Moon Boots and Dinner Suits

An Autobiography

By: Jon Pertwee

Narrated by: Terry Molloy

Length: 3 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

Published for the first time in audio - Jon Pertwee's infamous autobiography, Moon Boots and Dinner Suits, read by Terry Molloy.

Jon Pertwee's acting career began with a public performance at the age of four. He seems to have been expelled from most of the schools his actor-writer father, Roland Pertwee, sent him to and finally joined RADA in 1936.

From there, too, he was asked to leave. Jon went into Rep and had a checkered career. In Brighton panic set in when he dressed as an old gardener in Love from a Stranger instead of as a young cleric in Candida.

In 1938 came Jon's first radio role in the BBC's Lillibulero, in which year he also appeared in his father's play, To Kill a Cat, directed by Henry Kendall at the Aldwych Theatre.

When war came he joined the navy, ramming Douglas Pier with an Isle of Man Steam Packet boat. He was blown up twice, once put on a marble slab and presumed dead, and spent many months stationed in the Scapa Flow. He was the founder of the Service Players in the Isle of Man. He was commissioned in the RNVR and transferred to naval intelligence, where he worked and became good friends with the future Prime Minister James Callaghan.

Then Jon joined Naval Broadcasting. His radio series, The Navy Lark, ran for 18 years and produced some truly vintage memories of radio.

Whether telling stories of a misspent youth, of his posterior's first painful introduction to a fives bat or of his exploits with the McKenzie sisters in the north of Scotland, Jon Pertwee's humour and natural wit never fail him. Moon Boots and Dinner Suits is a wry, funny and endearing portrait of the early years of a most innovative and well-loved actor.

©2016 Fantom Publishing (P)2016 Spokenworld Audio & Ladbroke Audio Ltd/Fantom Publishing

Witty and so very entertaining

A man of his times and beyond it. Exciting, well written, and attention grabbing. Narrator couldn’t have done better if it were JDR Pertwee himself. Thank you for this selection on audible.

Engrossingly Interesting

An interesting account of the life of a confident kind and caring man. If anything, I would only have enjoyed it more if it were twice as long.

The 3rd Doctor as a young man.

This was a delightful read. John Pertwee autobiography talks about his childhood, teen years, and his time in the navy. His telling about his first love is hysterical. Never knew he served on board the HMS Hood. So much about his doctor is revealed in this short book. I only wish it was a little longer.

Fascinating

This book shows a wide variety of experiences Jon had from childhood to the war. Very intriguing to the point where once I pressed play, I had nothing but the book on my mind during pauses I had to take throughout the session to take care of daily necessities. An excellent read with a perfect choice in narrator.