«During this time a friendship was struck with Wilfrid Lawson, whom O'Toole would describe as an 'eccentric, perverse old bastard'. Lawson, famous for his part on stage as Eliza Doolittle's father in My Fair Lady, became O'Toole's acting mentor and was a notorious drunkard. In the days when plays went out live on television Lawson was muddling through his lines one night when he suddenly dried. Luckily his fellow actors were able to cover for him and when the scene ended Lawson breathed a huge sigh of relief and said, 'Well, I fair buggered that up, didn't I,' not realizing he was still on-air.
Lawson had also made the acquaintance of Burton, perhaps sensing that both men were at the vanguard of a new form of realism in acting and therefore represented the future. Most likely it was because they made for good drinking companions. During lunch in a pub Lawson ran into Burton and invited him to the matinee of a play he was appearing in at a nearby theatre. Since he wasn't in the early scenes Lawson offered to sit with Burton in the stalls. About 20 minutes after curtain up Burton started to get rather anxious that Lawson had not yet left to don his costume or make-up, instead just sitting there enthralled by the spectacle. Suddenly he tapped Burton's arm and said. 'You'll like this bit. This is where I come on.'
Lawson would meet quite a bizarre final curtain, suffering a fatal collapse while having a death mask made for a film.»
Histórias, histórias e mais histórias, um nunca acabar de histórias que não estão confinadas aos "quatro" maiorais, mas que têm sempre um dos "quatro" no epicentro da bebedeira. As 1001 noites mudadas para o Soho deram nisto. Um livro tóxico e hilariante.
