THE MAN WHO WAS OLD MOTHER RILEY - THE LIVES AND FILMS OF AR IBD

Sinopse

&ldquo,I am in awe! Robert Kenny&rsquo,s analysis is quite brilliant, and exactly what Lucan deserves after all these years.&rdquo,áááááá Anthony Slide, author and film historian&ldquo,A timely, fascinating and unique study of an unjustly neglected star.&rdquo,ááááá Jeffrey Richards, Emeritus Professor of Cultural History, University of Lancaster&ldquo,This is a book I devoured!&rdquo,áááááá Richard Anthony Baker, author, broadcaster and former BBC News Assistant EditorDuringá the 1930s and 40s, Arthur Lucan and his wife Kitty McShane were among the highest-paid and most admired variety artistes in Britain. They packed theatres throughout the land, and made a series of zany films with Arthur as the belligerent washerwoman Old Mother Riley, and Kitty as her flighty daughter. But fame and fortune went to Kitty&rsquo,s head, and offstage she made Arthur&rsquo,s life a misery, he collapsed and died&mdash,in costume&mdash, in May 1954, one week before he was due to appear in court as a bankrupt.The story of the tears behind the Lucans&rsquo, onstage laughter is told here in greater detail than ever before, demolishing old legends, re-assessing the comic genius of Arthur, and revealing the sadness of alcoholic Kitty, who lies today in a forgotten, unmarked grave.áDr. Robert V. Kenny was for many years a lecturer in French Language and Literature at the University of Leicester. He also directed the University Theatre and founded a chamber choir, Coro Nostro, which continues to flourish after his retirement.á Throughout his career he produced and directed plays, operas and concerts, in addition to his teaching and research.