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(More customer reviews)I first saw British actress Celia Imrie perform in "Return to Cranford". At the time, I wondered who she was and why we don't see more her in movies and TV. Since that time, I have watched her in "Doc Martin", "After You've Gone", and "Calendar Girls". It was also fun to catch her again, to realize her for the first time, in "The Highlander". (I suppose it's difficult to find British acting here in the States.)
So, a few days ago, as I saw her autobiography "The Happy Hoofer" (2011 312-page hardback) in a book store near the University of London, I snapped it up. It's been and quick and fun read- "hoofing" through her career over the past three decades.
Imrie's is an enjoyable look at her life, her friends (and a few -very few- enemies), and her career. With panache and wisdom (gleaned from the school of hard knocks) she proffers advice, teaches lessons learned, and presents gossip from her world of stage, motion picture, and television. Her "hoofing about" is a real hoot!
With her contagious humor Celia had me laughing, sometimes to the point of tears, and then tearing up with empathy and déjà vu. This witty book isn't a tell-all, but, Celia loves to drop names (endearing her tale and making the reader Star-struck!). She just knows everyone in acting!
Of particularly interest is Imrie's description of those locations she visits, or has visited, in practicing her craft. Moviedom and stage calls have taken her to the four corners of the globe. We hear her descriptions of India in the mid 1970s and again in 2010, of buzzing Hollywood, for distant Scotland, and about the freezing Arctic circle. She loves Rome and hates Pakistan. Her travel reflections are alone worth the price of this clever narrative.
Of course, as all celebrities Imrie faces off with several personal demons (about which she is candid). Her phobias for exposing ankles, for flying (by the book's end), and for marriage are presented and explained. She has little use for politics or religion. And, naturally, the oddity that is being British is routinely tickled and punctuated. Often, her Scots-English explanations are just funny!
Celia's life, and so this book, does present some adult themes (and language) garnering only a minimal warning (and fewer stars). This book is recommended to everyone interested in Celia Imrie and British theater, cinema, and television of the past 30 years.
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