Birth name
Robert Oliver Reed
Nickname
Mr England (self-proclaimed)
Height
5' 11" (1.80 m)
Spouse
Josephine Burge (September 1985 - 2 May 1999) (his death)
Kate Byrne (1959 - 1969) (divorced) 1 child
Trivia
Shared the same dentist as horror star Christopher Lee
Needed 36 stitches to repair cuts on his face after a bar fight in 1963. The incident left him with a permanent scar, which he initially feared would put an end to his screen career.
He had two brothers. David Reed became his business manager and his half-brother Simon Reed became his press agent.
Nephew of the film director Sir Carol Reed, who directed him in one of his best roles, as the villainous Bill Sikes in Oliver! (1968). Father of Mark Reed, with his first wife Kate Byrne and of Sarah Reed, with his partner, the dancer Jacqueline Daryl. Grandson of actor-manager Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who founded the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1904. Cousin of actress Tracy Reed and of the actor David Tree He was related by marriage to fellow actor Edward Fox, who was once married to his cousin, Tracy Reed, daughter of director Sir Carol Reed.
He died of a heart attack in a bar after reputedly downing three bottles of Captain Morgan's Jamaica rum, eight bottles of German beer, numerous doubles of Famous Grouse whiskey, and beating five much younger Royal Navy sailors at arm-wrestling. His bar bill for that final lunch time totaled 270 Maltese lira, almost £450.
He was severely injured and almost died during the filming of The Three Musketeers (1973) when he was stabbed in the throat during the windmill duel scene.
It took Director Ridley Scott 3,000,000 dollars to recreate Oliver's face after he died during the filming of Gladiator (2000)
His first job (at the age of 17) was as a bouncer at a Soho nightclub.
Was dyslexic.
Reed narrowly missed out on playing superspy James Bond because of his love of alcohol and fighting. A new biography of the star uncovered a letter from Bond mastermind Albert R. Broccoli outlining how close he came to replacing Sean Connery in the role. Broccoli wrote, "With Reed we would have had a far greater problem to destroy his image and re-mold him as James Bond. We just didn't have the time or money to do that." According to Cliff Goodwin, author of the book "Evil Spirits", "Oliver was probably within a sliver of being cast as Bond." He adds, "But by 1968 his affairs were public and he was already drinking and fighting - as far away from the refined Bond image as you could get."
He was one of very few celebrities to remain in England during the 1970s, when taxes were very high. Because of this he referred to himself as "Mr England".
By the mid-1970s he was considered by many to be Britain's biggest movie star. He declined roles in The Sting (1973) and Jaws (1975) because he didn't want to relocate to Los Angeles. Both of these roles were taken by fellow British hellraiser Robert Shaw. However, a Hollywood executive claimed, "Reed didn't turn us down. We turned him down. We like our stars to have respect - Oliver Reed didn't respect anyone and he showed it."
The actor he admired most was Errol Flynn.
He was a close friend of The Who's drummer Keith Moon.
Former snooker champion Alex Higgins, himself suffering from throat cancer, was the only celebrity to attend Reed's funeral in Ireland.
Personal quotes
"You meet a better class of people in pubs."
"I do not live in the world of sobriety."
"My only regret is that I didn't drink every pub dry and sleep with every woman on the planet."
"I believe that my woman shouldn't work outside the home. When I come home and I'm tired from filming all day, I expect her to be there and make sure that everything is cool for me. You know, like drawing my bath and helping me into bed. That's the kind of job she had and, in return for it, she can bear my children and if any man talks bad to her, I'll hit him."
"Munchausen was about the only time I've been allowed to do what I want with a part. You can be over-directed by people, but Terry let me have my own way. There was a scene we rehearsed on Saturday where we really hit our stride. When we resumed, Terry said on the Sunday, 'You seemed to be having much more fun with the character yesterday. Could you take it a bit further?' I didn't need to be told twice! Once I realized I could get away with it, off I went!"
"I also use women as a sex object; maybe I'm kinky. However, I like to talk to them as well."
"I like the effect drink has on me. What's the point of staying sober?"
"I'm the biggest star this country has got, destroy me and you destroy the whole British film industry."
"Richard Burton was hitting the bottle with Jimmy Hurt the night before his death. He knew it was going to kill him, but he did not stop. I don't have a drink problem. But if that was the case and doctors told me I would have to stop, I'd like to think I would be brave enough to drink myself into the grave."
"Life shouldn't be about sitting around staring at frosted glass. Life should be lived and that's all there is to it."
"Nicholson? As far as I'm concerned, he's a balding midget. He stands five-foot-seven, you know. He tries to play heavies and doesn't quite make it."
I'd like to meet:
Where Oliver Reed went, controversy would follow. Starring in Ken Russell’s Women in Love - the first English speaking commercial film to feature full frontal male nudity – Reed famously wrestled naked with Alan Bates. Reed also starred in the first film to include the word “fuck†(I’ll Never Forget What’s ‘Is Name), as well as the first British film to be rated X due to its violent content
According to Ken Russell, the aforementioned homo-erotic wrestling scene was not actually included in the original script, due to his feeling that the censors of the time would not allow it to pass. Hearing this, Reed was none too pleased, and apparently demonstrated his displeasure by wrestling Russell to the floor in his kitchen, and pinning him to the ground until he agreed to include it.
Due to his notorious public appearances while under the influence, Reed became forever synonymous with alcohol. It was alleged that during the stag weekend prior to his second marriage (to long time sweetheart Josephine, in 1985) Reed downed an unhealthy 104 pints of beer. However, Reed was quick to dispel this rumour: “The event that was reported actually took place during an arm-wrestling competition in Guernsey about 15 years ago.â€
Lee Marvin, describing his first encounter with Reed, said: “I was expecting to meet up with this actor who was supposed to be Britain’s hellraiser, and what do I see but this tailor’s dummy in a pinstripe suit looking more like a fucking bankerâ€.
Reed, during his infamous 80s appearance on The David Letterman Show, continued the feud by pretending to forget Marvin’s surname, and claimed to have “screwed Marvin at drinking†during a drinking competition that allegedly took place between the pair.
During the same show, Reed also caused David Letterman to lose his footing by pulling him forward during their greeting handshake; punctuated the interview by adopting an American accent, pointing at the camera and claiming “I’m after you, Stalloneâ€; replied to Letterman’s questions in German; spoke nonsense claiming he was a fisherman who wore boots in his ears; took the piss out of Letterman’s nose by pressing his own down in imitation; and removed his glasses and stared Letterman down, forcing Letterman to plead to band leader, Paul Schaffer to accompany him.
In fact, on both sides of the Atlantic, Reed became well known for his “performances†on chat shows. On The Merv Griffin Show in the 70s, Reed sat listening attentively whilst Griffin reeled off some anecdote about Peter O’Toole in order to illustrate the temperamental nature of English actors. After enduring the entire story, Reed sat forward and, quite politely, pointed out that O’Toole was in fact Irish, and not English. More famously still, he once asked perma-tanned British talk show host Richard Madley why he had “orange skinâ€.
During his first appearance on The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson watched on in horror as Shelly Winters – reacting to Reed’s somewhat misogynistic comments – poured a drink over Reed’s head. When later quizzed about the incident, Reed stated: “My row with Shelly Winters was caused by her abominable lack of manners. She is getting old now and I think she is quite crazy.â€
It could never have been considered a good idea for Channel 4 to have invited Reed to a late night, serious debate programme involving a panel of toffs and one lesbian feminist discussing male violence on TV. Quizzed afterwards about his experience – which resulted in him being ejected from the studio – Reed agreed that he “might†have told the feminist that he had had more fights in pubs than “you’ve had hot dinnersâ€, before kissing her, quite uninvited, on the lips.
Reed – who once asked, “I like the effect drink has on me. What’s the point of staying sober?†– realised, upon his arrival at Galway airport, Ireland, while lying drunk on the baggage conveyor, that he was slowly killing himself with his constant alcohol binges. He tried to make amends for his past behaviour, which included spiking snooker star Alex Higgins’ whisky with Chanel perfume. Higgins reacted by squirting washing-up liquid in Reed’s crème de menthe.
Reed passed away prematurely, while filming Scott’s Gladiator in Malta. His role was completed by means of placing a CGI replica of Reed’s head onto a body double, comprised of various “jigsaw-like†pieces of filming that Reed had completed. Scott admits that it was his intention to provide Reed’s screen career with a fitting end by having had him utter the final line of the film. However, after much trial and error, Scott was forced to abandon the idea due to the lack of useable footage.
