I got this softcover from an online seller. I've enjoyed Slater's other humor/memoir/travel books, including That Bear Ate My Pants!, Don't Need the Whole Dog!, Kamikaze Kangaroos!, and Can I Kiss Her Yet?, and was pleased to get a copy of this one, focusing on his attempts to make a living as an actor.

Later: While this wasn't as much fun as the travel-and/or-animal-themed books, I did enjoy it - and it might serve as a cautionary tale for folks who really, really want an acting career but have no idea what the practicalities might be. In Tony's case, he spent years as an on-call bit player, doing background shots for TV series and the occasional film. He did get a fair number of slots on "Coronation Street" - usually quick background appearances, uncredited - and has a lot to say about how that works, including a lot of sitting-around-reading-a-book; not exactly a glamorous career, though he did milk it for acting-cred whenever he could.

My favorite of his gigs: he was cast as one of several students listening to Christopher Lee as M. R. James, reading James' classic ghost stories! His account of listening to Lee chat about his career - and his time in the SAS during the war - was as delightful to me as it was to Tony.

He also got a brief gig on "Doctor Who," as a mobster killed by the first Dalek that was able to levitate; alas for Tony, one of the other actors sneaked a (forbidden!) photo of the new Dalek and leaked it to the press, leading to the entire cast being summarily fired. Ah, well...

Perhaps the funniest sequence of gigs had to do with an ad campaign for Lynx Razors, in which Tony was one of five men hired to travel to different stores around the country and - wearing nothing but Lycra boxers - entertain the crowds by being quirky and, occasionally, by shaving. Tony got the route that required the most driving, which was a challenge as he didn't drive, so he tapped his sister Gill - who'd just gotten her license - to come along on the 10-week tour and do the driving, for a cut of the pay. She agreed, though she hadn't counted on having to drive a huge van instead of a normal passenger car... Hilarity (and a couple of fortunately-not-too-disastrous-accidents) ensued - and the adventure apparently made the siblings into close friends, something that hadn't been the case when they were kids. [I recall how my relationship with my own younger sister improved once both of us were adults {wry grin}.]

There's a lot more here, from college life to the challenges of trying to shoot and edit one's own movie using 1980s technology. Also, lots of partying!

I left this book in the "Doctor Who"-themed not-so-Little Free Library; hope someone enjoys it!

[See other recent releases in MA here.]

*** Released for the 2022 e-less challenge. ***