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y separately published work icon How I Clawed My Way to the Middle single work   autobiography  
Issue Details: First known date: 2020... 2020 How I Clawed My Way to the Middle
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

'The long awaited autobiography of one of Australia's best loved actors.

'‘Your job is to go out there, grab the audience by the balls, and drag them up on stage with you!’ I was flabbergasted. This I understood. A language that I spoke – had spoken most of my life. It was the best acting note I ever got.

'John Wood grew up in working-class Melbourne; when he failed out of high school, an employment officer told him, ‘You have the mind of an artist and the body of a labourer.’ And so John continued to pursue his acting dreams in amateur theatre, sustaining himself by working jobs as a bricklayer, a railway clerk and even in the same abattoir as his father.

'When he won a scholarship to NIDA, in Sydney, it moved John into a new and at times baffling world, full of extraordinary characters. It was the start of a decades-long acting career, most famously on shows such as Rafferty’s Rules and Blue Heelers, where his charm made him beloved in households across the country. His popularity was such that he was nominated for a Gold Logie nine times in a row, finally culminating in a win in 2006.

'How I Clawed My Way to the Middle is a beguiling memoir from one of Australia’s most cherished actors on both stage and screen. Full of humility, warmth and humour, it tells of the ephemeral nature of theatre, the luminous personalities John encountered along the way, and the perilous reality of life as a professional actor in Australia.' (Publication summary)
 

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Penguin , 2020 .
      image of person or book cover 5853799382620416296.jpg
      Image courtesy of publisher's website.
      Extent: 320p.
      Note/s:
      • Published: 4th August 2020
      ISBN: 9780143794974

Works about this Work

Book Review : ‘How I Clawed My Way to the Middle’ by John Wood Lynne Lancaster , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , September 2020;

— Review of How I Clawed My Way to the Middle John Wood , 2020 single work autobiography

John Wood's autobiography is written with great warmth and passion, acknowledging the transitory essence of the theatre world.

Gravitas and a Twinkly Grin : A Thespian Stays True to His Roots Diana Simmonds , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 425 2020; (p. 61)

— Review of How I Clawed My Way to the Middle John Wood , 2020 single work autobiography

'To his obvious surprise, John Wood became a household name playing ordinary, reliable Aussie blokes – most memorably Sergeant Tom Croydon on Blue Heelers and magistrate Michael Rafferty on Rafferty’s Rules – two of television’s best-loved everyday heroes. (I confess to writing about the latter in The Bulletin and describing him as ‘the thinking woman’s crumpet’.)' (Introduction)

Gravitas and a Twinkly Grin : A Thespian Stays True to His Roots Diana Simmonds , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: Australian Book Review , October no. 425 2020; (p. 61)

— Review of How I Clawed My Way to the Middle John Wood , 2020 single work autobiography

'To his obvious surprise, John Wood became a household name playing ordinary, reliable Aussie blokes – most memorably Sergeant Tom Croydon on Blue Heelers and magistrate Michael Rafferty on Rafferty’s Rules – two of television’s best-loved everyday heroes. (I confess to writing about the latter in The Bulletin and describing him as ‘the thinking woman’s crumpet’.)' (Introduction)

Book Review : ‘How I Clawed My Way to the Middle’ by John Wood Lynne Lancaster , 2020 single work review
— Appears in: ArtsHub , September 2020;

— Review of How I Clawed My Way to the Middle John Wood , 2020 single work autobiography

John Wood's autobiography is written with great warmth and passion, acknowledging the transitory essence of the theatre world.

Last amended 9 Oct 2020 11:16:54
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