Sid James: The Authorised Biography

by Robert Ross

Everyone thinks they know the Sid James story - the wife-beating womaniser who seduced his 'Carry On' leading lady, Barbara Windsor, and drank himself to death after the affair ended. Sid was certainly a lover of the flesh - be it chorus girls or race horses - but the rumours that have enlivened hundreds of newspaper exposes fail to tell the whole story of this complex actor. At turns a quiet, even-tempered family man and the ultimate lad, this book reveals every facet of his character through never before published correspondence with his family, friends and agent Michael Sullivan, forgotten press interviews and exclusive tales from Sid's inner circle including Joan Sims (Carry On co-star), Sally Gleeson (Bless This House co-star), and scriptwriter Vince Powell, who crafted three sitcoms for Sid and made him the star of Thames Television. Sid James: The Authorised Biography reveals the actor's many sides: the war hero, the saviour of Diana Dors, the seducer of his agent's wife, the reluctant broadcaster, shrewd investor, and addicted gambler. Sid, who counts Jonathan Ross, Paul Merton, Ben Elton and Frank Skinner as loyal and devoted fans, is as popular today as he ever was. And this revealing biography will captivate anyone interested in learning more about this national treasure of comic acting. Robert Ross has been writing about and researching British entertainment history for more than a decade, and he has written 15 books dedicated to the best of British comedy from Monty Python to Benny Hill. He has appeared in dozens of TV programmes including What's A Carry On? and Legends: Hattie Jacques.

Genres: Biography

288 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Robert Ross wears many different hats: consultant, researcher, writer and audio commentary moderator, working for television and radio.

Reviews

[Mark Potts · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two things that I need to say about this book.

Firstly, the content is, basically, very good and there is so much here that I didn't know. Sidney James was only the person that you imagined he was, on screen. Off screen, he was the opposite. Whilst I am old enough to remember Sid clearly, from the Hancock years (before my time!), the Carry Ons, and Bless This House, I am not old enough to actually know too much about him. This book did fill in a lot of gaps and even filled gaps I didn't know were there.

Secondly, the book itself is, sadly, really quite shoddy. It reads as if it the wrong version had been published. There are too many errors to list and parts of it, you read several times, because they make no sense. Also, it feels as if it was in the process of being re-sequenced; it jumps around in quite a confusing manner. If Ross actually writes like this all the time then, how he has managed to make a career out of it escapes me. However, it feels like a version submitted for editing was mistakenly sent to the printers. That notwithstanding, it is worth persevering with as, utimately, it is a rewarding read.

[Mark Morgan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading about one of the Carry On stars

[Wendy · Rating 3 out of 5]

he his one of our best loved actor/comedians, even thougth he was born in south africa, a lovely man and no one can forget that laugh

[stan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was a bit uneasy about the subject matter , I personally feel there was a lot more to be shown , there were more strings to this particular bow.

I addition this was not particularly well written