Memoirs of A Professional Cad

George Sanders

Dean Street Press, Mar 2, 2015 - Biography & Autobiography - 300 pages

What might we dare to expect from an actor's autobiography, even one from a star as personable as George Sanders? In the case of Memoirs of a Professional Cad, we possibly get more than we deserve. George Sanders undoubtedly led a colourful, glamorous and even action-packed life, spanning the peak years of Hollywood's golden age. But the greatest joy of his memoirs is how funny they are, and how penetrating their author's wit. Endlessly quotable, every chapter shows that the sardonic charm and intelligence he lent to the silver screen were not merely implied. George's early childhood was spent in Tsarist Russia, before he was obliged to flee with his family to England on the eve of the Russian Revolution. He survived two English boarding schools before seeking adventure in Chile and Argentina where he sold cigarettes and kept a pet ostrich in his apartment. We can only be grateful that George was eventually asked to leave South America following a duel of honour (very nearly to the death), and was forced to take up acting for a living instead. Memoirs of A Professional Cad has much to say about Hollywood and the stars George Sanders worked with and befriended, not to mention the irrespressible Tsa Tsa Gabor who became his wife. But at heart it is less a conventional autobiography, and more a Machiavellian guide to life, and the art of living, from a man who knew a thing or two on the subject. So we are invited to share George's thought-provoking views on women, friendship, the pros and cons of therapy, ageing, possessions, and the necessity of contrasts ( Sanders' maxim: 'the more extreme the contrast, the fuller the life'). Previously out of print for many decades, Memoirs of A Professional Cad stands today as one of the classic Hollywood memoirs, from one of its most original, enduring and inimitable stars. This edition also features a new afterword by George Sanders' niece, Ulla Watson. 'Even when asking a hatcheck girl for his coat, he conveyed the impression of a malevolent cat fastidiously licking its chops over the prospect of a particularly toothsome mouse.' Salon

What people are saying

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - knahs - LibraryThing

Well written autobiography by actor George Sanders who normally played a cynic or cad in films such as All About Eve, Rebecca, Ivanhoe, and so many others. He maintains his cynical attitude in his ...

LibraryThing Review

User Review  - DeanStreetPress - LibraryThing

This book should be compulsory reading in schools (possible A level syllabus?). The incredibly witty and enigmatic George Sanders' distinctive voice can almost be heard whilst turning the pages. An absolute, quintessential MUST-read.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Memoirs of A Professional Cad
• Author: George Sanders
• Contributor: Ulla Watson
• Publisher: Dean Street Press, 2015
• ISBN: 1910570052, 9781910570050
• Length: 300 pages
• Subjects: Biography & Autobiography / Entertainment & Performing Arts; Business & Economics / Industries / Entertainment