Ernest Thesiger

[Michael O'Regan]

Does a biography exist?

[Penfold]

Not that I know, but his book on embroidery is highly thought of.

[greta de groat]

Not that I know, but his book on embroidery is highly thought of.

Dang, only 1 copy on Amazon for a hundred bucks, no kindle version. But i did find this:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/ernes ... t+thesiger" target="_blank

(i tried to embed but couldn't get it to work)


Wish it was in color, he is VERY good.

greta

[Richard P. May]

I took a look at the Wikipedia entry, and it is pretty informative. You might find it helpful.

[rudyfan]

Not that I know, but his book on embroidery is highly thought of.

Dang, only 1 copy on Amazon for a hundred bucks, no kindle version. But i did find this:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/ernes ... t+thesiger" target="_blank" target="_blank

(i tried to embed but couldn't get it to work)


Wish it was in color, he is VERY good.

greta

Greta, I sent you a link to some book listings, MUCH less expensive.

[Penfold]

To answer the OP's question then, it seems there were two volumes of autobiography - one, very hard to find, from the late 20's, so dealing mainly with his stage career, and an unpublished manuscript from'55 which may be of more interest to us. I wonder if I'll be able to access it....the Theatre Archive is walking distance from here....

[Michael O'Regan]

Not that I know, but his book on embroidery is highly thought of.

Dang, only 1 copy on Amazon for a hundred bucks, no kindle version. But i did find this:

http://www.britishpathe.com/video/ernes ... t+thesiger" target="_blank" target="_blank

(i tried to embed but couldn't get it to work)


Wish it was in color, he is VERY good.

greta

Brilliant. I had no idea about the embroidery thing at all.

[Jay Salsberg]

Thesiger wrote an autobiography, PRACTICALLY TRUE in 1927. Naturally, it doesn't cover his film career. He is a notorious name-dropper. The only thing I really remember from the book is Thesiger's story about how me enlisted in the RAF during WWI, in the hope of becoming an aviator. But he soon injured both hands in an accident, which ended his flying career.

[rudyfan]

Thesiger wrote an autobiography, PRACTICALLY TRUE in 1927. Naturally, it doesn't cover his film career. He is a notorious name-dropper. The only thing I really remember from the book is Thesiger's story about how me enlisted in the RAF during WWI, in the hope of becoming an aviator. But he soon injured both hands in an accident, which ended his flying career.

And yet it enabled him to be most proficient as an embroiderer.

[didi-5]

Wasn't he a great friend of Queen Mary, who was equally fond of embroidery?

[Rollo Treadway]

And yet it enabled him to be most proficient as an embroiderer.

In fact, embroidery was his only weakness.

[s.w.a.c.]

And yet it enabled him to be most proficient as an embroiderer.

In fact, embroidery was his only weakness.

Didn't he actually refer to himself as "the Stitching Bitch"? (I have no idea how factual this is, but it's on the internet, so it must be true!)

[Rollo Treadway]

Didn't he actually refer to himself as "the Stitching Bitch"? (I have no idea how factual this is, but it's on the internet, so it must be true!)

The line is also quoted in the Karloff & Lugosi book by horror film authority Greg Mank, which I think gives it credibility. Certainly doesn't sound unlike the cheerful old blasphemer!

[s.w.a.c.]

Didn't he actually refer to himself as "the Stitching Bitch"? (I have no idea how factual this is, but it's on the internet, so it must be true!)

The line is also quoted in the Karloff & Lugosi book by horror film authority Greg Mank, which I think gives it credibility. Certainly doesn't sound unlike the cheerful old blasphemer!

It definitely gave me a smile when I first read that years ago. It's been ages since I've seen it, but I think the Whale biopic Gods & Monsters showed Thesiger doing needlework between takes on the set of Bride of Frankenstein.

Thesiger is great in anything, but I recommend tracking down the British thrillerThey Drive By Night (1938)--no relation to the Bogart film--in which he plays an expert in the psychology of the criminally insane who has titles like "Sex In Prison" on his bookshelf. Not sure who has it, maybe Sinister Cinema?

EDIT: Yep, Sinister has it, but only in VHS.

[bobfells]

Did someone say "color"? Please adjourn to our colorize thread to see Mr. Thesiger rendered into the spectrum:

http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 502#p82502" target="_blank

[Michael O'Regan]

Thesiger is great in anything, but I recommend tracking down the British thrillerThey Drive By Night (1938)--no relation to the Bogart film--in which he plays an expert in the psychology of the criminally insane who has titles like "Sex In Prison" on his bookshelf. Not sure who has it, maybe Sinister Cinema?

EDIT: Yep, Sinister has it, but only in VHS.

Oh, wow! That I gotta have.

[greta de groat]

Did someone say "color"? Please adjourn to our colorize thread to see Mr. Thesiger rendered into the spectrum:

http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 502#p82502" target="_blank" target="_blank

I meant the needlepoint, not him!

greta

[bobfells]

Did someone say "color"? Please adjourn to our colorize thread to see Mr. Thesiger rendered into the spectrum:

http://nitrateville.com/viewtopic.php?f ... 502#p82502" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

I meant the needlepoint, not him!

greta

Any excuse will do, it's my only weakness.

[Harlett O'Dowd]

To answer the OP's question then, it seems there were two volumes of autobiography - one, very hard to find, from the late 20's, so dealing mainly with his stage career, and an unpublished manuscript from'55 which may be of more interest to us. I wonder if I'll be able to access it....the Theatre Archive is walking distance from here....

There's a theatre archive in Bwistol???!!!!

[Harlett O'Dowd]

Any excuse will do, it's my only weakness.

Recognizing the problem is the first step.

[bobfells]

Any excuse will do, it's my only weakness.

Recognizing the problem is the first step.

...but I'm powerless to do anything about it. Quarantine seems to be the only effective way to deal with it, as N'ville has already implemented.

[ajabrams]

Any excuse will do, it's my only weakness.[/quote]

Have a potato.

[Penfold]

To answer the OP's question then, it seems there were two volumes of autobiography - one, very hard to find, from the late 20's, so dealing mainly with his stage career, and an unpublished manuscript from'55 which may be of more interest to us. I wonder if I'll be able to access it....the Theatre Archive is walking distance from here....

There's a theatre archive in Bwistol???!!!!

Not this Summer, it seems, but from October onwards a very major one. http://www.bristol.ac.uk/theatrecollection/

[Donald Binks]

Thesiger is great in anything, but I recommend tracking down the British thrillerThey Drive By Night (1938)--no relation to the Bogart film--in which he plays an expert in the psychology of the criminally insane who has titles like "Sex In Prison" on his bookshelf. Not sure who has it, maybe Sinister Cinema?

This picture is in the public domain so you can download it for nix.
http://archive.org/details/They_Drive_by_Night_1938" target="_blank

[Michael O'Regan]

Thesiger is great in anything, but I recommend tracking down the British thrillerThey Drive By Night (1938)--no relation to the Bogart film--in which he plays an expert in the psychology of the criminally insane who has titles like "Sex In Prison" on his bookshelf. Not sure who has it, maybe Sinister Cinema?

This picture is in the public domain so you can download it for nix.
http://archive.org/details/They_Drive_by_Night_1938" target="_blank" target="_blank

Fantastic. Thanks.

[Michael O'Regan]

Thesiger is great in anything, but I recommend tracking down the British thrillerThey Drive By Night (1938)--no relation to the Bogart film--in which he plays an expert in the psychology of the criminally insane who has titles like "Sex In Prison" on his bookshelf. Not sure who has it, maybe Sinister Cinema?

I just finished watching this. What an absolute gem.
Thesiger is, indeed, wonderful, but the picture itself is a bit of a treasure, isn't it? Very atmospheric. There's a wonderfully naturalistic feel to the acting and dialogue- aside from ET of course
I thoroughly reccomend it to anyone who hasn't seen it.
Thanks for the pointer.

[s.w.a.c.]

Thesiger is great in anything, but I recommend tracking down the British thrillerThey Drive By Night (1938)--no relation to the Bogart film--in which he plays an expert in the psychology of the criminally insane who has titles like "Sex In Prison" on his bookshelf. Not sure who has it, maybe Sinister Cinema?

This picture is in the public domain so you can download it for nix.
http://archive.org/details/They_Drive_by_Night_1938" target="_blank" target="_blank

Thanks for the tip, DB! I can always rely on an Australian in times of need (my girlfriend is from Perth).

Can't wait to watch this again!