Articles/Interviews

Big and strong, with the air of an aristocratic bulldog, Ollie's now the perfect gentleman, thanks to a nubile 17 year old called Josephine. Jan Iles approached Britain's most rumbustious actor with caution... and, for the first time, came away with an unpinched bottom!

Oliver Reed sat at his favourite table at the film studio's restaurant for a lunch that was predominantly a liquid one. He declared in a boozy basso: "My dearest girl, life is so sweet...!"

As he tucked into a smoked salmon starter, Ollie was in a positively effervescent mood. He was on his most gentlemanly behaviour; no pinching bottoms or school-boyish pranks today, but kissing my hand (these actors!) and always standing up whenever I left the table!

Oliver Reed is big and strong and has the air of an aristocratic bulldog. As a cad he is famous for his success with women and also for his bar-room brawls. After his first bottle of Vodka he is a force to be reckoned with!

Candid, brisk and always amusing, interviewing Oliver Reed is a bit like taking tea with a slightly dotty favourite great uncle, as he converses on the most unusual subjects, while his friend and bodyguard, Reg, a cockney-looking gent, looks on bemused.

Reed whispers conspiratorially: "Did you know my grandfather was a very famous actor in Queen Victoria's reign? His spirit often come to me while I'm in the bath - only in the bath."

"He is such a great help, bless him, for he gives me tips on how to play certain characters when I'm stuck. He's often very accurate about these things..."

Ollie proceeds to reveal that Dear Grandpa won't visit him if anyone else is present so poor Ollie always has to bath alone: "Well, he's very fussy about things like that..."

At least his forebear prefers his new house near Rudgewick, which he bought a few years back, as he wasn't struck on the bathrooms of Ollie's 17th-century mansion in Guildford.

Rudgewick, Ollie tells me, is a beautiful part of the world on the Surrey/Sussex border and has some remarkable pubs - of which he is a connoisseur. Unfortunately, he has been banned from quite a few of them for his riotous behaviour.

"My last local banned me at Christmas because I was pretending to be Father Christmas and started to climb up the chimney. The only problem was there was a fire going at the time. Another local landlord banned me from entering his pub because the last time there I happened to stub out a cigarette in some tourist's plate of bangers and mash.'?"

He gives a regretful sigh... "Soooh... I have had to create my very own pub, which I've done by converting my bam for the purpose. It now houses a bar, a billiards table and a darts board and in the gents there are pictures of beautiful, naked women." He throws a sheepish glance... "I do have my moments when I'm exceedingly male chauvinistic!"

There are times also when he likes to be 'one of the lads' - which is why he says he also likes going to the local turkish baths. But don't misunderstand Oliver Reed ... he's also crazy about women. He says dreamily, poetically: "Ah, what would men do without women? Soft, wonderful women? ..."

He is still dating his "young lady" Josephine, a nubile 17-year-old whom "I met in a pub - where else?". Ollie admits that he gets on extremely well with her mother who is much nearer to Ollie's own age and he never ever thinks about the huge gap in years between Josephine and himself.

As for films, Oliver Reed says he's happy to work as an actor, "until the cows come home". He has formed many genuine attachments to fellow actors and has nothing but the deepest respect for people like "Glenda" (Jackson) and "Alan" (Bates) and "so many other thespians I've had such a privilege to work alongside."

Ollie was the swashbuckling star of "The Three Musketeers" (now available on Intervision). It was, he opines, one of the more enjoyable experiences of his long acting career. "We shared a cameraderie off-screen as well as on", he chuckles.

What did he think of the ravishing co-star Raquel Welch?

His eyes widen: "Raquel Welch? What can one say about those..."

On second thoughts, Mr Reed, you'd better not say anything!