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Who On Earth Is Tom Baker?: An Autobiography
SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. Pristine throughout. Even the dust jacket is in excellent condition. It looks like this book has never been read.
268 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
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894 people want to read
About the author
Tom Baker
214 books133 followersThomas Stewart "Tom" Baker is an English actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor from 1974 to 1981 in Doctor Who, and for narrating Little Britain. He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for his role as Rasputin in the 1971 film Nicholas and Alexandra.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 122 reviews
July 25, 2018
Back in 1997 if was not for me Tom would not done a signing in Waterstones as was advertised in the Bookseller but not on there list They even got picture from me for the window a very rare one that's of Videos now long out publication & they had Cyberman too.
This is similar life too Slverster as Tom nearly also end up as a Roman Catholic Priest but like Sly sex got in the way.
It's not just Dr W but also Rodger Bacon the drinking buddy & mad artist friend .
I wish he now at 80 would do an update on this before it's too late.
This is similar life too Slverster as Tom nearly also end up as a Roman Catholic Priest but like Sly sex got in the way.
It's not just Dr W but also Rodger Bacon the drinking buddy & mad artist friend .
I wish he now at 80 would do an update on this before it's too late.
October 23, 2015
I first started reading this book back in the late '90s, but for some reason I gave up. Somewhere around the beginning of his time in the monastery I think. So I returned to the book, some ten years later, with some trepidation – maybe I'd given up on it because it just wasn't that good.
In short, Tom Baker is nuts. He's bonkers, bats in the belfry, crazy. But he's also charming, funny and has both a genuinely interesting story to tell and an engaging and cheeky style with which to tell it. Who on Earth is Tom Baker? is his autobiography, from his childhood in Liverpool where he wanted to be an orphan, through his time as a monk, his time in the army, becoming an actor and eventually (the pinnacle of any actor's career) Doctor Who. And, let's not kid ourselves here folks – Tom Baker is Doctor Who.
His story seems to be that of a hard life (for want of a better cliché). His working class childhood in Liverpool, his brutal Catholic education, the austerity of the monastery, and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his first marriage. He appears to be a man who isn't that keen on himself, his past or, especially, his hangups. He seems to feel he has a larger number of those than other people, and that many of the decisions he made in his life were wrong, flawed or based on a false belief system. He copes with this by mocking himself and his own past, quite systematically, throughout the book. Yet he still writes with the same wit and excitement that I remember from his time as The Doctor. It's always a pleasure to read an autobiography that is more than just a list of things that have occurred in their life, and this one is that...
In short, Tom Baker is nuts. He's bonkers, bats in the belfry, crazy. But he's also charming, funny and has both a genuinely interesting story to tell and an engaging and cheeky style with which to tell it. Who on Earth is Tom Baker? is his autobiography, from his childhood in Liverpool where he wanted to be an orphan, through his time as a monk, his time in the army, becoming an actor and eventually (the pinnacle of any actor's career) Doctor Who. And, let's not kid ourselves here folks – Tom Baker is Doctor Who.
His story seems to be that of a hard life (for want of a better cliché). His working class childhood in Liverpool, his brutal Catholic education, the austerity of the monastery, and the abuse he suffered at the hands of his first marriage. He appears to be a man who isn't that keen on himself, his past or, especially, his hangups. He seems to feel he has a larger number of those than other people, and that many of the decisions he made in his life were wrong, flawed or based on a false belief system. He copes with this by mocking himself and his own past, quite systematically, throughout the book. Yet he still writes with the same wit and excitement that I remember from his time as The Doctor. It's always a pleasure to read an autobiography that is more than just a list of things that have occurred in their life, and this one is that...
August 6, 2011
http://nwhyte.livejournal.com/1742012...
Four years ago I listened to an abridged audio version of this book, read by the man himself; now I've finally read the whole thing, fourteen years after frenziedly speed-skimming a newly published copy in an Oxford bookshop without actually buying it. It is quite an extraordinary and painful book, by a man who doesn't much like himself and, to his continuing amazement, found in his early 40s that everyone suddenly liked him. Baker confesses many tales of personal betrayal, of lovers, colleagues, relatives, and himself; he is rather fascinated by his own awfulness as a human being, and he achieves the difficult task of communicating his fascination to the reader, because he is also very funny. The book (deliberately, I think) doesn't do justice to himself; I was struck, having read this just after listening to Big Finish's April podcasts, which feature a long interview with him divided into several sections, by the fact that most of the anecdotes he shared this year with Nicholas Briggs were very different from the stories spun for his readers in 1997. I also take a wild guess, judging from hints dropped in interviews, that he has actually had some serious and effective psychotherapy; no mention of that in the book, which itself may have been a cathartic experience to write, but also perhaps writing about healing and acceptance might have spoiled the story.
If you are looking for insider information on Doctor Who, this book doesn't give you much - perhaps 30 pages out of 270, and the show's history has been better chronicled elsewhere (including in the DVD commentaries to which Tom Baker has contributed). But if you are interested in reading a peculiar personality study, written by its own subject, this is one of the more memorable ones out there.
Four years ago I listened to an abridged audio version of this book, read by the man himself; now I've finally read the whole thing, fourteen years after frenziedly speed-skimming a newly published copy in an Oxford bookshop without actually buying it. It is quite an extraordinary and painful book, by a man who doesn't much like himself and, to his continuing amazement, found in his early 40s that everyone suddenly liked him. Baker confesses many tales of personal betrayal, of lovers, colleagues, relatives, and himself; he is rather fascinated by his own awfulness as a human being, and he achieves the difficult task of communicating his fascination to the reader, because he is also very funny. The book (deliberately, I think) doesn't do justice to himself; I was struck, having read this just after listening to Big Finish's April podcasts, which feature a long interview with him divided into several sections, by the fact that most of the anecdotes he shared this year with Nicholas Briggs were very different from the stories spun for his readers in 1997. I also take a wild guess, judging from hints dropped in interviews, that he has actually had some serious and effective psychotherapy; no mention of that in the book, which itself may have been a cathartic experience to write, but also perhaps writing about healing and acceptance might have spoiled the story.
If you are looking for insider information on Doctor Who, this book doesn't give you much - perhaps 30 pages out of 270, and the show's history has been better chronicled elsewhere (including in the DVD commentaries to which Tom Baker has contributed). But if you are interested in reading a peculiar personality study, written by its own subject, this is one of the more memorable ones out there.
February 19, 2012
I've said before I'm not really one for autobiographies but this one was brilliant. It was both hilarious and tragic at the same time. It was so sad to read how Tom had so little connection with people, how he was unable to relate to anyone. His childhood seemed so sad, not because of the poverty, but rather cause of the great loneliness and self loathing that it produced. It was especially sad that someone who'd made so many childhoods so much fun didn't have that for himself. For me it was much more interesting reading about his childhood, his time as a monk and his lost family than it was to read about him being in Doctor Who. It was kinda abrupt the way it went from loosing his family to moving to London to be an actor. But then I suppose somethings are too personal to tell. But at the same time while telling these sad self-deprecating stories it was so very funny. There was always jokes and humour in everything. I absoultely adored this book and am so glad I read it.
March 6, 2013
I gave this autobiography 2 stars not because it was poorly written particularly or due to a lack of interesting content- but because it strikes me as a sad story of a wounded, hollow man.
Tom Baker is in the top ten of my all-time favorite actors due to his tenure as Doctor Who. I made a special effort to locate this book since most copies seem to be located across the Pond.
Tom's life can pretty accurately be divided into 6 sections:
1. Impoverished, rough childhood in Liverpool.
2. The years he spent in the Roman Catholic house of religion.
3. His stint in National Service.
4. His tough beginnings in theater up to his success as Dr. Who.
5. The alcoholic haze and odd theater jobs that followed.
6. His marriage to Sue and move out to the country.
The first part is, frankly, rather cruel and crude; there is much talk of farts and either turgid or soft dicks. There is also a great deal that revealed why Tom himself had personal issues he never really resolved. He was always unable to make friends, always timid and always wanting a fantasy escape from himself. He did/does not like himself much.
Dr. Who was a good person for him to be as children in England idolized him and their admiration buoyed him up. No wonder he crashed and burned after leaving all that behind after seven years.
I applaud his honesty in his own failures, but it is hard to read about someone so hurt. He was married 3 times and admits he was responsible for the ending of the first two; he threw away another good relationship when he used his Dr. Who fame to have sex with offering fans. He was estranged from his children, there was one suicide attempt and a bout of alcoholism...his life is not the kind of thing you would wish on someone you love to watch acting in a good part.
Sad, then. And so very different from Who we saw on TV.
Tom Baker is in the top ten of my all-time favorite actors due to his tenure as Doctor Who. I made a special effort to locate this book since most copies seem to be located across the Pond.
Tom's life can pretty accurately be divided into 6 sections:
1. Impoverished, rough childhood in Liverpool.
2. The years he spent in the Roman Catholic house of religion.
3. His stint in National Service.
4. His tough beginnings in theater up to his success as Dr. Who.
5. The alcoholic haze and odd theater jobs that followed.
6. His marriage to Sue and move out to the country.
The first part is, frankly, rather cruel and crude; there is much talk of farts and either turgid or soft dicks. There is also a great deal that revealed why Tom himself had personal issues he never really resolved. He was always unable to make friends, always timid and always wanting a fantasy escape from himself. He did/does not like himself much.
Dr. Who was a good person for him to be as children in England idolized him and their admiration buoyed him up. No wonder he crashed and burned after leaving all that behind after seven years.
I applaud his honesty in his own failures, but it is hard to read about someone so hurt. He was married 3 times and admits he was responsible for the ending of the first two; he threw away another good relationship when he used his Dr. Who fame to have sex with offering fans. He was estranged from his children, there was one suicide attempt and a bout of alcoholism...his life is not the kind of thing you would wish on someone you love to watch acting in a good part.
Sad, then. And so very different from Who we saw on TV.
August 18, 2013
This is an odd book by a self-confessed odd character, never at ease with the world or himself and turning to acting as an escape from both. I found the book quite patchy in that there seemed to be holes in the story that Baker doesn't want filled in. What exactly happened to his first marriage that cost him a relationship with his kids? Was he an alcoholic? A lot of what he misses out means you are left to draw your own conclusions but Baker doesn't seem to mind if you do.
I chuckled over a lot of the book in wondering what anyone who's a big fan of Dr Who would make of the whole thing. While Baker does devote a couple of chapters to the happy years he spent as the time lord, it's a relatively small part of the book. He spent more, I think, on his years as a monastery failing to impress his God or his latter years in Soho falling to impress Jeffery Barnard.
Definitely off-beat, it's an interesting tale which you suspect might be being told by an idiot, but always a likeable one. Baker's lament that he has never, ever had a best friend leaves you wondering why, but the answer isn't here in these pages and you leave the book thinking that if there was an answer to anything in Baker's life then it was to a daft question in the first place.
I chuckled over a lot of the book in wondering what anyone who's a big fan of Dr Who would make of the whole thing. While Baker does devote a couple of chapters to the happy years he spent as the time lord, it's a relatively small part of the book. He spent more, I think, on his years as a monastery failing to impress his God or his latter years in Soho falling to impress Jeffery Barnard.
Definitely off-beat, it's an interesting tale which you suspect might be being told by an idiot, but always a likeable one. Baker's lament that he has never, ever had a best friend leaves you wondering why, but the answer isn't here in these pages and you leave the book thinking that if there was an answer to anything in Baker's life then it was to a daft question in the first place.
Read
December 7, 2022At times infinitely mysterious and at other moments, startling in its honest revelation, Tom Baker's autobiography is without doubt one of most intriguing memoirs I've read by ( and about) an actor/performer. Like his most famous incarnation of The Doctor from the long-lived BBC series, Baker seems to be the " hero with a thousand faces," -- alternating between side-splitting memories about growing up in World War II- era Liverpool as a Catholic and heartbreaking memories of also enduring terrible poverty as well. His frank -- admittedly sometimes crude sense of humor-- stands in stark contrast to many of the struggles he endured. One of the most interesting examples of this is couching the embarrassment and humiliation of wetting the bed as a child in the imagery/ memory of his mother brewing countless kettles of tea. This, in turn, related with humorous analogy to devote Catholicism. "In our house we drank tea all the time. The kettle was on all day. My mother was a thirty-cup-a-day supper and we easily burned the arse out of three kettles a year. Today I can easily drink nine cups a day and probably, if I wasn’t married, I could emulate me Mam and approach the magic thirty mark. There was only one woman in the street who could out-drink our Mam and that was Mrs Goodstone who had a son with a club foot. On a bad day, we’d hear that Brenda, that was her name, had reached thirty-three cups. This news would be received in tight-lipped silence and me Mam would lower her head. Thirty-three was Mam’s ideal number. She was proud to be in the thirty group as that was the age of Our Blessed Lord when he did His first miracle at the marriage feast at Canaan, the changing of the water into wine. What a beautiful miracle that was, just as impressive though less showy than the feeding of the five thousand, though both were prodigious feats of catering that have never been surpassed as far as I know -and I have kept my ear to the ground these last sixty odd years, I can assure you, oh, yes. 'The first miracle,’ Mam would mutter in a whisper."
At times, the reader is not quite certain when Baker is being serious or just exaggerating for narrative effect. I suspect a fair amount of exaggeration takes place most often when Baker is -- ironically -- the most uncomfortable with a particular memory. This comes through during his recollection of the difficult time period leading up to his eventual departure from a monastery where he spent six years as a monk during the early 1950s. "Now the impossible injunction which is laid upon Christians in general and on professed religious persons in particular is: ‘Love thy neighbour.’ Of all the injunctions in the New Testament this is the heaviest, the hardest and the most complex to apply. And during the long hours of meditation I discovered to my horror that all was not well in the charity section of my heart. The cupboard was bare. I had had enough of religious life. So deep was my resentment of authority that I realized I had an intense desire to break all the Commandments. All of them. Especially I had an urge to kill, steal and bear false witness. Adultery could wait until the opportunity arose. Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance just seemed to me to be a firm of crooked canon lawyers." Baker, despite his assertions, seems to be using The Ten Commandments as a metaphor for his desperation to just live life....it's really not that he wants to do harm to anyone, he is just desperate for enjoyment and genuine human relations.
A visiting Priest he confides in senses this and helps Tom eventually get back out into " the real world."
Of course Tom's recollection of his days on Dr. Who, how he ended up with the job and his work as a builder's assistant just prior, also prove fertile ground for personal narrative.
But, at the end, I will say Tom's autobiography is most moving and most meaningful when he drops the clever allusions and metaphors- within- metaphors.....and just relates his feelings and thoughts as they are. A definite must-read for fans of Dr. Who and Mr. Baker.
At times, the reader is not quite certain when Baker is being serious or just exaggerating for narrative effect. I suspect a fair amount of exaggeration takes place most often when Baker is -- ironically -- the most uncomfortable with a particular memory. This comes through during his recollection of the difficult time period leading up to his eventual departure from a monastery where he spent six years as a monk during the early 1950s. "Now the impossible injunction which is laid upon Christians in general and on professed religious persons in particular is: ‘Love thy neighbour.’ Of all the injunctions in the New Testament this is the heaviest, the hardest and the most complex to apply. And during the long hours of meditation I discovered to my horror that all was not well in the charity section of my heart. The cupboard was bare. I had had enough of religious life. So deep was my resentment of authority that I realized I had an intense desire to break all the Commandments. All of them. Especially I had an urge to kill, steal and bear false witness. Adultery could wait until the opportunity arose. Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance just seemed to me to be a firm of crooked canon lawyers." Baker, despite his assertions, seems to be using The Ten Commandments as a metaphor for his desperation to just live life....it's really not that he wants to do harm to anyone, he is just desperate for enjoyment and genuine human relations.
A visiting Priest he confides in senses this and helps Tom eventually get back out into " the real world."
Of course Tom's recollection of his days on Dr. Who, how he ended up with the job and his work as a builder's assistant just prior, also prove fertile ground for personal narrative.
But, at the end, I will say Tom's autobiography is most moving and most meaningful when he drops the clever allusions and metaphors- within- metaphors.....and just relates his feelings and thoughts as they are. A definite must-read for fans of Dr. Who and Mr. Baker.
May 3, 2012
Scripts notwithstanding, I've enjoyed every incarnation of The Doctor thus far, but I suspect the fourth will always be my favourite. With his booming voice, goggling eyes, shock of curling hair and enormous grin, he always seemed to be enjoying himself - a mostly benevolent, occasionally dangerous, wise and gleeful figure.
So, what would the actor behind this larger-than-life figure be like?
Frightened. Ashamed. Ignorant. Desperate. Obedient. Cowardly. Furious.
Tom Baker's young life, his poverty and church-filled childhood and then his stint as a teenaged monk, are the stuff of horror stories. To go to a school which tells children "You are nothing", to repeat that back in the hasty, pitiful search for praise, to be doing the right thing, taking the right attitude. To be a personality which takes the teachings of self-abnegation so to heart, and have that followed by a period as a novice monk where it was forbidden to even look other monks in the face, to be nothing but obedience and weariness and fear and then hatred and despair.
Baker finally brings himself to escape this life, and then spends a year in the army for National Service - a military regimen which seems a breath of fresh air after the horrors of the monks. You can almost see him becoming human, growing in confidence, discovering how to interact with people in a normal manner. It's unfortunate that he follows this by meeting and marrying a girl and being brought into a family which appears ready to abuse him all over again, and he clearly will never quite stop being a non-confrontational man who wants to be liked, to please, and who quietly seethes and resents those who mistreat him, but takes abuse and takes abuse, growing ever more furious. But he becomes more human, and fumbles his way through years of bit-part acting, and then he becomes an alien, The Doctor, and is instantly loved and adored by thousands, which is quite a shock to the system, as you can well imagine.
Baker is also clearly very successful with women once he figures out how to talk to people, and is an inveterate philanderer and in many ways not that nice a person. But his book is raw and blackly funny, surreal and enlightening.
So, what would the actor behind this larger-than-life figure be like?
Frightened. Ashamed. Ignorant. Desperate. Obedient. Cowardly. Furious.
Tom Baker's young life, his poverty and church-filled childhood and then his stint as a teenaged monk, are the stuff of horror stories. To go to a school which tells children "You are nothing", to repeat that back in the hasty, pitiful search for praise, to be doing the right thing, taking the right attitude. To be a personality which takes the teachings of self-abnegation so to heart, and have that followed by a period as a novice monk where it was forbidden to even look other monks in the face, to be nothing but obedience and weariness and fear and then hatred and despair.
Baker finally brings himself to escape this life, and then spends a year in the army for National Service - a military regimen which seems a breath of fresh air after the horrors of the monks. You can almost see him becoming human, growing in confidence, discovering how to interact with people in a normal manner. It's unfortunate that he follows this by meeting and marrying a girl and being brought into a family which appears ready to abuse him all over again, and he clearly will never quite stop being a non-confrontational man who wants to be liked, to please, and who quietly seethes and resents those who mistreat him, but takes abuse and takes abuse, growing ever more furious. But he becomes more human, and fumbles his way through years of bit-part acting, and then he becomes an alien, The Doctor, and is instantly loved and adored by thousands, which is quite a shock to the system, as you can well imagine.
Baker is also clearly very successful with women once he figures out how to talk to people, and is an inveterate philanderer and in many ways not that nice a person. But his book is raw and blackly funny, surreal and enlightening.
November 28, 2018
Mad as a hatter but so enjoyable.
Its been over 20 years since I read this, the audiobook read by the great man himself only improves it.
Its been over 20 years since I read this, the audiobook read by the great man himself only improves it.
April 13, 2021
This has to be the funniest autobiography I have read since Tina Fey's Bossypants. The main draw is obviously Tom Baker's iconic turn as the Fourth Doctor but the man's personality is magnetic all on its own.
Baker's life between 1934 and 1997 reads like a comedy novel plot. After aspiring to orphanhood (just for the goodies), he became a Trappist monk until restlessness drove him out and led him to Navy medical service before settling onto a career at the National Theatre and eventually film and TV roles. Between jobs, he married three times, lobbed garden equipment at his first mother-in-law, often got plastered with Anthony Hopkins, Francis Bacon and Jeffrey Bernard, and was repeatedly mistaken for Shirley Williams in his dotage. So quite a vivid few years.
Of course half the comedy comes through Baker's writing style. His patter is as witty on the page as it is in real life though there are a lot more dick jokes in this book than ever came up in the average episode of Doctor Who. It might be juvenile to admit this but I enjoyed more than a few belly laughs while reading.
My one complaint is that he glosses over certain character-defining details that seem somewhat important like the ramifications of leaving his sons at an early age, the fate of his mother and his sometimes explosive anger on the Doctor Who set. Then again this remains Baker's autobiography so he chooses what to focus on and he would rather keep the comedy rolling.
Warts and all, Tom Baker remains truly an English treasure and one of Liverpool's finest sons. If you're looking for an autobiography to bolster you with humour then this is the book for you. I recommend Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? to fellow Whovians, National Theatre enthusiasts and fans of absurd anecdotes.
Baker's life between 1934 and 1997 reads like a comedy novel plot. After aspiring to orphanhood (just for the goodies), he became a Trappist monk until restlessness drove him out and led him to Navy medical service before settling onto a career at the National Theatre and eventually film and TV roles. Between jobs, he married three times, lobbed garden equipment at his first mother-in-law, often got plastered with Anthony Hopkins, Francis Bacon and Jeffrey Bernard, and was repeatedly mistaken for Shirley Williams in his dotage. So quite a vivid few years.
Of course half the comedy comes through Baker's writing style. His patter is as witty on the page as it is in real life though there are a lot more dick jokes in this book than ever came up in the average episode of Doctor Who. It might be juvenile to admit this but I enjoyed more than a few belly laughs while reading.
My one complaint is that he glosses over certain character-defining details that seem somewhat important like the ramifications of leaving his sons at an early age, the fate of his mother and his sometimes explosive anger on the Doctor Who set. Then again this remains Baker's autobiography so he chooses what to focus on and he would rather keep the comedy rolling.
Warts and all, Tom Baker remains truly an English treasure and one of Liverpool's finest sons. If you're looking for an autobiography to bolster you with humour then this is the book for you. I recommend Who On Earth Is Tom Baker? to fellow Whovians, National Theatre enthusiasts and fans of absurd anecdotes.
July 28, 2017
WOW... Okay, Tom's life is very... unfortunate. And while I was interested, I realized I wanted more of the stories of his career and less about how he came to be. The first half of the book is his struggles with God in a religious upbringing, the third quarter is his struggles in military service. And while these stories are simultaneously heartbreaking and emotional, they are such a drag to read. It's not that he doesn't tell the story well, he does, injecting his trademark humor onto just about every page. But the tragic nature of the events counters that humor making it more gallows and inappropriate than anything. I SLOGGED through the first half. It does pick up some once he becomes an actor (and like The Doctor, Tom is a bit of a name dropper). Insightful and interesting, but I'm still not sure I have any idea who on Earth is Tom Baker...
September 1, 2020
Tom Baker is fascinating, frustrating, funny and flawed in his autobiography. Mainly focusing on his early life with Doctor Who given two chapters towards the end, it offers a wonderful insight into the man inside the scaf. From being a Monk, to battling with a wealthy mother in law, all the way to featuring in major films, Tom Baker has done it all. The only question that remains is how much actually happend....
March 4, 2024
I remembered enjoying this before so gave it a re-read. A very entertaining Autobiography if a little heavy on the self loathing at times. A very honest account full of humour and generosity of spirit.
December 30, 2019
Quite marvellous, forget reality for a few hours.
December 7, 2011
This is a great autobiography, but just by his nature the reader doesn't always know which stories to believe. It is kind of like a list of pup crawl stories written down. Some of it is pretty sad and he obviously had some difficult times (like the episodes with his first wife and in laws) and he is extremely self-deprecating. Overall though he has had a pretty good life and he knows it. It's also important to note that since this book was written his star has risen again with parts like Donald MacDonald in "Monarch of the Glen," and of course his part as the narrator in "Little Briton," a part that has endeared him to a new generation of fans the world over. The stellar return of "Doctor Who" probably hasn't hurt him either.
There is an audio version of this that is read by Baker that gets good reviews (which I haven't heard) and he also made a VHS video at the time this book was published (which I have seen). The video is very funny (he interviews himself) and you can find it if you know where to look...
There is an audio version of this that is read by Baker that gets good reviews (which I haven't heard) and he also made a VHS video at the time this book was published (which I have seen). The video is very funny (he interviews himself) and you can find it if you know where to look...
December 21, 2011
An intriguing read. You really can imagine Baker narrating it, not only because of his unmistakeable and captivating voice, but because the book reads like a series of anecdotes. Odd thoughts pop in and out of his mind throughout - it's like you're sat in a pub with him, listening to him reminisce.
Of course it helps that he's lived a very interesting life: from a devout Catholic upbringing in WW2 ravaged Liverpool, to 8 years in a monastery, followed by national service and many financially unstable years in acting. It was fascinating to find out just how impoverished and desperate for work he was when he landed the role of The Doctor.
Be prepared for frequent and frank discussion of genitals and sex, including several encounters with libidinous Dr Who fans (one of whom dressed up in his costume...)
Much of it is comically narrated, which leads me to wonder just how much he has embellished the truth. All the same, it's a very enlightening read, especially so for Dr Who fans.
Of course it helps that he's lived a very interesting life: from a devout Catholic upbringing in WW2 ravaged Liverpool, to 8 years in a monastery, followed by national service and many financially unstable years in acting. It was fascinating to find out just how impoverished and desperate for work he was when he landed the role of The Doctor.
Be prepared for frequent and frank discussion of genitals and sex, including several encounters with libidinous Dr Who fans (one of whom dressed up in his costume...)
Much of it is comically narrated, which leads me to wonder just how much he has embellished the truth. All the same, it's a very enlightening read, especially so for Dr Who fans.
October 19, 2019
I mean, what can you really say about an autobiography? You can't criticize it really. Not unless you knew the person in life and even then.
It's a story both hilarious and depressing in turns. Often at the same time. Made me feel a bit manic by the end. But I'm glad it exists and I'm glad that I read it.
All the while though I had the lyrics from 'Mad World' in my head. Namely:
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world, mad world
Anyway, in honor of OcTomber 2019, now I go to read Scratchman by the aforementioned autobiographer. It's a fourth Doctor novel. This should be fun.
It's a story both hilarious and depressing in turns. Often at the same time. Made me feel a bit manic by the end. But I'm glad it exists and I'm glad that I read it.
All the while though I had the lyrics from 'Mad World' in my head. Namely:
And I find it kinda funny, I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you, I find it hard to take
When people run in circles it's a very very
Mad world, mad world
Anyway, in honor of OcTomber 2019, now I go to read Scratchman by the aforementioned autobiographer. It's a fourth Doctor novel. This should be fun.
February 9, 2015
The earlier chapters of this book are hilarious (albeit crude humour much of the time) and wonderfully self-effacing. Knocking off one star because I felt it became a bit dull as he wrote about his time in the theatre, and he could have written more about his time as The Doctor. He only spends two chapters out of 20 (not counting the introduction) writing about his time on Doctor Who, in spite of his own admission that it was the best, happiest time of his life, to say nothing of the fact that it's obviously what he's famous for.
May 18, 2021
He's quite funny and has a great voice for narrating. The first 3/4 of the book seems all about being a horny Catholic school boy. The whole rest of his career is packed into the last fourth. I personally would have liked to hear more about roles other than Doctor Who, but those were pretty glossed over. He's certainly an odd character.
January 26, 2016
Tragedy and humour, pathos and bathos, fact and fiction, wisdom and mischief, bawdyness and monasticism, it's all here, told in Tom's unique way of spinning a yarn. It'd be nice to read an updated autobiography as this book is quite old now!
September 5, 2021
I read this book from beginning to end, perhaps because I kept hoping to find a way to like it, but I never found a way. I found it to be rambling and, at times, quite vulgar. (I have never read so much about penises!) I was disappointed in this book.
June 17, 2012
Brilliant and incredibly revealing. As flawed a character as Tom Baker is (and he really is) I can't help but admire him more for it.
January 21, 2015
Pretty much what you want from this man's memoirs.
June 15, 2015
A fun read, but Mr. Baker is way too fixated on penises.
December 19, 2021
Highly recommended. Poor sod.
December 27, 2023
The title of this book is “Who On Earth Is Tom Baker” and after reading 90% of this book (according to Kindle), I still have no idea.
The first half delves into Baker’s childhood in Liverpool and then his teen years and early adulthood in a monastery, ending with a stint in the army. For me, this was the better half. We got to know Baker’s life story, personality, desires, and fears. These were all told in a charming, humorous style.
The second half of the book is probably what most people are looking for. Anecdotes and vignettes of his time as Doctor Who and his success in films and in the theatre, but for me, this is where the book is less satisfying. The access to his personal life that Baker established in the first half is devoid in the second. Baker was married numerous times and had numerous children, but I was hard pressed to find any details about this. He mentioned he had a girlfriend when, I think, we was still married to his first wife, or maybe it was after a divorce. I have no idea. His second marriage to Lalla Ward was covered in two sentences. Now, this could be because Baker does not want to talk about this, which is fair enough, but to skip so much of his life while spending so much time on trivial meetings with other actors seems kind of bizarre under the banner of an autobiography.
The biggest takeaway from the book for me was Baker’s self-deprecation. To achieve so much and still feel like some sort of failure feels a tad disingenuous. For many, Baker embodied the character of Doctor Who, and he became synonymous with the success of the show. Baker made it a global success with his charm, style, and winning smile. It was pleasing to see that he was so beloved by children in the 70s (I was one of them), but it was sad to read that he felt unsuccessful. Baker achieved what most actors love to aspire to, but his personality seemed to get in his way. It was also sad to read, or rather not to read, any mention of his time working on The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, the film that made me want to leaf through his biography. Again, did he have bad memories of this film and edit it out of his mind? Who knows? So much important stuff is simply missing.
So, did I discover who on earth Tom Baker is? Not really. The book ends before Baker finds a new lease of life with work in the 90s and early 00s, but by 90% of what I have read so far, I got the gist of it.
The first half delves into Baker’s childhood in Liverpool and then his teen years and early adulthood in a monastery, ending with a stint in the army. For me, this was the better half. We got to know Baker’s life story, personality, desires, and fears. These were all told in a charming, humorous style.
The second half of the book is probably what most people are looking for. Anecdotes and vignettes of his time as Doctor Who and his success in films and in the theatre, but for me, this is where the book is less satisfying. The access to his personal life that Baker established in the first half is devoid in the second. Baker was married numerous times and had numerous children, but I was hard pressed to find any details about this. He mentioned he had a girlfriend when, I think, we was still married to his first wife, or maybe it was after a divorce. I have no idea. His second marriage to Lalla Ward was covered in two sentences. Now, this could be because Baker does not want to talk about this, which is fair enough, but to skip so much of his life while spending so much time on trivial meetings with other actors seems kind of bizarre under the banner of an autobiography.
The biggest takeaway from the book for me was Baker’s self-deprecation. To achieve so much and still feel like some sort of failure feels a tad disingenuous. For many, Baker embodied the character of Doctor Who, and he became synonymous with the success of the show. Baker made it a global success with his charm, style, and winning smile. It was pleasing to see that he was so beloved by children in the 70s (I was one of them), but it was sad to read that he felt unsuccessful. Baker achieved what most actors love to aspire to, but his personality seemed to get in his way. It was also sad to read, or rather not to read, any mention of his time working on The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, the film that made me want to leaf through his biography. Again, did he have bad memories of this film and edit it out of his mind? Who knows? So much important stuff is simply missing.
So, did I discover who on earth Tom Baker is? Not really. The book ends before Baker finds a new lease of life with work in the 90s and early 00s, but by 90% of what I have read so far, I got the gist of it.
August 14, 2019
This is quite possibly the perfect auto-biography. Don't get me wrong, this book is not be for everyone, for example those who want autobiographies to only touch lightly down on one moment or another in an actor's life, never getting too deep and spending most time on the periods when the author was at the peak of their fame (or moments of childhood trauma, that's always entertaining). This is for those who want to live in someone else's skin and voyeuristically be them even in selected moments through their life. Unless the author has completely fabricated his life I honestly feel I know exactly what stuff and experiences Tom Baker is made of.
Maybe too much stuff. I never expected a memoir to discuss the author's penis as much as Baker does, including an episode of group masturbation as a teen. That part gave me the whillies (no pun intended) but I had to appreciate that for someone who comes across as rather self-conscious in public, on the page he write to the effect of, 'This is who I was and am now, and I'm comfortable with this because since it can't be changed, may as well tell it like it was.' Baker would have written that much better, i think.
His style is very inviting and real, the written voice much like I remember hearing it over those seven years as the good Doctor. Speaking of which, this is not a Doctor Who tell-all - those years are really one small part near the end of the overall life story of the author. In the end, for someone I've honestly not thought about outside of his eponymous TV role, I appreciate how he was able to capture and share his life in extended moments with me, and others who've read this.
Of course, Baker does seem even in his writing to have a rather dry and self-deprecating sense of humor, so my above statement about whether he might have made up much of what I read for entertaining, I wouldn't put past him. :)
Maybe too much stuff. I never expected a memoir to discuss the author's penis as much as Baker does, including an episode of group masturbation as a teen. That part gave me the whillies (no pun intended) but I had to appreciate that for someone who comes across as rather self-conscious in public, on the page he write to the effect of, 'This is who I was and am now, and I'm comfortable with this because since it can't be changed, may as well tell it like it was.' Baker would have written that much better, i think.
His style is very inviting and real, the written voice much like I remember hearing it over those seven years as the good Doctor. Speaking of which, this is not a Doctor Who tell-all - those years are really one small part near the end of the overall life story of the author. In the end, for someone I've honestly not thought about outside of his eponymous TV role, I appreciate how he was able to capture and share his life in extended moments with me, and others who've read this.
Of course, Baker does seem even in his writing to have a rather dry and self-deprecating sense of humor, so my above statement about whether he might have made up much of what I read for entertaining, I wouldn't put past him. :)
December 8, 2022
Deeply funny, thoroughly self-depreciating, from what I'm told mostly untrue. This is a deep dive into the dark and macabre mind of Tom Baker. I read it in my head in Tom Baker's signature deep and sultry tones. This really is a hilarious read and Tom manages to have you howling as he spouts out the most horrifying and distressing statements about his own depression.
Baker has always said that he never 'played' the part of Doctor Who. He just showed up as himself and said the lines. Doctor Four and Tom Baker are one and the same. So it strikes me now that when he performs the Fourth Doctor for audio he is not pulling of the same signature, eccentric performance than during his original run. Now older Doctors (the Curator, Night at the BBC, Australian adverts) - this is Tom Baker performing as himself again, cackling at his own wise-cracks and with a devilish grin on his face. This is a truer performance. Maybe that's why he's been asked to play an older Doctor so many times. I really think I'm going off point - what I am saying here is that Baker has a unique way of performing. He has made his whole life and personality a performance. If, twenty years later, it has come out that most of the stories in this book weren't true - it doesn't matter. Because the truth of Tom Baker IS the stories he tells, and the way he tells them.
Maybe I sound pretentious. 5 stars.
Baker has always said that he never 'played' the part of Doctor Who. He just showed up as himself and said the lines. Doctor Four and Tom Baker are one and the same. So it strikes me now that when he performs the Fourth Doctor for audio he is not pulling of the same signature, eccentric performance than during his original run. Now older Doctors (the Curator, Night at the BBC, Australian adverts) - this is Tom Baker performing as himself again, cackling at his own wise-cracks and with a devilish grin on his face. This is a truer performance. Maybe that's why he's been asked to play an older Doctor so many times. I really think I'm going off point - what I am saying here is that Baker has a unique way of performing. He has made his whole life and personality a performance. If, twenty years later, it has come out that most of the stories in this book weren't true - it doesn't matter. Because the truth of Tom Baker IS the stories he tells, and the way he tells them.
Maybe I sound pretentious. 5 stars.
August 7, 2021
When Dead Ringers decided to have a Doctor Who among their regular characters, it was inevitably Tom Baker's incarnation, by far the most charismatic and distinctive of them. This autobiography is frequently hilarious, and tells Baker's story from his working-class Liverpool childhood to worldwide stardom. The title reflects his repeated assertion that he doesn't know who he is, and that he only has an identity when acting a role. He paints himself as an unloveable, rather useless character, and claims he has never had a close friend. I have to admit that despite the great anecdotes and merciless self-criticism, it's still a mystery how he acquired his manner and his aura of self-confidence. There are some rather jarring insights into his sex life at the height of his fame. All in all, a really enjoyable read.
January 1, 2022
There are so many sides to this book. Tom Baker is a great story teller. He had some funny, fascinating, often rude stories, anyone who has listened to him interviewed will know how he is a master of telling a story and as he admits in this book and elsewhere he doesn't let the truth necessarily get in the way of a good story, you never know how much of his tales are really true which I think is just as he wants it.
The title is pretty apt as the reap Tom Baker is hard to find, however when we get to see the real person behind the role it's rather sad as he does seem to find it difficult to like himself, he has quite a strong self loathing which is very sad when you realise how he is loved by many people.
He was brought up as a catholic and between the ages of 15 and 21 he joined a religious order in a monastery. He left disillusioned by the whole experience. The whole account of this experience is another sad chapter. His experience of the monastery is pretty horrific and it's far from what Christianity should be. In fact his experience there is more similar to that of a cult than anything else. The lack of love and compassion he experienced there would put anyone off Christianity, it's a great shame that his experience of what should have been Christianity was the exact opposite of what Jesus taught.
Of course many people will read the book wanting to hear of his experiences in Doctor Who. There isn't a great deal about that time but enough for those who are interested. He still holds a great affection for the role and considers it to be his best role. It's interesting to hear his account of the experience.
All in all it's a good read. Tom Baker is a great storyteller and as such always holds your interest. It's not only for fans of Doctor Who. It's a funny, entertaining, very rude in places and ultimately quite a sad account. Who on earth is Tom Baker? Somewhere in these pages you may get an idea, but he doesn't give everything away. The greatest role he's played is that of Tom Baker himself.
The title is pretty apt as the reap Tom Baker is hard to find, however when we get to see the real person behind the role it's rather sad as he does seem to find it difficult to like himself, he has quite a strong self loathing which is very sad when you realise how he is loved by many people.
He was brought up as a catholic and between the ages of 15 and 21 he joined a religious order in a monastery. He left disillusioned by the whole experience. The whole account of this experience is another sad chapter. His experience of the monastery is pretty horrific and it's far from what Christianity should be. In fact his experience there is more similar to that of a cult than anything else. The lack of love and compassion he experienced there would put anyone off Christianity, it's a great shame that his experience of what should have been Christianity was the exact opposite of what Jesus taught.
Of course many people will read the book wanting to hear of his experiences in Doctor Who. There isn't a great deal about that time but enough for those who are interested. He still holds a great affection for the role and considers it to be his best role. It's interesting to hear his account of the experience.
All in all it's a good read. Tom Baker is a great storyteller and as such always holds your interest. It's not only for fans of Doctor Who. It's a funny, entertaining, very rude in places and ultimately quite a sad account. Who on earth is Tom Baker? Somewhere in these pages you may get an idea, but he doesn't give everything away. The greatest role he's played is that of Tom Baker himself.
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