Gail Walker reads a new authorised biography of Alec Guiness which claims to have found skeletons in the cupboard
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SIR Alec Guinness was one of the greatest actors of the twentieth century, with a mesmerising talent that won him a worldwide reputation. To most people under the age of thirty he is best-known as Ben Kenobi in Star Wars.
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But, to classic movie fans, the real Sir Alec is the man who created the definitive Fagin in Oliver Twist, played eight different members of the d'Ascoyne family in Kind Hearts and Coronets and gave an Oscar-winning performance as Colonel Nicholson in Bridge Over the River Kwai.
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Yet, according to Piers Paul Read's new authorised biography of the actor, few of those who watched his wonderful performances could have hazarded a guess at the complex character behind the public image.
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Apparently, although Guinness, during his lifetime, had published an autobiography and two volumes of diaries, he had kept concealed, even from close family and friends, much of his true nature.
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Indeed, it was only when Guinness died in August 2000 and his widow Merula gave Read, who'd been a friend of her husband, free access to the great actor's private and unpublished diaries that the astonishing truth started to emerge.
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This is an absorbing biography and the overall impression that lingers is of a man of compassion, generosity, wit and great charm. (It's been noted that it can be no coincidence that Alec Guinness is an anagram of 'genuine class.')
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He was undeniably complex, but fans should not be too disappointed by some of Read's more shocking claims.
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After all, so much is down to interpretation - and a little bit of sensationalism never harmed the serialisation rights.
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