Derek Malcolm recommends: Oliver Reed’s authorised biography

Derek Malcolm remembers meeting the notorious actor
Oliver Reed
21 June 2013

The recent publication of Robert Sellers’s What Fresh Lunacy is This, the authorised biography of Oliver Reed (Constable & Robinson) reminds me of my own brushes with an actor I came to admire and like more than most. As director of the London Film Festival in the Eighties, I decided to open with a film by Nic Roeg and end with one by Ken Russell, two major British film-makers who had never had films included before.

Roeg’s film was Castaway, taken from the hugely successful book by Lucy Irvine and starring Reed and Amanda Donohoe. Ollie appeared reasonably sober when he arrived for our gala but during the screening, around the time of the first sex scene between the two stars, he started to bellow. I couldn’t make out what he actually said, but he seemed to be complaining about the editing of the sequence.

The fact that a bevy of British Film Institute high-ups, some already doubtful about my capacity to select the right film for the occasion, were in the audience added up to a tense situation. An usherette who didn’t seem to know who Ollie was politely asked him to shut up. He got up and walked out — straight into the bar.

After the film we found him flat on his back on the floor. I thought I had better do something about this in front of all the humourless bigwigs (who had not much cared for his movie) and, looking down on him, I said I would like to introduce him to my partner, now my wife. He sprang to his feet and, ever the gentleman where ladies were concerned, shook hands and entered into a charmingly animated conversation.

Later I attempted to guide him into the first-night party, only to find the chopper-faced security men would not let us in. “This is Oliver Reed, star of the film,” I insisted. “And I am the director of the festival.”

They wouldn’t budge. Ollie aimed a swing but fortunately missed. Hurriedly, he apologised, said he was much in need of a drink and would be very grateful if they would allow him to get one. Softened up by his sudden graciousness, they did. But it was a close-run thing.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in

MORE ABOUT