Diaries of actor who inspired Withnail And I go up for sale
DIARIES of the actor who inspired the classic film Withnail And I are expected to fetch up to £18,000 when they go to auction.
Vivian Mackerrell, the son of a Scottish accountant, was a major inspiration for the character of Withnail, and now fans will be able to bid on his musings at Sotheby’s in London, where they are predicted to make between £12,000 and £18,000.
The 1987 film stars Richard E Grant and Paul Mcgann as two struggling actors, Withnail and Marwood, who retreat to a country house in an attempt to escape their hedonistic lifestyles in 1960s London, but the pair’s holiday turns disastrous as they get into scrapes with locals and continue to drink heavily.
Mackerrell’s notes give a firsthand account of real-life versions of scenes from the film, such as him drinking a can of lighter fluid and visiting wolves in Regent’s Park.
The actor, who died in 1995, had shared a house in Camden Town with the film’s writer and director Bruce Robinson, who the film’s Marwood character was based on and where they lived in similar squalor to the film’s main characters.
He died in 1995 and his ashes were scattered on Loch Indaal on Islay.
The two diaries going to auction cover the years 1974 and 1975, and even mention that Robinson was writing Withnail And I.
One excerpt reads: “Up at about 9.30 to go down to sign on with B(ruce). The labour (exchange) seemed fuller than usual – they’ve cutdown on staff – the buggers. After a pint, I read and corrected more of Withnail And I, his book and when he came back we opened the bottle of Pouilly-fuisse that L had put out in the windowbox to chill.”
They have never been seen outside of Mackerrell’s friends and family, and give fresh insight into the inspiration behind the film, as he speaks about his mouse-ridden flat, his 30th birthday, and feelings about seeing friends move on.
Despite the film ending when the character based on Robinson moves out, the diaries continue after his departure and show Mackerrell continued living in the same squalid home, continuing his heavy drinking and drug-taking.
A set of photographs of Mackerrell, including unseen negatives from a Vogue photoshoot, will also be included with the two diaries.
Sotheby’s books and manuscripts specialist, Dr Gabriel Heaton, said: “Vivian Mackerrell’s diaries are a wonderful discovery. It is a great privilege to be afforded this insight into the inspiration and background to one of the greatest of modern British films.”