A stupid boy

Detailní popis produktu

From the creator of 'Dad's Army', comes 'A Stupid Boy', wonderfully written and evocative tale of the life and adventures that inspired the hit TV shows he would go on to create. Born into a middle-class family with doting parents, the young Jimmy Perry had only one ambition: to go on the stage. He didn't mind whether he made it as a great comedian or famous film star, his obsession to get behind those footlights was all encompassing. Jimmy's school days were a nightmare, but he survived - just. In 1941, at the age of seventeen, he joined the Watford Home Guard - the inspiration for the brilliant 'Dad's Army'. Two years later Jimmy was called into the regular forces, and sent to Burma with the Royal Artillery, ready for the big push against the Japanese, which never came. Instead he joined the Royal Artillery Concert Party - the armed fighting unit that travelled the Indian Subcontinent, entertaining the troops, and the basis for his second hit show, 'It Ain't Half Hot, Mum'. Demobbed and back in the UK in 1947, Jimmy, like so many other ex-service, would be comedians, auditioned at The Windmill Theatre ... and failed. Instead he auditioned for the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art ... and passed. Fellow students included many stars of the future, including Joan Collins, Robert Shaw, Warren Mitchell and Lionel Jeffries. Unlike them, Jimmy spent his summer holidays as a Redcoat at Butlin's holiday camp, yet another part of his life immortalised in a great television series - 'Hi-De-Hi!'. This highly entertaining and funny book also gives fascinating insights into these much-loved British comedies: the real-life individuals who inspired the characters and events, and behind-the-scenes stories - including how 'Dad's Army' came about, and how it was very nearly dropped, never to appear on our screens.