Background
Games was born in 1963, in London, England.
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Gallery of Alexander Games
Cambridge CB2 1RF, United Kingdom
Games studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985.
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Other photo of Alexander Games
Cambridge CB2 1RF, United Kingdom
Games studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985.
- Photos
- Works
book
Pete and Dud
(Peter Cook and Dudley Moore created, together and individ...)
Peter Cook and Dudley Moore created, together and individually, some of British comedy's finest moments. From their first appearance together while students on stage, it was clear that a chemistry existed the likes of which occurs only once in every generation. Like Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello or Morecambe and Wise, Pete and Dud made a unique and memorable team. Their humor was alternative before the term became a cliché, and as Derek and Clive the pair broke taboos and confronted notions of what is considered 'acceptable' for public performance in original and shocking fashion. For the first time, this book traced the lives and careers of Pete and Dud as a duo, examining their work and influence both as a double act and as individuals. Using original interview material with people who knew and worked with the pair, this was the first, finest critical biography of Cook and Moore AKA Derek and Clive, AKA 'troubled' Peter Cook and 'Cuddly' Dudley. It tells the strange story of how the master inventor of the British satire boom and the most unlikely Hollywood sex symbol became friends, collaborators, and the best of enemies.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AMM4G4M/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i2
1999
Backing into the Limelight: The Biography of Alan Bennett
(He was always the shy, retiring one, seemingly most dismi...)
He was always the shy, retiring one, seemingly most dismissive of his gifts. But Alan Bennett, who came to prominence in the mold-breaking 1960 revue Beyond the Fringe, has carved a reputation for himself which has slowly but surely eclipsed those of his former partners, Jonathan Miller, Peter Cook, and Dudly Moore. An acclaimed writer, whether for TV, stage, or screen, Bennet has worked with several generations of our leading actors and directors. He is also one of Britain's best-loved national figures, whose readings of children's classics are still bestsellers. But running parallel with Alan Bennett's evolution as an author, actor, and celebrity is the story of his love-hate relationship with the media, a remarkable and at times farcical tale of trust mislaid, and eventually lost. In this, the first full biography of Alan Bennett, Alexander Games tracks the writer's life from childhood in Leeds through his formative early years at Oxford and onward as he stepped reluctantly into the limelight.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0747270309/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i6
2001
The Essential Spike Milligan
(A Spike Milligan opus, containing everything from classic...)
A Spike Milligan opus, containing everything from classics to hidden gems, with a foreword by Eddie Izzard. This stunning anthology of Spike Milligan's work comprises of favorites from his classic books ('Adolf Hitler: My Part in his Downfall,' 'Goodbye Soldier,' 'Puckoon'!) as well as scripts from the now-classic Goon Show. Interspersing such comic genius is also a touching collection of letters and his celebrated and liberating writings on depression, demonstrating the diverse talent of a man whose creative output spanned over half a century. A selection of children's poetry and writings ('Unspun Socks for A Chicken's Laundry,' 'A Book of Milliganimals,' 'Silly Verse for Kids' and much more) reveals Spike's irresistible connection with the childlike imagination and a brilliant sense of the ridiculous. All the favorite and funniest stories are there. For those who want an excellent introduction to the mind of Milligan or a welcome return to a much-loved genius, this is the ultimate Milligan reader.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0007155115/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i3
2002
Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner
(Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner...)
Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner is a thrilling ride through the provocative, bewildering, and often downright bizarre world of language and etymology. From the brash jargon of celebrity magazines to the delicacies and feints of the euphemism, author, and word-sleuth Alex Games has uncovered the remarkable stories that lie behind some of our best-loved words and expressions. By grouping words into distinct themes - such as put downs and insults, the vocab of fashionistas and the lingo of dodgy dealings - Balderdash & Piffle looks at the English language in a fresh and revealing light. Who was the original Jack the Lad? What is the tragic story behind the expression Sweet F.A.? Balderdash & Piffle will show you where thugs come from, why 'barmy' once had more to do with your beer than your brain, and how a little bit of 'hanky-panky' could literally work magic. From the 'Cloud-cuckoo-land' of Aristophanes to the town of Balaclava, this is a funny but rigorously researched account of English words and their origins. Drawing together sources as diverse as William Shakespeare, David Cameron and the Burnham-on-Sea Gazette, Alex Games recalls the trends, innovations and scandals that have produced some of our most familiar but least explored words and phrases. Accompanying a brand new series of the hit BBC television programme Balderdash & Piffle - and containing all the results of the 'Wordhunt' from the first series -this entertaining book is a treasure trove for English-language lovers everywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004E10RNQ/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i1
2010
Kick the Bucket and Swing the Cat: The Complete Balderdash & Piffle Collection of English Words, and Their Curious Origins
(Kick the Bucket and Swing the Cat takes a humorous tour t...)
Kick the Bucket and Swing the Cat takes a humorous tour through the fascinating, sometimes tragic, and often surprising history of the English language and its etymology. Author, humorist, and word-sleuth Alex Games uncovers the trends, innovations and scandals that have shaped the meanings of our most popular words and expressions, from Chaucer to Internet jargon and Ancient Greek to American slang. Who was the original Jack the Lad, Gordon Bennett, or Bloody Mary? Where do dodgy geezers and hooligans come from? What are skeldering, dithering, and saber-rattling? This amusing but rigorously researched account of English words and their origins combines the findings of the major BBC TV series and the nationwide Wordhunt, and is an entertaining treasure trove for English-language lovers everywhere.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004J4VZEI/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i0
2011
Alexander Games
Edit ProfileEducation
Games studied at Pembroke College, Cambridge, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1985.
Career
In Backing into the Limelight: The Biography of Alan Bennett, Games recounts the life of one of England's most prominent playwrights. Although Bennett is "an obsessively private man" with an aversion to the press, according to a writer for the London Independent, Games manages to unearth much personal detail in the first biography to have been written about the popular writer. He especially uncovered new information about Bennett's early life in Leeds, where his father was a butcher, and located his first published work, a humorous play in his school magazine.
Bennett has been writing plays for television and the stage for over forty years. Marked by humor and a nostalgic depiction of the northern England of his youth, the plays have been enormously successful with audiences while less so with critics. Games gives plot summaries for all of Bennett's major works and a sampling of the critical reaction they have received. He also draws on published accounts, including interviews done by Bennett before his dismissal of the press some years ago, to recount the playwright's prolific career.
While much of Bennett's private life, including his sexual relationships, has often been the subject of speculation in the British tabloids, little verifiable information is known. Games manages to document some of Bennett's relationships, with both men and women, while arguing that everything his faithful audience really needs to know can be found in his works.
Games is also the author of Man Ray and another biographical work Pete and Dud: An Illustrated Biography. He also edited The Essential Spike Milligan.
Achievements
Works
book
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Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner
(Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner...)
2010 -
Kick the Bucket and Swing the Cat: The Complete Balderdash & Piffle Collection of English Words, and Their Curious Origins
(Kick the Bucket and Swing the Cat takes a humorous tour t...)
2011 -
The Essential Spike Milligan
(A Spike Milligan opus, containing everything from classic...)
2002 -
Pete and Dud
(Peter Cook and Dudley Moore created, together and individ...)
1999 -
Backing into the Limelight: The Biography of Alan Bennett
(He was always the shy, retiring one, seemingly most dismi...)
2001
-
Balderdash & Piffle: One Sandwich Short of a Dog's Dinner
References
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Contemporary Authors
Volume 221
2004
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Born
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Nationality
United Kingdom -
Ethnicity
Education
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1985