New book of memories from Eric's son

Eric Morecambe's son has written another book about life with his father.

The new biography - Life's Not Hollywood, It's Cricklewood - includes extracts from Eric's previously unseen diaries and many family photos, compiled by Eric's eldest son Gary.

He also recalls personal memories of his father, including his perennial Long John Silver impersonations at home, his near-death experience in a rubber dinghy, and his one disastrous attempt at cooking.

This is Gary's third volume about his father, who died in 1984 after a long battle with heart disease. His first, Funny Man, came out six months after Eric's death and his second, Behind The Sunshine, ten years later.

Gary was just starting school when the Morecambe and Wise partnership first achieved national recognition, so his formative years, and those of his sister Gail and adopted brother Steven, were spent in the shadow of their father's fame.

Morecambe Jnr has previously written books about Peter Sellers and Cary Grant and was involved in the recent West End smash The Play What I Wrote, which transferred with some success to Broadway.

"The success of the play shows that their star has continued to rise in the last 20 years," he says. "It's become bigger, if anything, and you can't help but embrace it all and be part of it."

Eric Morecambe, Life's Not Hollywood, it's Cricklewood is published on September 18 by BBC Worldwide, priced £16.99

Click here to pre-order from Amazon at £11.89.

Published: 11 Jul 2003