Accidentally on Purpose [Paperback]

York (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1993

The well-known actor discusses his student days at Oxford, his years with Olivier's National Theatre, his film debut, and his roles in such films as The Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet, and The Three Musketeers. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

Autobiography of the actor, his first book (published in Britain as Travelling Player). Though ever striving for variety in his roles, York is best known in the States as a leading man and, as is Cabaret, as the passive support for other characters. In England, he has played Romeo, Hamlet, and Cyrano, and since then has made his belated but well-received Broadway debut in Tennessee Williams's two-character play Out Cry. Born in 1942 in the village of Fulmer, he was the son of a serving RAF officer, and later businessman, whose wife was six years older. He showed an early gift for acting, which was fed by the Oxford University Dramatic Society and developed professionally in the Dundee Repertory, then seen to flower modestly in Olivier's National Theatre. York made an early transition to film, first appearing in Zeffirelli's The Taming of the Shrew, Harold Pinter- Joseph Losey's Accident, a 13-part BBC-TV version of The Forsyte Saga, and again with Zeffirelli in his gloriously mounted Romeo and Juliet as fiery young Tybalt. York married young, to Pat McCallum, an American photographer, honeymooned in India while serving in his first Merchant-Ivory production. After George Cukor's failure Justine, in which he played Durrell's narrator Darley, his film career crested in Bob Fosse's Cabaret, which was followed by spirited work in Richard Lester's Musketeer films and Marty Feldman's The Last Remake of Beau Geste. But what can be said of such duds as the musical remake of Lost Horizon? Perhaps York's most recent success was with Michael Gambon in the BBC-TV version of Elizabeth Bowen's The Heat of the Day, with its Pinter script. York writes at leisurely length (like Cottrell on Olivier), is always affable, warm-spirited, evenhanded, seldom memorable, and never brilliant. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Pocket (February 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671795910
• ISBN-13: 978-0671795917
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,031,198 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Humerous, December 21, 1999

By 

Shakira Graham - See all my reviews

This review is from: Accidentally on Purpose (Paperback)

I found Michael York's book to be funny and very humerous.He injects his English wit into his life story w/is a joy to read.He starts w/his birth and goes on form there.It is a funny documentation of his life,rise in the theater and everything in between.This book is a must for Michael York Fans.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Time Life Among the Heathens., September 27, 2005

By 

Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Accidentally On Purpose (Hardcover)

M. Y.'s experience with Shakespearean acting goes back to Bassanio in 'Merchant of Venice' in grammar school. His formal training took place with the Youth Theatre at Oxford. He appeared in 'Twelfth Night' while a student at Oxford Univesity.

He lived as extraordinary characters in an extraordinary world. Acting was in his blood early on as he'd posed in an Indian outfit, and photo of him mugging it with his swim trunks falling off. His amateru acting jobs rounded him into a professional actor who could play many diverse parts. He was a classically trained performer.

Other Shakespeare performances include appearing in the movie, 'The Taming of the Shrew,' with Richard Burton, the 1967 movie, 'Romeo and Juliet,' and 'Hamlet' in 1970. Zach wrote his Master's dissertation on the religious aspects of 'Hamlet' and used the word 'tainted' multiple times.

He appeared in Tennnessee Williams play, 'Out Cry;' he considered that prodigious playwright as a friend, as he did Cary Grant. On Broadway he was in 'Bent' in 1980 and played at the Palace with Jeanne Moreau. In 1981, he was Robinson Crusoe in 'Vendredi.' In Santa Fe, he was Cyrano de Bergerac in 1981.

His movies include 'The Three Musketeers' with Oliver Reed, 'The Four Musketeers' with Raquel Welch, 'The Master of Ballantrae' with Sir John Gielgud, 'The Secret of the Sahara,' with Andie McDowell, and 'The Long Shadow,' with Liv Ullmann. "My work is also my collection -- a portraait gallery of characters ... some modeled with truth and detail."

The photo sections speak louder than words. He married photographer Pat McCallum from Jamaica, who snapped a lot of the pictures in this book. He called himself "a traveling player" a la Shakespeare's time. Some big names such as William Holden, Peter O'Toole, Jennifer Jones, Michael Caine, Betty Pinchard, Robert E. Lee, Anthony Hopkins and Betty (Lauren) Bacall to whit your interest in their connections. It was a pleasure.

0 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GILLAN&GLOVER WORK GREAT TOGETHER., November 30, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Accidentally on Purpose (Audio CD)

TO ANY GILLAN OR DEEP PURPLE FANS THAT ENJOY THE FRUITIER SIDE OF ROCK. THIS ALBUMN CREATES SEVERAL DIFFERENT MOODS, AND ALL OF THEM GOOD. THE CD HAS 3 BONUS TRACKS THAT YOU WON'T WANT TO MISS. PURPLE PEOPLE EATER IS WONDERFUL! THE ALBUMN HAS A SOFT BRITISH TOUCH, SUCH AS THE SONG TITLED TELEPHONE BOX. MOST OF THE SONGS ARE ABOVE RECOMMENDATION. MY PERSONAL FAVORITE ON THIS ALBUMN WAS LONELY AVENUE. WHICH I AM TOLD IS A RAY CHARLES COVER. THE ONE THING I DIDN'T LIKE ABOUT THE ALBUMN, WAS THE DRUM MACHINE DOING ALOT OF WORK. LIKE I SAID ABOVE, ANY GILLAN OR PURPLE FREEK SHOULD LOVE IT.