{"id":39123,"date":"2013-12-20T06:00:08","date_gmt":"2013-12-20T11:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=39123"},"modified":"2013-12-16T15:54:45","modified_gmt":"2013-12-16T20:54:45","slug":"must-reed-check-new-oliver-reed-bio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=39123","title":{"rendered":"Must-Reed: We Check Out the New Oliver Reed Bio"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"OliverWhen Oliver Reed <\/a>was on Late Night with David Letterman in 1987, he was introduced as \u201cthe man who drank Lee Marvin under the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then, the British actor proceeded to prove that he was probably still drinking Marvin under the table.<\/p>\n

First, upon his \u201chello,\u201d Reed pushed Letterman, leaving the acerbic host visibly shaken. Then things got even uglier, with Reed affecting a bizarre accent to impersonate Sylvester Stallone as Rambo. Almost every question directed to Reed was met with obvious contempt. Whenever Letterman made a joke about Reed\u2019s boozing, the thespian, dressed in a three-piece suit with loosened tie, grew more intense, his body language becoming more threatening. After Reed mentioned living in a small fishing village, getting in a quick plug for the film Castaway and Letterman looking to bandleader Paul Shaffer for help, the segment came to an abrupt end with the feeling\u00a0 that if went any further, the burly Reed would have decked the uncomfortable host.<\/p>\n

Just another day in the life of Oliver Reed, notorious British hellraiser, as chronicled by Robert Sellers in What Fresh Lunacy is This?: The Authorised Biography of Oliver Reed. The author already delved into the actor\u2019s life in his earlier book Hellraisers: The Lives and Inebriated Times of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O\u2019Toole and Oliver Reed. But now he gets the opportunity to go \u201clong\u201d\u2014write about the actor\u2019s personal life, and attempt to find the reasons for his notorious boozing and brawling behavior.<\/p>\n

The results are entertaining and sad in equal doses. After all, here is a study of a fine actor whose talents were squandered by his addictions to alcohol, getting into trouble, and gaining attention. It\u2019s no surprise that these dependencies were masking insecurities and, possibly, undiagnosed mental illness. The Jekyll and Hyde nature of Reed is pointed out by the author and others throughout the book, but did he really have a bi-polar disorder that was never properly treated? Sure seems that way.<\/p>\n

So, What Fresh Lunacy is This? presents a story about a guy who loved animals, did many charitable things throughout his life, and was considered a good (but inattentive) father by his children on one hand, and on the other, a fall-down, disruptive drunk capable of hurting people\u2014both physically and emotionally\u2014during his habitual intoxicated state.<\/p>\n

Along with all the baggage, the tales of the punch-outs, the rivalries, the drinking buddies and binges (he reportedly drank over 100 pints of beer over a two-day period before marrying his third wife, the teenage Josephine Burge, in 1985) and the other women, Sellers offers some terrific behind-the-scenes tales of the actor\u2019s movies. There is insight into his long-standing relationship with the equally larger-than-life director Ken Russell<\/a>, including stories about the making of Women in Love with its notorious nude wrestling scene (with Alan Bates), The Devils with its notorious \u201cRape of Christ\u201d sequence and reported orgies among cast members, and the notorious off-screen exploits of Reed and pal Keith Moon\u2014uh-oh, before, during and after the filming of Tommy. \u00a0<\/p>\n

Readers will also learn about Reed\u2019s early stint at Hammer Films, particularly his attention-getting lead as a young man cursed with lycanthropy in 1961\u2019s The Curse of the Werewolf; his\u00a0 reckless swordfighting technique in The Three Musketeers (a Quentin Tarantino fave); his respect for David Cronenberg <\/a>while shooting The Brood in Canada; \u00a0and his longstanding relationship with Michael Winner<\/a>, who directed Reed in such films as The Jokers and the 1978 remake of The Big Sleep with Robert Mitchum\u2014another uh-oh! Of course, the filming of the Oscar-winning Oliver! is recounted. Reed, cast as the creepy criminal Bill Sikes, scared his young co-stars on and off-camera, but was (mostly) on his best behavior for his uncle, director Sir Carol Reed<\/a>. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

While Sellers finds as much pathos as raucous delight in Reed\u2019s exploits, the finale of the book, like Reed\u2019s life, is particularly saddening. Even though his womanizing ways appeared to have come to an end after settling down with Burge, 26 years his junior, Reed became a cartoon version of his own image, embarrassing others as well as himself in public, pulling outrageous, often disturbing stunts in pubs and hotels, and finding it difficult to get any high-profile work in movies.<\/p>\n

He had a shot at a comeback with a small but showy role in Renny Harlin\u2019s pirate saga Cutthroat Island. But when a soused Reed showed off the tattoo on his penis during a pre-production party, star\u2014and Harlin\u2019s then-wife\u2014Geena Davis wasn\u2019t thrilled. He was canned the next morning.<\/p>\n

But Reed\u2019s career luck seemed like it was about to change. He was offered a lead role in the British series My Uncle Silas (which Albert Finney was eventually awarded). \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Then, Ridley Scott <\/a>has wanted him for a key supporting part in Gladiator, a large budget epic he was making in Malta with Russell Crowe in the lead. Reed\u2019s reputation preceded him, though, and Scott wanted the actor to audition in order to win the role. Reed objected to the idea, but ultimately succumbed to the new realities of his career (with help from his wife and Michael Winner).<\/p>\n

Reed got the part of Proximo, the charismatic slave trader and groomer of gladiators. From what is onscreen, it was solid enough work to suggest a career comeback was a possibility. Unfortunately, Reed passed away from a heart attack during the shoot, a short time after he downed three bottles of rum chased by whiskey, cognac and beer, then took on a group of British sailors in arm-wrestling matches at a Maltese pub.<\/p>\n

It was a final act all too appropriate, a perfect capper to a fascinating career, a life out of control, and a biography that details that life, love it or leave it.<\/p>\n

(For more information on What Fresh Lunacy is This?: The Authorized Biography of Oliver Reed, visit www.constablerobinson.com<\/a>)\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

His capacity for carousing was nearly as large a source of notoriety as his substantial cinema resume, and we’re offering our two cents about a new chronicle of the wild life and times of the inimitable Oliver Reed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":39125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[5596],"coauthors":[1707],"class_list":["post-39123","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-staff-notes","tag-actor-profiles"],"yoast_head":"\nMust-Reed: We Check Out the New Oliver Reed Bio - MovieFanFare<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Oliver Reed, British screen actor appeared in over 75 films. In the biography: What Fresh Lunacy is This? 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Author Robert Sellers looks into Reeds personal life\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/?p=39123\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"MovieFanFare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Movies-Unlimited\/88679322377\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-12-20T11:00:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.moviefanfare.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/oliver-reed-2-faces-jekyll.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Irv Slifkin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Irv Slifkin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Irv Slifkin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f03bad0fe2ee2edffe7a94b415614e8\"},\"headline\":\"Must-Reed: We Check Out the New Oliver Reed Bio\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-20T11:00:08+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123\"},\"wordCount\":999,\"commentCount\":3,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/oliver-reed-2-faces-jekyll.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Actor Profiles\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Staff Notes\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123\",\"name\":\"Must-Reed: We Check Out the New Oliver Reed Bio - MovieFanFare\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/?p=39123#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2013\\\/12\\\/oliver-reed-2-faces-jekyll.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-12-20T11:00:08+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.moviefanfare.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f03bad0fe2ee2edffe7a94b415614e8\"},\"description\":\"Oliver Reed, British screen actor appeared in over 75 films. 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