Sell Back Your Copy
For a $0.67 Gift Card
Trade in
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Hellraisers: The Inebriated Life and Times of Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris & Oliver Reed
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I'd like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Hellraisers: The Inebriated Life and Times of Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris & Oliver Reed [Import] [Hardcover]

Robert Sellers (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover, Import --  
Paperback, Import --  

Book Description

June 10, 2008
This highly entertaining biography of four charismatic and much loved actors follows them through five decades of boozing, brawling and braggadocio.

At their career peaks, these four controversial actors had the whole world at their feet and lived through some of the wildest exploits Hollywood has ever seen. But all that fame had a price; Richard Burton’s liver was shot by the time he was 50, Richard Harris’s film career stalled for over a decade. Peter O’Toole’s drinking almost put him in the grave before his 43rd birthday, and Oliver Reed ended up dying prematurely.

This is the story of four of the greatest thespian boozers who ever walked — or staggered — off a film set into a pub. It’s a story of drunken binges of near biblical proportions, parties and orgies, broken marriages, drugs, riots and wanton sexual conquests. And yet these piss-artists were seemingly immune from the law. They got away with it because of their extraordinary acting talent and because the public loved them. They were truly the last of a breed, the last of the movie hellraisers.


Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert Sellers is a former stand-up comedian and the author of biographies of Sting, Tom Cruise, two appreciations of the work of Sean Connery, and the definitive book on the Pythons: Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 368 pages
  • Publisher: Preface Publishing (June 10, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 184809017X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1848090170
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,715,463 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hellraisers, July 5, 2010
By 
Linda Umstead (Honolulu, Hawaii) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
An in-depth inside look at the chaotic, fantastic and hideously messy private lives of four legendary British actors of the latter 20th century: Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole and Oliver Reed. Every page is filled with their amazing and almost unbelievable deeds of alcohol-fed insanity. Sharing much in common (including unique theatrical genius and a deep and abiding love of rugby), these men worked hard (citing numerous shudder-inducing stories of the horrors of location filming) and played even harder, suggesting that the downside of a life in the theater may be seriously overtaxing for some who tread the boards, and fueling the theory that the pain of coming out of a role may be far too great to endure without some form of anesthetic.

These men make today's tabloid faces seem pallid indeed: their tales trivialize any and all subsequent film stars' off-screen antics to the point of resembling kindergarten pranks. Three of them died as they lived, taking no prisoners (Reed fittingly passed on in a pub after a drunken evening arm-wrestling a group of Maltese sailors while filming "Gladiator", and Burton literally pickled himself to death--his autopsy found his spine to be completely encrusted with crystallized alcohol). However harrowing the results for the families of these wild men, none of the four expresses the least remorse at their lifelong excesses--to a man they vow they would do it all again in a heartbeat. And we believe them. They don't make 'em like this anymore.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Hellraisers, January 30, 2010
By 
Michel A. Brown (Spring, Texas United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
Very entertaining book. Lots of juicy details about the hellraising antics of Richard Burton, Richard Harris, Peter O'Toole and Oliver Reed. Today's Hollywood's bad boys have got nothing on these guys!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No


3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, September 29, 2011
By 
Michael Rice (Stamford, CT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Hellraisers: The Inebriated Life and Times of Richard Burton, Peter O'Toole, Richard Harris & Oliver Reed (Hardcover)
Not too bad...fun reading, but full of factual inaccuracies (Moss Hart did not write Camelot and Michael Caine is only a year younger then O'Toole for starters). The writer seems to love using the word "pissed" as well.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews



Only search this product's reviews




Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject