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George Sanders

Memoirs of a Professional Cad Paperback – Oct. 11 2015

by George Sanders (Author)

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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 irrepressible 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.

Print length

193 pages
Language

English
Publication date

Oct. 11 2015
Dimensions

12.85 x 1.12 x 19.84 cm
ISBN-10

191109520X
ISBN-13

978-1911095200
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Product description

About the Author

George Sanders was born in St Petersburg in 1906. He left Russia in 1917 with his family, who settled in England and had George educated at Bedales and Brighton College.

He made his British film debut in 1929, but it was in 1930’s Hollywood that he honed his distinctive, charming-yet-dangerous screen persona – the quintessential cad. Sanders co-starred in Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca and Foreign Correspondent (both 1940), and went on to win an Academy Award for his signature role, that of Addison DeWitt in All About Eve (1950). He continued to work in films up until the year of his death in 1972.

In the 1940’s, Sanders’ film-star status was the impetus for his two crime novels, both featuring recognizably Sanders-esque heroes: Crime on My Hands (1944) and Stranger at Home (1946). In 1960 came a third book: his autobiography, fittingly titled Memoirs of A Professional Cad in which the line between fiction and fact is blurred even more convincingly – and wittily – than in the novels. All three works are available as ebooks from Dean Street Press.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Dean Street Press (Oct. 11 2015)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 193 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 191109520X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1911095200
Item weight ‏ : ‎ 195 g
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 12.85 x 1.12 x 19.84 cm

Best Sellers Rank: #36,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #376 in Entertainer
- #410 in Actor Biographies
- #1,452 in Memoirs (Books)

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783 ratings

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4 out of 5

783 global ratings

5 star		45%
4 star		27%
3 star		17%
2 star		6%
1 star		5%

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Top reviews from Canada

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John D Stewart

The Show Must Go On.

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on April 19, 2016

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I enjoyed the book thoroughly. Mr. Sanders reputation as a cad seems to apply more on-screen than off. It is too bad that he killed himself.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Kerry Kaminski

This is a very enjoyable book, especially if you ...

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on January 28, 2017

This is a very enjoyable book, especially if you watch a lot of the old movies on TCM. It gives a window into old Hollywood, social conventions of the time, and into the man and his friends at the time. He is a bit of a rascal and that is why he is interesting.

Helpful

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Tony Byworth

More aspects of life than career!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 22, 2020

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For anyone wanting detailed biographical information on George Sanders, this may well disappoint. There are passages relating to his life, early childhood in Russia, pre-acting jobs (and his failure in them!), Hollywood, hotels, and wife Zsa Zsa Gabor but more frequently providing his philosophy on aspects of life.

Unfortunately, although he says he made about seventy films, hardly any are discussed and he is self-depreciative about his acting ability, although stating “All About Eve” was the best film (for which he won an Oscar), and there are lengthier passages on working with the erratic Roberto Rossellini, “Solomon and Sheba” (with the death of Tyrone Power on set) and “The Last Voyage”.

Obviously an intelligent man, who got bored easily, this relatively short book is well written and infused with humour, insight and cynicism.

8 people found this helpful

Barry Dougall

Unique autobiography

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 9, 2022

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A most unusual book, unlike any book about or by a Hollywood star I have read: self depracating, cynical, witty and funny in parts and tiresome in others. As others have mentioned it could have done with a lot more about Hollywood, films George Saunders had appeared in and more anecdotes about film people and less about the authors musings of life in general which seem forced at times. Many of the views expressed, about women in particular, are unacceptable today. George Saunders was a successful character actor who basically played himself in all his roles, no mean achievement, even if George himself is rather dismissive of his career. For those who remember him this book is worth a read even if you find you have to skim through parts of it.

2 people found this helpful

erin pizzey

Made me laugh out loud

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on May 6, 2020

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Definitely not politically correct and would in rage gender feminists but he led a fascinating life you a lot of interesting people and at times made me laugh out loud. He has written a really enjoyable book and I heartily recommend it.

10 people found this helpful

T. Smith

Captivating wit & much more

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on August 19, 2021

Verified Purchase

The first chapter of this reissued memoir sparkles with a wicked humour. It is so clearly penned by the man himself - although how much this is his true self presented and how much might be a desired projection is open to debate.
His description of life in pre-revolutionary Russia (where he was born) is utterly compelling. But then so is his recollection of an early working life in Patagonia and Argentina. The narrative glides along with his sophisticated wit always liable to punctuate any given thread and as I read I could actually hear his precise and mellifluous tones oozing from the page.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone interested in the period and the players.

One person found this helpful

Teasel

As unique as its author. A pleasure to read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on January 11, 2017

Verified Purchase

Absolutely fascinating read, though perhaps only to a niche audience. Personally I find George just as witty, engaging and enigmatic on paper as I find him on screen. The book is a rare honest personal insight of what it was like to be inside the Old Hollywood circle (albeit reluctantly). George didn't give a damn what anyone else thought of him, so he told it as it was.

An overview of his childhood in Imperial Russia makes for transporting reading, and there are some interesting details about his time filming Solomon and Sheba with Tyrone Power, Gina Lollobrigida and Yul Brynner, which is what I initially purchased the book for, so I wasn't disappointed. He also talks about his relationships with Zsa Zsa Gabor and his then-wife Benita Hume.

George's cynicism and dry humour had me laughing aloud many times whilst reading. My favourite parts of the book are his masterfully frank recounts of stays in hotels and patronage of restaurants, particularly in Paris and Tokyo. I was also surprised by his inner gentleness and sensitivity, which he reveals between the lines of grandiosity via self-deprecation.

There are some rather outdated and non-PC (though not vulgar) views on 'foreigners' and women expressed, but you have to take them in the context of the era and social circle from whence they came. There are merely a few lines to roll one's modern eyes at.

Overall I'd say the book is a marvellous time capsule, a cultural treat, and rather an education. I end with a quote directly from George Sanders' pen:

"Where on the screen I am invariably a son-of-a-b****, in life I am a dear, dear boy."

6 people found this helpful

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