N.B. This review is of the hardback edition of So Far, So Good. I understand that the subsequent paperback had a contribution by Richard Briers, presumably written after Eddington's untimely death.
Since I live in an isolated rural area, trips to the theatre are sadly few and far between. This means that I tend to know actors more through their work on television than on stage. Whereas I was very familiar with actor Paul Eddington from his leading roles in The Good Life, Yes, Minister and Yes, Prime Minister, I was unaware of most of his performances on stage. Which is a pity since his autobiography So Far, So Good deals mostly with his stage career rather than his television successes.
His book deals in some depth with his childhood before proceeding to his induction as an actor, from which point on it focuses on his work in various theatres. His signature television roles as Jerry Leadbetter and Jim Hacker barely merit a mention and Eddington also reveals very little of his family life. He writes dismissively of the various serious health problems that dogged him throughout his life including the persistent and chronic diarrhoea that must have been a nightmare when appearing on stage. (He had between 15 and 30 seconds notice that he needed to get to a lavatory, up to 40 times a day, and writes of being unable to go anywhere without a change of clothes and a nappy.) In addition he suffered from heart problems, diabetes, a form of chronic arthritis and, of course, endured a thirty-year battle with the skin cancer that eventually killed him.
Thus the book is both intensely personal and honest and yet reveals very little about Eddington the man, or Eddington the TV star, concentrating more on Eddington the stage actor. For me, this made it a disappointing read. There are anecdotes about himself and about fellow thespians, but no real 'gossip'. The book contains two sections of pleasant black and white photographs, approximately half of which show Eddington in character, the remainder showing him in more private moments.
So Far, So Good is a very readable book in which the author is commendably open about intimate personal details and yet, at the same time, strangely (yet understandably) reticent about his private life. If you are a fan of the theatre then you will undoubtedly love it, yet if your appreciation of Eddington as one of our greatest ever comedy actors stems from watching his appearances on television, then his autobiography may not be what you are expecting.
Publisher: Coronet
ISBN:0340654015
Price: £6.99 p/b / From $28.98 h/b
Date Reviewed: November 2002
My Rating: 2.5/5
