven was born into an upper class English family with more class than money. He graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1930, when an English gentleman with no inclination for law or the church was automatically routed into a military career. The Empire still required officers to head up military garrisons all over the world. Niven wasn't a bad soldier, but the life bored him. In 1933, he resigned his commission and headed for the U.S., eventually ending up in Los Angeles.
How did a young man with no acting training or experience become an American movie star? Essentially the same way he got into the military. He wasn't qualified to do anything else. Like the Empire, the American film industry needed cannon fodder. In Hollywood, attractive young people were given contracts and left to learn how to act by appearing in supporting roles or B-movies.
Why did Niven succeed when most faded into oblivion? I think he filled a need in Hollywood. He wasn't classically handsome, but he was attractive and knew how to dress. His military training made him a natural for war sagas and his sophisticated charm made him valuable for romantic comedies and period dramas. More than anything else he was simply likable. Women wanted to take care of him and men wanted to pal around with him. He won over tough Sam Goldwyn, whose patronage helped him enormously.
Most English actors in Hollywood (the "Raj") were stage-trained actors who looked down on Americans and movie-making. They had the air of men serving their time in an unpleasant out-post of the Empire and looking forward to a return to civilization (England.) In contrast, Niven liked Americans and the informality of American life. In show business, friendships matter and his friends helped him succeed in a spectacular fashion.
By 1938, he was starring in hit movies such as "Dawn Patrol", but then England declared war on Germany. Unlike most actors (both English and American) he wasn't content to make patriotic movies and sell War Bonds. He was attached to a reconnaissance unit that participated in D-Day and then roamed the front, spotting and reporting on enemy positions. It was dangerous work and Niven had the gut-wrenching job of sending men out, knowing that many wouldn't return. He skipped lightly over his war experiences in his books, but his friends said that he emerged from the war a darker, moodier man.
He also came out with a wife - a young Englishwoman named Primmie. When the war was over, he took her and their two young sons to Hollywood to resume his career, but things were never the same. Primmie died in a tragic accident. He remarried several years later and he and his second wife (Swedish model Hjordis) eventually adopted two daughters and moved back to Europe. For the rest of his life, he divided his time between his house in Switzerland and another on the Mediterranean coast of France. And he made movies, most of them forgettable.
Throughout it all, he was noted for his many warm friendships and for regaling his friends with hilarious anecdotes about famous people. As his film career dimmed, he put those charming stories into two books that brought new fame and lots of money. Say it for the man, he was always determined to support his family in lavish style.
Sheridan's look at Niven is affectionate, but honest. Niven seemed democratic and unassuming, but he was a snob and loved a famous name. He wasn't above changing his favorite stories to drop a person who had fallen into obscurity and add one whose star had risen. He dropped old friends when they were no longer valuable professionally or socially. He never acknowledged his long-term affair with Merle Oberon (then a huge star) and how much she helped establish his film career. He was an opportunist who clawed his way to the top. To the end of his life, he was still clawing. He never lost the fear of being exposed as a fake.
I liked Sheridan's balanced view of Hjordis Niven, a woman of whom David Niven's friends never say a kind word. In truth, she had a lot to put up with. He was obsessed with the memory of his first wife and Hjordis was not allowed to replace her in his son's affections. He was proud of her stunning good looks and clothes sense, but never really saw her as a capable individual in her own right. He was chronically, openly unfaithful to her.
She suffered through miscarriages and infertility before they finally adopted two baby girls. On-lookers believed that the Niven children were spoiled and Hjordis agreed, but claimed that it was her husband who did the spoiling. Niven's friend William Buckley agreed, saying that he was incapable of saying "no" to any of his children and lavished them with money to make up for his feelings of not being a good father. It wasn't a happy household, but not all the blame lies with Hjordis. I was happy to discover recently that there's a website devoted to telling her story and correcting some of the misinformation spread by her husband's devoted male buddies.
David Niven's friend Sheridan Morley did him proud. It's a fascinating look at an intelligent, complicated, flawed man who was a major player during the Golden Years of movie-making.
I love David Niven's autobiography - "The Moon's a Balloon" (published in 1971) and his book of Hollywood stories - "Bring on the Empty Horses" (published in 1975.) People are always astonished when an actor writes a readable book, but some actors ARE good writers and Niven's trademark charm and deprecating humor come through in his books.
After his death in 1983, his friend Sheridan Morley decided to write a biography which would give a fuller picture of the much-loved actor. This book was certainly not intended to tarnish Niven's reputation, but Morley has written many biographies of entertainment icons and he believes in telling the truth.
The son of English actor Robert Morley and the grandson of actress Dame Gladys Cooper, he grew up among stars and was neither intimidated by nor resentful of their status. As a long-term film critic, he saw all the movies and plays (good and bad) from the standpoint of a professional. He was the ultimate insider and I think his biographies reflect his knowledge of the entertainment industry and the people in it.
Many readers were shocked to learn that the popular David Niven had a darker side. I can't imagine how any intelligent person could believe that the improbably cheerful life Niven claimed to have lived was reality. He was writing to entertain and to make money. His version of events wasn't out-right lies, but he slanted it to suit himself and he left a lot out. Morley's version is much more believable.
Niven was born into an upper class English family with more class than money. He graduated from Sandhurst Military Academy in 1930, when an English gentleman with no inclination for law or the church was automatically routed into a military career. The Empire still required officers to head up military garrisons all over the world. Niven wasn't a bad soldier, but the life bored him. In 1933, he resigned his commission and headed for the U.S., eventually ending up in Los Angeles.
How did a young man with no acting training or experience become an American movie star? Essentially the same way he got into the military. He wasn't qualified to do anything else. Like the Empire, the American film industry needed cannon fodder. In Hollywood, attractive young people were given contracts and left to learn how to act by appearing in supporting roles or B-movies.
Why did Niven succeed when most faded into oblivion? I think he filled a need in Hollywood. He wasn't classically handsome, but he was attractive and knew how to dress. His military training made him a natural for war sagas and his sophisticated charm made him valuable for romantic comedies and period dramas. More than anything else he was simply likable. Women wanted to take care of him and men wanted to pal around with him. He won over tough Sam Goldwyn, whose patronage helped him enormously.
Most English actors in Hollywood (the "Raj") were stage-trained actors who looked down on Americans and movie-making. They had the air of men serving their time in an unpleasant out-post of the Empire and looking forward to a return to civilization (England.) In contrast, Niven liked Americans and the informality of American life. In show business, friendships matter and his friends helped him succeed in a spectacular fashion.
By 1938, he was starring in hit movies such as "Dawn Patrol", but then England declared war on Germany. Unlike most actors (both English and American) he wasn't content to make patriotic movies and sell War Bonds. He was attached to a reconnaissance unit that participated in D-Day and then roamed the front, spotting and reporting on enemy positions. It was dangerous work and Niven had the gut-wrenching job of sending men out, knowing that many wouldn't return. He skipped lightly over his war experiences in his books, but his friends said that he emerged from the war a darker, moodier man.
He also came out with a wife - a young Englishwoman named Primmie. When the war was over, he took her and their two young sons to Hollywood to resume his career, but things were never the same. Primmie died in a tragic accident. He remarried several years later and he and his second wife (Swedish model Hjordis) eventually adopted two daughters and moved back to Europe. For the rest of his life, he divided his time between his house in Switzerland and another on the Mediterranean coast of France. And he made movies, most of them forgettable.
Throughout it all, he was noted for his many warm friendships and for regaling his friends with hilarious anecdotes about famous people. As his film career dimmed, he put those charming stories into two books that brought new fame and lots of money. Say it for the man, he was always determined to support his family in lavish style.
Sheridan's look at Niven is affectionate, but honest. Niven seemed democratic and unassuming, but he was a snob and loved a famous name. He wasn't above changing his favorite stories to drop a person who had fallen into obscurity and add one whose star had risen. He dropped old friends when they were no longer valuable professionally or socially. He never acknowledged his long-term affair with Merle Oberon (then a huge star) and how much she helped establish his film career. He was an opportunist who clawed his way to the top. To the end of his life, he was still clawing. He never lost the fear of being exposed as a fake.
I liked Sheridan's balanced view of Hjordis Niven, a woman of whom David Niven's friends never say a kind word. In truth, she had a lot to put up with. He was obsessed with the memory of his first wife and Hjordis was not allowed to replace her in his son's affections. He was proud of her stunning good looks and clothes sense, but never really saw her as a capable individual in her own right. He was chronically, openly unfaithful to her.
She suffered through miscarriages and infertility before they finally adopted two baby girls. On-lookers believed that the Niven children were spoiled and Hjordis agreed, but claimed that it was her husband who did the spoiling. Niven's friend William Buckley agreed, saying that he was incapable of saying "no" to any of his children and lavished them with money to make up for his feelings of not being a good father. It wasn't a happy household, but not all the blame lies with Hjordis. I was happy to discover recently that there's a website devoted to telling her story and correcting some of the misinformation spread by her husband's devoted male buddies.
David Niven's friend Sheridan Morley did him proud. It's a fascinating look at an intelligent, complicated, flawed man who was a major player during the Golden Years of movie-making.
August 21, 2011
Morley does a passable biography of Niven, an actor who had a long if fairly undistinguished career and reinvented himself as an author late in his career. The studio never quite decided how to use him and he never established his own brand. His private life had its share of tragedy, including the accidental death of his first wife while playing Sardines at her first Hollywood party.
The book touches on his drinking and womanizing, and skims over some details (according to Roger Moore, a friend, his second wife was a bitch), and makes some assumptions about what the reader knows about people and events.
A serviceable book about a mediocre actor.
3 stars.
The book touches on his drinking and womanizing, and skims over some details (according to Roger Moore, a friend, his second wife was a bitch), and makes some assumptions about what the reader knows about people and events.
A serviceable book about a mediocre actor.
3 stars.
October 13, 2007
I still love Niven's movies, but as a person he doesn't come off too well in this biography. I don't think he ever recovered from a Dickensian childhood combined with the death of his first wife.
July 16, 2012
Ok for a celebrity biography
November 21, 2019
It makes sense that a man who spent his entire life editing his dinner party stories to make them more entertaining did the same with his own biographies. This biography is only an ‘other side’ in the sense that it is not Niven telling the stories for once. If you were looking for scandal there’s precious little here. His sexual exploits are described as prolific and discrete.
I read the digital version which, I believe is missing all the photos of the print edition. Pity.
Niven was not a classically trained actor and he seemed to just sidle into acting and the film industry. He moved in with Merle Oberon for some years and she got him a lot of roles, and gave him more than a few acting lessons, but he would not marry her as she was a woman of colour. It was the 1930’s and she kept that secret for a very long time.
There are a lot of stories from people who knew him and its quite an entertaining read, especially if you have ever seen any of the movies and TV series they talk about.
With his own childhood and a stepfather who completely ignored him, it surprises me that he would let his second wife do the same to his sons. She doesn’t seem like the nicest lady…
I particularly like this quote:
Oh, that’s a clever line.
4 stars
I read the digital version which, I believe is missing all the photos of the print edition. Pity.
Niven was not a classically trained actor and he seemed to just sidle into acting and the film industry. He moved in with Merle Oberon for some years and she got him a lot of roles, and gave him more than a few acting lessons, but he would not marry her as she was a woman of colour. It was the 1930’s and she kept that secret for a very long time.
There are a lot of stories from people who knew him and its quite an entertaining read, especially if you have ever seen any of the movies and TV series they talk about.
With his own childhood and a stepfather who completely ignored him, it surprises me that he would let his second wife do the same to his sons. She doesn’t seem like the nicest lady…
I particularly like this quote:
Niven had, on the verge of his sixties, already arrived at the anecdotage that was to make such a triumph of his last working years.
Oh, that’s a clever line.
4 stars
June 9, 2022
I recently read David Niven's 'The Moon is a Balloon' for the third time and I thought I'd like to check which stories were made up and which ones he'd pinched from others, so I read Sheridan Morley's excellent biography of David which doesn't really answer those questions, but it tells us a great deal about his life. One thing that strikes me is that underneath all his Hollywood front he was an insecure and sad man. His childhood contributed (with the death of his father in the first World War) to be replaced by a Step-Father he detested. This certainly contributed to his financial insecurity and he chased money all his life, many times acting in very unmemorable movies just for the money to actually hitting the financial jackpot with his two behind the scenes Hollywood biographies, which he wrote in his 60s. The death of his first wife Primmie, who was the love of his life and the mother of his two sons, in a freak accident, contributed to his sadness. This is a very good biography as well as an entertaining read.
May 26, 2021
Probably the most information I've ever read in a biography that stayed under just 300 pages.
Morley kept things brief and to-the-point as Niven's life and stories and numerous, well known anecdotes could have been stretched out to hundreds of more pages, and might have run the risk of getting a little long-winded as some works can do.
But this writing was a great exercise in the less-is-more philosophy. The 300 pages packed quite a powerful punch as it was incredibly informative and entertaining.
Morley kept things brief and to-the-point as Niven's life and stories and numerous, well known anecdotes could have been stretched out to hundreds of more pages, and might have run the risk of getting a little long-winded as some works can do.
But this writing was a great exercise in the less-is-more philosophy. The 300 pages packed quite a powerful punch as it was incredibly informative and entertaining.
October 30, 2022
Adventurous life
It’s always interesting to read about someone you’re familiar with. I first saw Niven in Around the Word In Eighty Days. He was a debonair presence in this and subsequent films.
These days he would be a ‘celebrity’ and as is usual with such people they congregate together.
He seems to have been a lot of fun but underneath was dedicated to self advancement.
The book is a bit slow to start but gathers pace.
He wasn’t an admirable man but not a bad one either.
It’s always interesting to read about someone you’re familiar with. I first saw Niven in Around the Word In Eighty Days. He was a debonair presence in this and subsequent films.
These days he would be a ‘celebrity’ and as is usual with such people they congregate together.
He seems to have been a lot of fun but underneath was dedicated to self advancement.
The book is a bit slow to start but gathers pace.
He wasn’t an admirable man but not a bad one either.
August 9, 2025
Better second time around
When I first read this book many years ago, I hated it. I felt that it had been written as though the author despised his subject. This reading of it gave me a totally different feeling. Though he speaks of many of Niven's films as being second rate at best (which, sadly, is true), I didn't get the feeling of malice that I got the first time around. Maybe because I have since read nastier things about Niven this one doesn't seem as bad. Therefore I have changed my original one star rating. This is a book worth reading by any Niven fan.
When I first read this book many years ago, I hated it. I felt that it had been written as though the author despised his subject. This reading of it gave me a totally different feeling. Though he speaks of many of Niven's films as being second rate at best (which, sadly, is true), I didn't get the feeling of malice that I got the first time around. Maybe because I have since read nastier things about Niven this one doesn't seem as bad. Therefore I have changed my original one star rating. This is a book worth reading by any Niven fan.
May 11, 2019
Somewhat disappointing
I often wonder why writers write bios of performers whose work they don't really like. I don't say he should be a full time cheerleader but he seems to undervalue Mr. Niven as an actor and is down right snooty about many of his quite enjoyable films.
Added note, I read this book some years ago in hardback and more recently in a digital edition that lacked both footnotes and photos. Buyer Beware.
I often wonder why writers write bios of performers whose work they don't really like. I don't say he should be a full time cheerleader but he seems to undervalue Mr. Niven as an actor and is down right snooty about many of his quite enjoyable films.
Added note, I read this book some years ago in hardback and more recently in a digital edition that lacked both footnotes and photos. Buyer Beware.
November 15, 2024
A True Biography
This thoroughly enjoyable and complete biography is well-written and honest. David’s shortcomings as an actor and the details behind his entry into movie acting and his army career are thoroughly discussed, as well as a movie by movie discussion of his various roles.
Many of the tales from David’s two bestsellers are explained as being not completely true, but interesting and entertaining stories, which might have happened to someone else.
This thoroughly enjoyable and complete biography is well-written and honest. David’s shortcomings as an actor and the details behind his entry into movie acting and his army career are thoroughly discussed, as well as a movie by movie discussion of his various roles.
Many of the tales from David’s two bestsellers are explained as being not completely true, but interesting and entertaining stories, which might have happened to someone else.
March 27, 2018
I'm surprised my review wasn't printed. Problems with broadband. From what I recall, David was definitely flawed, however he used his charm to gain entry into Hollywood echelon. Despite losing the love of is life, he did seem a narcissist and a bore. Fascinating view of Hollywood. He was a treasure
January 3, 2022
Well written but so sad
Unsurprisingly, Sheridan Morley wrote complete and excellently unstarry biography. David Niven wasn't always quite as nice a person as he appeared but then, who is. He was nevertheless charming, honourable and loved his family and friends. He never fulfilled his promise in any area but his life must be considered a success. The end? Oh so sad.
Unsurprisingly, Sheridan Morley wrote complete and excellently unstarry biography. David Niven wasn't always quite as nice a person as he appeared but then, who is. He was nevertheless charming, honourable and loved his family and friends. He never fulfilled his promise in any area but his life must be considered a success. The end? Oh so sad.
January 8, 2023
This book started out as slow and a little on the boring side. But with any great read if you get past the 2nd or the 3rd chapter, you've got yourself a real page turner. I learned a lot about David Niven and the Hollywood history he helped to create. This was an outstanding book and Sheridan Morley has become a must read author.
Read
February 23, 2023Ah, Niven
An excellent book. Far more to David Niven than appearances in sometimes dubious films. A well told tale of a man who recognised the absurdity of the film world, but turned up knowing his lines, and who sought a pleasant atmosphere on set, & among colleagues. Yes, he had faults, but they seem few & minor. If you enjoy film biogs, you should enjoy this.
An excellent book. Far more to David Niven than appearances in sometimes dubious films. A well told tale of a man who recognised the absurdity of the film world, but turned up knowing his lines, and who sought a pleasant atmosphere on set, & among colleagues. Yes, he had faults, but they seem few & minor. If you enjoy film biogs, you should enjoy this.
June 10, 2025
An in-depth look at the quintessential English gentleman
having read 'the moon is a balloon' this book irons out all the stories and capers to find the real man.
many of his friends of Hollywood add their own anecdotes of David's life as well as family and friends
Recommended for anyone interested in the Golden age of Hollywood.
having read 'the moon is a balloon' this book irons out all the stories and capers to find the real man.
many of his friends of Hollywood add their own anecdotes of David's life as well as family and friends
Recommended for anyone interested in the Golden age of Hollywood.
July 21, 2018
Realistic critique of David Niven's life and career
My only criticism is his acting career seems to have been harshly criticised. However as a person he seems to exude a life well lived.
My only criticism is his acting career seems to have been harshly criticised. However as a person he seems to exude a life well lived.
February 8, 2020
Stop. Read Niven's autobiographies 'The Moon's a Balloon' and 'Bring on the Empty Horses' instead - they are much more entertaining. If you've already read Niven's books, and are after accuracy rather than entertainment, then this corrects a few details, adds some new facts and tells a few new stories that make it a somewhat worthwhile read - though it often pulls its punches when it could have been harder hitting.
August 15, 2021
Ok
This book wasn’t great. The writing is very laborious and the writer is very negative about Niven,, even though he claims to like him. It was interesting to read about parts of Niven’s life though.
This book wasn’t great. The writing is very laborious and the writer is very negative about Niven,, even though he claims to like him. It was interesting to read about parts of Niven’s life though.
July 25, 2020
Interesting
I enjoyed this biography. I wanted to read The Moon is a Balloon but couldn't find a reasonably priced copy. Mr. Niven had a glam life but a painful one as well.
I enjoyed this biography. I wanted to read The Moon is a Balloon but couldn't find a reasonably priced copy. Mr. Niven had a glam life but a painful one as well.
July 25, 2020
A very informative Book
A Book which told the truth of the Life and times of a underestimated great British Actor I couldn't put it down.
A Book which told the truth of the Life and times of a underestimated great British Actor I couldn't put it down.
September 9, 2020
Appallingly boring and condescending towards the subject. I wonder why he bothered to the task of writing about someone who he clearly has contempt for. To make a buck, most likely.
December 30, 2020
Loved it
As a kid growing up I watched some of his films. A film is a film to a kid and I always enjoyed his archetypal English gent persona. Great actor and a decent account of his life.
As a kid growing up I watched some of his films. A film is a film to a kid and I always enjoyed his archetypal English gent persona. Great actor and a decent account of his life.
September 2, 2021
David Niven
Seems to have captured well the persona of a complex man who was a fulsome product of his life experiences … very engaging and interesting
Seems to have captured well the persona of a complex man who was a fulsome product of his life experiences … very engaging and interesting
March 26, 2022
Very dry and I started to feel very disappointed with a movie star that I always liked
November 18, 2022
Not as entertaining as Niven's books, but to the best of my recollection it was still an interesting read.
April 22, 2023
Good read
Good to read but I found the very beginning and end hard to get into. Sad finding out what Mr Niven went through
Good to read but I found the very beginning and end hard to get into. Sad finding out what Mr Niven went through
July 13, 2020
Much, much better than Niven's autobiography.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews