My Name Escapes Me (1996)

If your only acquaintance with Sir Alec Guinness runs to the Star Wars movies or George Smiley, do yourself a favour and pick up this collection of diaries. Fans of Smiley will be immediately charmed by the preface, written by none other than John le Carré. The diaries themselves are also a treat to read. Covering approximately 18 months, from New Year's Day 1995 to June 1996, Sir Alec gives us little snippets of what he's thinking about. Current events, reminiscences about old friends, daily life with his wife, Merula -- all are discussed with elegant writing and quiet, self-deprecating humour. The collection is a bit bittersweet in places because he is at the age where funerals are becoming the main social outing, one friend or another passing away. And as friends pass away, whoever's left is falling apart; Sir Alec frequently mentions "the tiresomeness of old age" that prevents him and Merula from getting out and about like they used to.

The real treat in this diary for me was seeing just how much of an avid reader Sir Alec was. Of course I shouldn't be too surprised that a member of "the older generation" preferred reading as his primary entertainment, but his descriptions of what he was reading and the reading experience in general consistently made me smile. At one point he is reading Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series: having enjoyed the third one he's read (out of order, thus somewhat vindicating me in my series reading habits), he states his determination to "climb up the rigging" of all of them. And really, how can anyone resist a man who says that "One of the nice things about feeling rotten is having a good excuse to stay tucked up in bed with an entertaining book"?

Reading this collection gives one a glimpse of just how wonderful it must have been to be a friend of such a great actor. I will be seeking out his other autobiographical writings very soon! ( )

Sir Alec Guinness died on the 5th. of August, 2000 and his departure left an enormous void in the theatre, film and thespian world. Most popularly known as “George Smiley” in John Le Carré’s works, and as “Col. Nicholson” in The Bridge on the River Kwai, and for his playful “Obi-Wan Kenobi” in Star Wars he was in fact a distinguished Shakespearean actor and started his career under the tutelage of Sir John Gielgud. As an officer in the Royal Navy he commanded landing craft and took part in the invasions of Sicily and Elba, and ferried supplies to the Yugoslav partisans of Tito.

He was 86 when he died and these diary entries were made just four years before his death when he was still extremely active and an engagingly bright star of any social gathering. Obviously with such a long career Alec had worked with many of the ‘great names’ of film and stage, so name dropping is unavoidable and, of course, to the reader, extremely welcome!

This ”thinking man's actor”(John Simon in the NY Times) gave so much pleasure in his acting and yet was such good company at the same time that other cast members always mentioned his courtesy and professionalism. His marriage to his beloved Merula lasted 62 years and was, from other accounts, extremely happy – certainly his affection comes through strongly in the diary, as does his sheer enjoyment of his wife, family and friends.

There is little intensely revealing in these entries – other than perhaps the fact that Sir Alec Guinness, CH, CBE seems to have been a genuinely “nice bloke” – but perhaps if one read the entire trilogy he wrote of his life … Blessings in Disguise, My Name Escapes Me, A Positively Final Appearance … a deeper or broader view would emerge. Alec was a convert to the Roman Catholic faith and each morning he would recite a prayerful few lines that offer a clue to his own kindness… "Cause me to hear your loving kindness in the morning".

Oh - and the cover of the Penguin Paperback shows his mischief and humour as he offers the photographer Smiley doing a Pooh-Bear like walk. Or perhaps it is Sir Alec imitating one of his earliest influences, Stan Laurel?

Mr Guinness is an interesting writer who does tend to go on a bit. This is something that he points out in his book, and I am inclined to agree. ( )

Impulse read. I don't know how to explain these books. I was at Bookman's, wandered into the screen trade section, looking for some William Goldman (another author that I came to through the movies...) and there was Mr. Guinness's slim "diary of a retiring actor." I like diaries and collections of letters. I'm a snoop and I like seeing into people's lives. The title of the book intrigued me and was indicative of the humor with which Alec Guinness wrote. I'll be shelving it next to Helene Hanff's Underfoot in Show Business.