Raising Caine - The Authorized Biography of Michael Caine by Hall, William

Englewood Cliffs, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1982, 2nd US printing of first edition, hard bound in dust jacket, 6 1/2 x 9 1/2, VG/VG condition, 245 pages, photos, filmography.--------------------------"Someone asked [Michael Caine] how he had been discovered, a word he has grown to hate over the years. `You'd think I was standing on a corner in the East End,' he retorted, `picking my teeth with a flick knife, when a film producer drives by in his Rolls Royce and says to his aide: "Buy him, that four-eyed git on the corner with the yellow hair! We'll make him a star!" . To most people I was an over-night discovery. They all forget what an awful long, dark night it was."-----------------------------------------------He was born Maurice Micklewhite, an East End Cockney lad, blessed with blond curls, piercing blue eyes, and a defiant streak. His humble beginnings, wartime childhood, early earnings as a dishwasher, and a national service in Korea gave him a wish for a better life. He was going to beat the system, to be rich, famous, and respected. So Maurice Micklewhite became Michael Caine and for years he lived on bit parts, hope, and lots of hellraising.-----------------------------------------------------Written with Caine's extensive co-operation, RAISING CAINE now vividly illuminates the engaging story of this versatile and highly accomplished British actor and international film star. William Hall, who has followed Caine's remarkable career from his first big break in Zulu in 1963 to his latest triumph in Dressed to Kill in 1980, reveals the true story behind Caine's "overnight" rags-to -riches rise to stardom, including: Caine's early years as the son of a charlady mother and a fish porter father; his pre-famous acting years of repertory, face-in-the-crowd parts, and minor stage and TV roles; his broken marriage and myriad romances; his rabble-rousing friendships with fellow actors.