Thankyou. I read this when I was about eighteen. It is a fantastic book, brilliantly written by Mr Niven and full of the kind of charm and wit that has all but disappeared from our daily interactions.
Superb, I especially love your filmed outings, of course. Rupert's readings are beyond excellent - please bring him back for a Valley of the Dolls episode.
Don’t know how long ago, but his WDYTYA was wonderful. Just caught it on RUclips, which brought me this and another wonderful podcast to dive into. Seems to be a deep end, here.
Thank you for sharing this absolutely delightful discussion. Niven is well worth a read and I look forward to seeing which other dusty tomes you resurrect.
Read Moons a Balloon early seventies and have kept it by me since. Niven was the image of my father and vice versa. Pun intended. I enjoyed this podcast. Nice one.
Thanks for this! I discovered “The Moon’s a Balloon” and “Bring on the Empty Horses” when I was probably a bit too young to be reading them (12… maybe 13… anything in the bi-monthly pile of literary booty mom brought home from the library in our household was encouraged reading if it appealed), and I LOVED them. They arrived in the same pile as Jean Shepherd’s then-newly-published “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash” memoir (the book that the “A Christmas Story” film was later culled from). That was a great week of reading for a bored bookish kid who loves a little bawdy/irreverent humor - I laughed through the lot. If Rupert has a penchant for reading biographies (especially Hollywood-related ones), may I suggest Joseph Egan’s book on Mary Astor, “The Purple Diaries”? I randomly stumbled upon the audio version of it, and (despite not necessarily being a particularly avid Astor devotee before that point) walked away from it absolutely fascinated with her. So much so that I immediately sought out the print version of her autobiography, “My Story” (I think reading them in that order worked well), and then a few months later I read her other one, “Life on Film”. Usually after reading a famous-folk bio, at some point I realize that I’m not really interested any longer and that I’ve had entirely TOO much of that unremarkable or annoying person’s life in my head… skimming ensues somewhere around the halfway point to just get through, and am ultimately relieved to escape their twaddle… not so with Astor, much to my surprise. Her writing voice was, for me, satisfying enough that I plan to delve into the fiction novels that she went on to write later in life (which were received very well when released, and purportedly stand on their own independent of her status as a celebrity). Thanks again, and be well!
Mom met David Niven in Gstaad. My brother broke his collarbone the first day out, so she took him shopping. He tugged at her sweater directing her attention to an old man trying to ask him something. Niven mistook him for a German. Mom turned to find the man whose book she had just read asking about her son’s welfare and lost her words. He was in Gstaad while they were filming Pink Panther and incredibly kind. We rented a chalet Dad shared with members of his tactical nuke squadron, so on the next visit I met Fran Jefferies in the bathroom. Now, this is weird, because the two celebs were not in The Return of the Pink Panther, just the best one, but I guess anyone who could would escape to the top of this Mad Mad World and party until the whole thing pops. Fran told me she kissed Elvis! The next visit, my girls and I fell into some mud and caught the attention of the grandson of Dietrich! It was end of season, he was lonely and invited us to our favorite place for dinner and drinks. Mom had the chops, but I was obviously not meant for that scene. She passed him a few hundred marks under the table to apologize for all the American ugliness. We teased him mercilessly because we looked at all of them as old, or tied to something that was dying, like the old film industry. Took awhile to appreciate them for what they really were. Wait, was that Jefferies or Tony Basil, Mickey? Getting old, too. Niven was wonderful in Death on the Nile. The best Hastings ever.
We know now that "Missy" was Vivien Leigh, although Niven included enough red herrings in writing about the incident to obscure her identity. It was a very sad episode and reflects the impossible demands the Studios imposed on their stars.
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Thank you. I very much enjoyed this and I am going to purchase Rupert's new book for my Christmas reading. 📚📖
Both Niven's bios, including Bring on The Empty Horses, are wonderful. He had an insanely full and interesting life.
Such a great an entertaining conversation. Rupert is full of insight and clear thinking. This is how I want the world to be.
Ahh, a director.
Thankyou. I read this when I was about eighteen. It is a fantastic book, brilliantly written by Mr Niven and full of the kind of charm and wit that has all but disappeared from our daily interactions.
Superb, I especially love your filmed outings, of course. Rupert's readings are beyond excellent - please bring him back for a Valley of the Dolls episode.
Don’t know how long ago, but his WDYTYA was wonderful. Just caught it on RUclips, which brought me this and another wonderful podcast to dive into. Seems to be a deep end, here.
Thank you for sharing this absolutely delightful discussion. Niven is well worth a read and I look forward to seeing which other dusty tomes you resurrect.
Rupert is fabulous ❤❤❤
My first experience of this book is my sister reading it and laughing out loud. I had never seen anyone laugh out loud while reading a book before.
Excellent! Thank you!
Fabulous stuff!
Super discussion. Thank you!
Read Moons a Balloon early seventies and have kept it by me since. Niven was the image of my father and vice versa. Pun intended. I enjoyed this podcast. Nice one.
Thanks for this!
I discovered “The Moon’s a Balloon” and “Bring on the Empty Horses” when I was probably a bit too young to be reading them (12… maybe 13… anything in the bi-monthly pile of literary booty mom brought home from the library in our household was encouraged reading if it appealed), and I LOVED them. They arrived in the same pile as Jean Shepherd’s then-newly-published “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash” memoir (the book that the “A Christmas Story” film was later culled from).
That was a great week of reading for a bored bookish kid who loves a little bawdy/irreverent humor - I laughed through the lot.
If Rupert has a penchant for reading biographies (especially Hollywood-related ones), may I suggest Joseph Egan’s book on Mary Astor, “The Purple Diaries”?
I randomly stumbled upon the audio version of it, and (despite not necessarily being a particularly avid Astor devotee before that point) walked away from it absolutely fascinated with her. So much so that I immediately sought out the print version of her autobiography, “My Story” (I think reading them in that order worked well), and then a few months later I read her other one, “Life on Film”.
Usually after reading a famous-folk bio, at some point I realize that I’m not really interested any longer and that I’ve had entirely TOO much of that unremarkable or annoying person’s life in my head… skimming ensues somewhere around the halfway point to just get through, and am ultimately relieved to escape their twaddle… not so with Astor, much to my surprise.
Her writing voice was, for me, satisfying enough that I plan to delve into the fiction novels that she went on to write later in life (which were received very well when released, and purportedly stand on their own independent of her status as a celebrity).
Thanks again, and be well!
There he was, galumping along behind the conga line to nirvana :D. Rupert with his turn of phrase is cut from the same cloth as Niven.
The Bad and The Beautiful is a brilliant film about the Studio System - Kirk Douglas on top form.
Eeeeeeek! They have faces! (Okay, I knew Rupert did.)
Mom met David Niven in Gstaad. My brother broke his collarbone the first day out, so she took him shopping. He tugged at her sweater directing her attention to an old man trying to ask him something. Niven mistook him for a German. Mom turned to find the man whose book she had just read asking about her son’s welfare and lost her words. He was in Gstaad while they were filming Pink Panther and incredibly kind. We rented a chalet Dad shared with members of his tactical nuke squadron, so on the next visit I met Fran Jefferies in the bathroom. Now, this is weird, because the two celebs were not in The Return of the Pink Panther, just the best one, but I guess anyone who could would escape to the top of this Mad Mad World and party until the whole thing pops. Fran told me she kissed Elvis! The next visit, my girls and I fell into some mud and caught the attention of the grandson of Dietrich! It was end of season, he was lonely and invited us to our favorite place for dinner and drinks. Mom had the chops, but I was obviously not meant for that scene. She passed him a few hundred marks under the table to apologize for all the American ugliness. We teased him mercilessly because we looked at all of them as old, or tied to something that was dying, like the old film industry. Took awhile to appreciate them for what they really were. Wait, was that Jefferies or Tony Basil, Mickey? Getting old, too. Niven was wonderful in Death on the Nile. The best Hastings ever.
Spencer Tracy and Dorothy Lamour were one of the 2 best biographies I read. Tracy was riddled by catholic guilt and Lamour was very down to earth.
We know now that "Missy" was Vivien Leigh, although Niven included enough red herrings in writing about the incident to obscure her identity. It was a very sad episode and reflects the impossible demands the Studios imposed on their stars.
As you probably know, Vivien Leigh's last years were dogged by her worsening bipolar disorder. Such beauty, such tragedy.
@Robutube1 It's a terrible affliction and one that unfortunately I have some experience of within my own family.
@@jamesrowe3606 I'm sorry to learn that James, it is indeed a most dreadful condition.
The eye of the Devil. What a movie.. david Niven ,Sharron Tate. Debra Kerr