Book info

• Title My Life
• Author David Jason
• Year 2013
• Genre Memoir

Born the son of a Billingsgate market porter at the height of the Second World War, David Jason spent his early life dodging bombs and bullies, both with impish good timing. Giving up on an unloved career as an electrician, he turned his attention to acting and soon, through a natural talent for making people laugh, found himself working with the leading lights of British comedy in the 1960s and '70s: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Bob Monkhouse and Ronnie Barker. Barker would become a mentor to David, leading to hugely successful stints in Porridge and Open All Hours.

Thoughts

David Jason is a much-loved figure on British TV screens, but I realised as I started reading this that I really don’t know much about him. It’s fascinating to read about his earlier life - from tentatively messing around in youth drama clubs, to deciding to give acting a shot as a career. I’m also impressed with how quickly it all came together for him, although of course the few pages of a book can’t really cover all the ups and downs there no doubt were along the way.

This is a really nice autobiography that doesn’t drift into bragging at any stage, despite a really successful and long-lasting career that deserves to be shouted about. Jason is in some of the most iconic programmes from the last few decades. Nevertheless, he seems to remain level-headed and refreshingly brutal about his own performances, his own luck, and the hand that others have had to play in it. Great read.

Rating: 4 / 5