The Laurieate

Happy Birthday to Hugh!

Today is June 11. A day like any other for most people, but for us here at The Laurieate and TICLE members far and wide, today is a very special day. It was 38 years ago to this day that "he whose name is too hallowed to be spoken" was born. Given that this is a family publication, we won't reveal what we here at The Laurieate will be doing (in the privacy of our own homes) to celebrate this great event, but we trust you will all set aside a moment in your day to reflect on all things Hugh. In celebration of Hugh's big day, we thought it would be nice to get to know the "real" Hugh just a bit better. Our ace staff graphologist Arleigh Hood set about to analyse her very own Hugh Laurie autograph. For those with the capacity to view such things, we've enclosed a scanned copy of the autograph she used. Her results will shock and amaze you. We're also going to be finding out Hugh's "Desert Island Picks". Peggy Haley was somehow able to shake herself from the notion of having Hugh to herself on a desert island long enough to find out just what albums Hugh would take along were he to be, heaven forfend, stranded a la "Gilligan's Island". Neva Vadeboncouer, author of the famous Stephen Fry faq, has written for us an in-depth review of Hugh's first major motion pairing with his comedy partner, the aforementioned Mr. Fry. After reading Neva's review, let us know what you think of Peter's Friends and we'll put your comments in the next issue. Last but not least, as many of you have been anticipating, the contest results for our "Win a Free Copy of The Gun Seller" Contest! It was a tough competition but both contests one and two brought forth two fine winners who should be receiving their spoils momentarily. The book prizes were supplied to us by the kind folk at McClelland & Stewart Publishing. Enjoy this issue of The Laurieate. We love your feedback and again, we invite any TICLE member or non-member to submit something, anything for an upcoming newsletter. 

                                                                    - Suzanne 

Arleigh H.

The gods must have been in a good mood the day that I ordered by copy of "The Gun Seller". Not only was I to receive the book, the direct product of Hugh's mind, but my copy was to be an autographed first edition! Upon coming into possession of the book, I thought that I'd have a bit of fun and try my hand at analysing his autograph through the use of a couple of great Graphology books. In order to keep this submission slightly more elevated than a tabloid article, here are the books I used: "Graphology for Beginners" by Richard Craze (1994), and "Handwriting and Personality" by Ann Mahoney (1989). 

Before I start, I should say that graphology has been recognized for many years as a way to look into one's personality. Technically, a handwriting analysis is supposed to involve more than a signature, since there are many more things that need to be taken in to consideration that I wasn't provided with. Ideally, Hugh should've sent me an entire page of writing with his autograph at the end. However, since he had no idea that I was planning to do this with my particular copy of his book, I'll just have to forgive him! A final thought before the analysis: Hugh's autograph may be completely different from his everyday signature. Therefore, what follows will only look at how he wishes to present himself to the public. Everyone unconsciously adds aspects of their personality into their signatures, so just be aware that Hugh didn't sit down one evening and decide how to alter his autograph in order to determine which bits of himself to reveal to the public. On that note, here we go: 

Hugh signed with black ink, meaning that he takes himself seriously and used medium-heavy pressure revealing he's modest, sensitive, caring, nurturing and has an "above average" sensuousness and sex-drive. The autograph itself was fairly illegible, which shows that Hugh doesn't wish to expose too much of himself to people, that he wears a mask in public, and fears being misunderstood or not accepted. In short, illegibility is a type of defence mechanism which allows him to control the public's acceptance of him by creating a distance between his work and himself. The slightly left-handed placement on the page indicate shyness; Hugh is unassuming and doesn't like to show off. His slight, left-hand slant shows that Hugh is introspective, controlled, reserved, cautious, shy, thoughtful, may have had trouble expressing his emotions, and possibly had some trouble with his childhood (I'll leave that one alone, in order to avoid sounding Freudian...). The even writing of the autograph points toward Hugh being reliable, mild-mannered, ruled by his head (not his heart), resolute, in control and "a bit dull". (No, he's NOT a dead-ringer for Clark Kent!!) Hugh's last name is encased in a circle, which shows that Hugh wishes to hide his true identity to the public, and is reluctant to discuss family affairs. He, understandably,has a great sheltering, hiding, and sensitivity to criticism when it comes to his family since he's in such a public profession, but the encircling also points to a lack of self-confidence, and suppressed anger. The "Hugh" part of the autograph is "somewhat" legible, which indicates that Hugh is much happier with his private, rather than his public life. He prefers being at home, living a quiet life, and is warm, soft, loving and kind. Peggy Haley suggested another way of looking at this: perhaps Hugh is comfortable with his life and what he's done with it, but maybe is unhappy, for some reason, as to how he's lived up to his family name. The loops of his autograph are narrow and pointy, showing that Hugh is a very logical thinker, as well as a pragmatic realist, and the fact that the autograph is very straight, not slanting up or down the page, reveals that Hugh is stable and balanced in his emotional relationships. Hugh's "garlands" (also known as the scoops or cups in letters like "u"), mean that our favourite British man is adaptable, avoids conflict, is sympathetic, practical, natural, open, honest, sincere, kind and tolerant. Hugh's garlands are very deep, which shows that he is holding on to emotional resentments, and may indicate a need to be loved(!). Some individual letters that I was able to pick out of the clutter of ink and swirls on the title page of the book were also revealing. His "u", for example, points to him being immature, envious and unsure of himself. The narrow "e" at the end of "Laurie" shows he's a keen thinker, sensuous, had broad comprehension. This "e" is detached from the rest of his name, which indicates that Hugh is observant, quick-thinking, good at fine detail, and talented. The dot over the "I" has been the subject of debate among those of us with the autograph, since the dot could be any one of the two spots in the vicinity of the "I". I personally think that Hugh pays attention, notices surroundings, is watchful, quiet, evaluates everyone, and finds faults with himself easily. The other option, with the dot being way above and to the right of the "I", could mean that Hugh has an absorbed interest in the doings of other people. Finally, Hugh added an underscore to his autograph. An underscore is a flare placed under his name, and in Hugh's case, looks slightly like a chubby goldfish. Underscores indicate a sign of independence, and shows that Hugh strives for recognition in his profession(s). However, Hugh's underscore isn't large or extravagant, so it may be assumed that Hugh strives for a certain DEGREE of recognition. So that's Hugh revealed. In general, Hugh is a very nice, considerate gentleman. Like everyone, he has some hang-ups, but he's not letting them rule his life, as demonstrated by his continual striving for success in his very public job. Another final thought: these points about Hugh's personality came from a couple of books that have just compiled a truck-load of personality traits. Like all forms of "soft sciences",every shred of information provided here can be argued. So, analyse away! If any of you have any brilliant insights, please don't hesitate to let me know, and we can include it in the next issue! 
 

On a Desert Island with Hugh 

Peggy H.

Don't get excited -- this isn't yet another contest, with the aforementioned as first prize. It's a report on Hugh's May 12, 1996 appearance on the BBC Radio Four program Desert Island Discs. Each week on this popular and long-running program, a writer, actor, musician, explorer, or other person of note is invited to list the eight records that he or she would want to have if castaway on a desert island. The choices are presented in the form of a chat with the host, Sue Lawley, and are used to illustrate some aspect of the guest's past life, personality or interests. I was lucky enough to receive tapes of Hugh's interview from two U.K. contacts. Here are some of the highlights. 

After an introduction that recapped Hugh's claims to fame, Sue Lawley started off by asking him about his reputation as a worrier. Hugh admitted that he can and does worry about everything, but he spoke mostly about the anxiety of performing, contrasting his carefree amateur days with the pressure he began to feel once he started doing it for a living. He did say that he "get(s) uncomfortable with happiness. I think if things are going too well, I start to worry." Perhaps that's why he has a strong taste for the blues. His first record pick was Muddy Waters' "I Want to Be Loved" (CD: Hard Again - CDSKY 32357), but he admitted that he could easily have filled out the entire eight slots with Muddy Waters, "the musician who I have listened to most in my life, and who has meant the most to me." 

They next talked about Jeeves and Wooster: whether he and Stephen Fry could have reversed roles, how intimidating it was to take on a classic with a fanatical following, why they stopped after four series. (He was getting too old for the part, and they had exhausted most of the material anyway.) Sue Lawley suggested that the series hadn't been a success in the U.S., to which Hugh responded that it was perhaps too verbal and not action-oriented enough to appeal to an American audience. I'd dispute both these statements, but that would be another article.:-) 

After this came a discussion of Hugh's own musical background. He disavowed any special ability, saying only that he "trifles" with piano, guitar, and a few other things. He played percussion in the orchestra at Eton, which he claims gave him a lifelong dislike of violinists "en masse," but that didn't prevent his selecting as his second record the Violin Concerto No. 1 by Max Bruch - an "absurdly romantic piece" and "one of the few pieces of classical music that I could countenance on a desert island."(CD: Brahms/Bruch Concertos, RCA 09026 68046-2) 

This led into a bit about his childhood and family: father a G.P., two older sisters and an older brother who thought he was the favourite (which he didn't see). Asked to describe himself at age ten, he said,"unpleasant I suspect, idle, feckless, but quite happy" because of his vivid fantasy life. He recalls that his parents and siblings were all tremendously funny, so that meal times were filled with a lot of laughter - obviously it rubbed off! He considered one day going into medicine, and, more seriously, the Hong Kong police (it seemed a "glamorous and exciting life"). He claims to have had a rebellious stage at school, but eventually joined "the establishment," and became a house captain at Eton. He told a story about trying, aged ten, to make a petrol bomb and getting badly burned as a result. His father, instead of being justly angry, went out to Woolworth's to buy a pop record to ease the boredom of his convalescence. The store gave him "Tumbling Dice" by the Rolling Stones. This gesture by his father touched Hugh so much that it still "means a great deal" to him - and the record made his third desert island pick. (CD: Exiles on Main Street, Virgin CDV 2731) 

Sue Lawley asked about the Boat Race in which he rowed for Cambridge: 1980, a loss to Oxford which, he says, he "will carry to (his) grave." This led to talking about Cambridge, the Footlights, and the start of the Fry/Laurie partnership. Initially attracted by the gravitas that
Stephen could bring to Footlights revues, he says that they "got on very well very quickly, and when we started to write together, we made each other laugh a lot - it seemed to come very easily." About The Cellar Tapes, their award-winning Footlights revue, and the ease with which they were able to move into TV comedy, Hugh was characteristically modest, saying only that they were very lucky to have come along at a time when there was a vogue for young performers doing sketch comedy. 

Another reminiscence led to his fourth choice, "(Love Is)The Tender Trap" by Frank Sinatra with the Count Basie Orchestra (CD: Sinatra-Basie- An Historic Musical First, Reprise 1008-2). Besides the fact that he "loves Sinatra" and considers Count Basie's orchestra "about as good a collection of musicians as ever got together," the song was on a tape that he and his house mates listened to while doing the washing-up in his first house in London. 

Sue Lawley asked Hugh if he feels he's in the right profession; here's how he evaluated his talent: "I suppose I can do it (acting) better than some people, but then a lot worse than others. I think what I *can* do is do a large number of things sort of reasonably well. I can play the piano better than Stephen, but I can't play it as well as Jools Holland; but then I can probably act better than Jools Holland, but I can't act as well as Kenneth Branagh; but then I can maybe write a - you know. Who knows?" 

Hugh introduced his fifth record, "Hit Me with your Rhythm Stick" by Ian Dury and the Blockheads (CD: Teenage Kicks - Various Artists, Polygram 525 338-2/A&&B), as "the second-best pop song ever written." (He didn't dare say it was the best, as that merely makes people argue with you.) He said it was "witty, and sexy, and clever, and I think Ian Dury's an absolute genius." 

The next subject to come up was Stephen Fry's disappearance after leaving the cast of the West End play Cell Mates. Hugh described how he first heard about it from their mutual agent, then in a letter from Stephen. While he didn't really expect Stephen to do anything foolish, he was nevertheless relieved to find out that he hadn't. Hugh declined to speculate on why Stephen ran away, except to the extent that all actors can understand the sort of panic he might have been feeling. Asked if they saw less of each other since then, he said, only in that they haven't worked or written together much. It was writing that had thrown them together for long stretches at a time. He said, "We are very good friends as well, and we have always been close...but it's actually when we make each other laugh, *that* is when we are about as close as you can get, really." He was noncommittal about whether they would work together again, except to say that they were getting a bit old for sketch comedy. 

The sixth record Hugh picked was Erich Korngold's stirring theme from the Errol Flynn film _The Sea Hawk_ (CD: Classic Film Scores, Class 7017) - because you can't be despondent while listening to it. Fans of A Bit of Fry & Laurie would recognize this as the swashbuckling music played during the "Tony of Plymouth" sword fight sketch in Series 1. 

Sue Lawley finally mentioned the reason Hugh was probably on the program in the first place, his newly-published novel, The Gun Seller. Hugh explained that he'd written a thriller because of his love for the genre, that he didn't see it as a spoof or parody, unless of the most
affectionate kind, and that he'd had great fun writing it. He also confirmed the story that he had originally sent it to the publisher under an assumed name (so that it would be judged on its own merits). 

The conversation turned to Hugh's family life. He has three children, aged at the time of this broadcast 7, 5 and 2 "and a half." About his wife, he said that they laugh a lot and are "jolly good chums" - which he instantly berated himself for, but he made up for it with his seventh record selection: Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" because his wife "has brown eyes, and [she's] a girl." (CD: The Best of Van Morrison, Polydor 841970-2)  When asked how he'd fare on a desert island, Hugh was confident of being able to cope with the physical side, and thought that his vivid fantasy life would stand him in good stead mentally. Apart from family, he would most miss his friends, motorcycles and musical instruments. 

Hugh's last record choice was the "very, very sad" "Me Minus You Equals Loneliness" by Dr. John (CD: The Ultimate Dr. John, Warner Special Products 9-27612-2), because he does "like a bit of a wallow - I'm very happy when I'm sad." 

The program ends with the guest picking one must-have record from the list of eight, one book, and one luxury to take along to the desert island. Hugh said he'd have to take "Brown Eyed Girl - and failing that, I'd have to take thee record called 'Brown Eyed Girl.' " For his book, he picked a self-taught Italian course, because he'd love to learn the language and it would take up a long time on an island. His luxury would ideally be the Savoy Hotel, but failing that, a photo album of those he'd "known and loved." 

In spite of his talk about anxiety and melancholy, Hugh came across on the program as cheerful, polite, charming and witty. He remained good-humoured even when his work was being criticized, and frequently dropped into accents and characters when replying to a question. The interview was a delight from beginning to end. I hope I've given you some of the flavour of it. Thanks to Andrew V. and Cathie B. for supplying me with tapes, and to Antonia Bradford, assistant producer on Desert Island Discs, for the complete descriptions of the records. 
 
 

Meet Peter's Friends...

Neva Vadeboncoeur 

The premise of Peter's Friends is simple: six friends performed together as part of a university revue. Their last show was ten years ago on New Year's Eve, and now Peter (Stephen Fry) has invited the old gang to his newly inherited estate for a reunion and to ring in the New Year again. It stars a great ensemble cast which includes Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson. As you probably know, several of the cast members, Laurie, Fry, Thompson, Tony Slattery and one of the screenwriters, Martin Bergman, were part of Cambridge University's renowned Footlights Revue. As the focus of the film seems to be friendship in all its pain and glory, one couldn't hope for a cast who conveyed more real emotions toward each other than this one. Peter's friends are varied and, for the most part, likeable even with their foibles. Emma Thompson is spectacular as the funky Maggie, who works for a publishing company and has read a few too many self-help books. Andrew (Kenneth Branagh, director) now lives in Hollywood and writes the sitcom on which his self-absorbed American wife, Carol (Rita Rudner, co-screenwriter) stars. There are successful jingle-writers Roger (Hugh Laurie) and Mary (Imelda Staunton), who have married. Nine months ago, they had a personal tragedy, the death of one of their children, and Mary has not been able to find a way to work it through with Roger. Music plays an important role in the film. There are some wonderful "live" musical moments, and all of them include Hugh. The friends gather round for a beautiful rendition of "The Way You Look Tonight" with Roger at the piano. The camera moves slowly, almost ethereally, and Mary and Maggie do most of the singing. Unfortunately, Hugh barely sings at all. Still, it's just lovely. Hugh gives us what is certainly one of the most emotionally potent moments in the entire film. It is the scene where Roger agonizingly and articulately points out that a man can feel the pain that comes with the loss of a child as deeply as a woman can. You will, I believe, see sides of both Hugh and Stephen which you've never seen before. Stephen has some soft, quiet and lovely moments, and Hugh is very tense, dark and brooding to begin with, then very playful and light. Imelda Staunton does a fine job as Mary. She is wound so tightly that it's a relief to us as well when she and Roger finally work things through. Hers could have been an easy character to overdo, ending up annoying the audience more than winning its sympathy. She's able to stay above that line. Her emotions are so much more overt than Roger's. She could have overpowered his character, but she doesn't. Though, in my opinion, he's not given enough to do, Hugh certainly holds his own in the film. This film holds many treats for the Hugh Laurie fan besides those I've already mentioned. His incredible acting talents are very evident, and I definitely agree with the people who say he could be a "serious" actor if he chose to. His character radiates emotion; he doesn't need to jump in your face and demand that you to notice him. When he's on screen, your eyes are drawn to him. In one scene, he cries ever so softly, and you can't help but melt. While acting, he can call upon his natural charisma, pulling you into his feelings, and making the moment that much more real. Prepare to be thoroughly jealous of Imelda Staunton. Hugh and she have some absolutely luscious bedroom scenes, which are sexy and playful. We even get to see him play guitar in bed, which I think is one of the nicest bits of all. There is an intensely beautiful sequence where the camera pans the different characters as they're sleeping, and Roger is asleep with Mary cuddled close in his arms. The ardent Hugh Laurie fan will never forget this image. After you view this film, ask yourself if you'd like to be one of Peter's Friends. I suspect that your answer will be yes, and can think of no higher recommendation for renting or buying the video than that.

Peter's Friends, 1992, Renaissance Films/Samuel Goldwyn Company; Kenneth Branagh, Director. I got my video from Movies Unlimited, 3015 Darnell Road, Philadelphia, PA 19154-3295; 1-800-4-MOVIES. They carry some Jeeves & Wooster tapes, several British comedy films and television shows, and they even have a small photo of Hugh and Stephen in their latest catalog. You might also want to watch for Phyllida Law's and Imelda Staunton's guest shots on Series 4 of A Bit of Fry & Laurie. 
 

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