Billy [Paperback]

Pamela Stephenson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2003

Life, love, pain, fame, fear, rage, and guts.

Just what is it about Billy Connolly and four-letter words? Read the book that's breaking international sales records and find out.

Now a favorite of American audiences, Billy Connolly is the outrageous comedian whose unsurpassed comedic talent has won him countless fans. Billy, the revelatory, poignant, and wildly entertaining biography is written by the woman who knows him best -- his wife.

With insight and objectivity, Pamela Stephenson, a psychologist and Billy's wife of ten years, takes us through the heartbreaking and hilarious life of a comic legend and what made him the man he is today. The descriptions of Scottish life evoke the poignancy of the Ireland in Angela's Ashes as she tells of the troubled and desperately poor child in the docklands of Glasgow who grew up to captivate audiences around the world with his notoriously bawdy humor and a remarkable range of performances as a brilliant comic, a serious actor who played opposite Dame Judi Dench in Mrs. Brown, and the star of the U.S. television show Head of the Class.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Billy Connolly is loud, hilarious and contradictory. His biography, written by his wife, former comedian and practising psychotherapist Pamela Stephenson, is pretty much the same. Over the years Connolly has grown from Glasgow shipyard welder to folk-singing beardy hard man (yes there is such a thing) to darling of the good and great (or at least famous) around the world. That he is so many things to so many people while in no way compromising his core self can only be good. It would be no mean feat for Stephenson, then, to pen a history to that would satisfy Connolly audiences of fans and contemporaries from all periods of his life's journey. In most places, but in truth, not all, the author manages to do this well.

The first half of the biography is somewhat anthropological in tone. Not surprisingly, a post-war Glasgow upbringing is somewhat alien to the antipodean author and Stephenson errs towards Angela's Ashes intonation as she describes her husband's tenement childhood (Scots readers may also find her regular translation of seemingly self-explanatory Scots phrases--which Connolly would use--obtuse). In contrast her examination of her experience of living with the comedian and his life from that point on is much better. Anecdotes which Connolly uses in his live shows pepper the text and laughs are raised as he tells of the time he was mistaken as a drug dealer on Speyside, of his cheeky friendships with cinema's elite and even through the more difficult times; the difficulty of balancing an almost manic humour with a troubled life. Pages turn quickly as we grow to understand more of what makes the man tick.

Certainly fans of Billy Connolly will enjoy this book. It is not perfect but it is certainly entertaining and should fill a gap in the market until Billy--with his half-remembered stories and off-centre view of the world--decides to let us into his head as well as his history. There's surely one ideal way to do this and that's by writing his story himself. --Helen Lamont --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Publishers Weekly

The most celebrated comedian in the U.K., Billy Connolly makes headlines and sells out arenas like a rock star. But he's barely cracked the recognition barrier here in the U.S.: the closest he's come to American fame is a one-year stint as the teacher in the 1980s sitcom Head of the Class. This book, written by the comedian's wife, tells the story of Connolly's life, beginning with an Angela's Ashes-esque childhood. Raised in Glasgow's slums, Connolly was abandoned by his mother, abused by his aunt and later by his father. His future fame as an outrageous, hard-drinking, banjo-playing, absurdly dressed hippie-comedian is constantly measured and contrasted against the poor sense of self that the author roots in his childhood. Former comedian Stephenson (she was a Saturday Night Live cast member in the mid-'80s) is now a psychologist and Connolly's most ardent fan. She fills the text with glowing anecdotes and humorous quotes, not to mention a large dollop of name-drops. The only real problem with this audiobook is Stephenson's gentle tone. Her soft voice tells Connolly's highly dramatic story in the quiet way that a mother may read a bedtime story, which is odd considering the wild and crazy behavior she describes.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks (November 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060537310
• ISBN-13: 978-0060537319
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,641,132 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Great subject, lousy execution, January 26, 2004

By 

Floyd McDaniel II (Mie-ken Japan, originally from Michigan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billy (Hardcover)

I am an American with only a little exposure to Billy Connolly (from his sitcom and HBO appearances), but what I saw some years ago was funny. I borrowed this book hoping to learn a little more about him. Unfortunately, I came to the conclusion that Ms. Stephenson (brilliant though she may be) can't write.

As a few other reviewers noted, this book seems to be an endless series of name-dropping and/or testimonials about "how funny Billy is" (the word "roaring" as a synonym for "laughing hard" was so overused that I almost cringed upon each further reading). Anecdotes begin each chapter, often with little relevance to the chapter contents or the prior chapter's anecdote. Often they go nowhere at all - other than the ubiquitous "(insert famous person's name) told me he couldn't talk because he was laughing so hard at Billy!"

Actually, that is symptomatic of the book. Interesting facets of Mr. Connolly's life appear, only to spark our interest and then give us nothing more. An example: Billy was (sexually?) abused by his father, but we don't learn exactly what was going on. The only clue seems to be that it wasn't particularly violent. Just enough to pique interest, then it is dropped. If it is that difficult to detail, don't write about it at all!

Another: Billy may/may not have abused (physically/mentally?) his wive(s). Ms. Stephenson seems to spend a few sentences saying how "when Billy was drinking he was hell to be with" (or words to that effect), and then immediately apologizes for it with something along the lines of "it was understandable given everything he had been through". Yet later, she suddenly drops in a time she almost walked out on him for his drinking (and abuse?). This, after plenty more anectodotes (of which almost none are funny) but no real descriptions of what Connolly was doing wrong.

Finally, and easily the most grevious oversight, is a total lack of his ACT. We know he played the banjo, and sang some humorous songs in a Folk style. We also get one or two song snippets, but the humor completely fails to translate to the page. Furthermore, we get NO idea of what makes his stand-up show so mesmerizing. Oh, we get a lot of him pacing and worrying before a performance (with Ms. Stephenson the doting wife cheering him on), and then EVERY TIME "But once he was on stage, everything was OK and the audience roared for 2 hours!" What she discusses, if it were the sum total of his act, couldn't have supported a career for 20 minutes.

From what I read, there is a FANTASTIC story in Mr. Connolly's life. And I'd really like to read it. Unfortunately, I haven't. I would warn people to stay far away from this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Could be an inspirational story, March 13, 2003

By 

JasonChrisJones (Atlanta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Billy (Hardcover)

I think that the story of someone who was a shipyard apprentice in Glasgow, Scotland at the age of 16 who rose to be a successful stand up comic and actor, with little or no training could be seen as an inspirational story.
The book is written by his wife, Pamela Stephenson, who is a trained psychologist. I found her writing style to be a little dull and I got tired of the endless name dropping as she and Billy went to various functions.
Overall Billy's life story deserves to be read and he should be admired for his achievement.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Good Subject, Lousy Book, June 29, 2004

By 

C. G. Nugent (London) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Billy (Hardcover)

The problem is that the author is the subject's wife. It really ought to be titled, "My husband is wonderful and we have lots of very famous friends". The book has neither the insight or observation of a third party biography nor the intimacy of an autobiography. Recounting things that her husband has told her just makes the reader want to push the author out of the way and let Billy tell the story himself. The great shame is that Billy is undoubtedly a fascinating subject and has a great story to tell. Unfortunately, this isn't it. A opportunity squandered.