Acting dynasties are fascinating. Talent, discipline, and star quality may have genetic components, but a famous name doesn't guarantee success. Yet their members often have lives as intense as any of their roles. Donald Spoto's excellent The Redgraves: A Family Epic (Crown Archetype, $26), chronicles the history of one of England's most revered theatrical clans.
Sir Michael Redgrave (1908-85) dominates this saga. His parents were minor actors who divorced while he was still a child. A generous stepfather paid for his education, which included studies in Heidelberg and at Cambridge, where he excelled. His performing skills won acclaim early. He was also a gifted writer and, later, a fine director. Michael, 6'3", lean, and handsome, was deeply troubled by his homosexuality, which manifested itself in school. For most of his life, he kept a detailed diary in which he recorded his sexual encounters and affairs with youths and men. (Among them was Noel Coward.) Sex between males in England was a criminal offense, and the long shadow of Oscar Wilde's disgrace haunted him.
He had a brief affair with one woman before marrying Rachel Kempson (1910-2003), who would also have a fine acting career. Her height (5'8") pleased him – they made an attractive couple on stage. She knew about his homosexuality, but thought he would change. He didn't, although he did have an unlikely affair with Dame Edith Evans.
The Redgraves had three children, all of whom had theatrical success: Vanessa (b.1937), Corin (1939-2010), and Lynn (1943-2010). Vanessa and Lynn would do well in films and television, while Corin was also was a talented writer. Motherhood adversely affected Rachel's career, yet when she performed, her notices were excellent.
Michael almost always had a boyfriend in his life, whom he usually supported. Eventually, Rachel had affairs with actor Leo Genn and Gen Byam Shaw, who sometimes directed her and Michael in plays – all very civilized on the surface. Michael triumphed in works by Shakespeare, Wilde, and contemporary dramatists. His acclaim rivaled that of Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud. Money was a constant problem, so he made movies because they paid well. He became a film star in Alfred Hitchcock's The Lady Vanishes (1938), earned a Best Actor Oscar nomination in Mourning Becomes Elektra (1947), was moving in The Browning Version (1948), and dazzled as Jack Worthing in The Importance of Being Earnest (1952). He worked steadily in movies after that, often in supporting roles. He had a good singing voice and was the first choice for Henry Higgins in My Fair Lady (1956), but a previous commitment forced him to decline. As he grew older, alcoholism (which plagued his mother) often caused memory lapses and stage fright. His sexual life included a growing interest in bondage with rough young men.
Vanessa, perhaps the most famous in America, would marry bisexual, Oscar-winning director Tony Richardson (1928-1993), despite knowing about his affairs with men. Their daughters Natasha Richardson (1963-2009) and Joely Richardson (b. 1965) enjoyed acclaim, as has Corin's daughter, Jemma, who works steadily on television and in films. Lynn's popularity briefly rivaled Vanessa's, especially after she became a star in Georgy Girl (1966). She earned a Best Actress Oscar nomination for that performance, and Vanessa was also nominated that year, for Blow-up. They lost to Elizabeth Taylor in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Vanessa would win the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Julia (1977), amidst controversy over her left-wing politics. Spoto expertly shows how the media distorted her positions on Israel and Palestine – she has never been anti-Semitic. She was an early opponent of the Vietnam War and continues to espouse pacifism. Her father shared her political beliefs but didn't discuss them publicly, yet was very proud of her courageous stands. Corin also took strong, left-wing political positions.
Michael wasn't a demonstrative father, but his journals show how much he loved his children, and his delight in their successes. All three accepted his sexual orientation. Corin, who ghost-wrote Michael's autobiography (illness prevented him from doing so), didn't discuss it, but later lamented that the era's rampant homophobia caused his father so much unhappiness.
Michael received his knighthood in 1959, a delay Spoto suggests was due to his sexual behavior. At the time, the honor was a rare distinction. He joined Olivier, Gielgud, and Ralph Richardson in earning it. (Gielgud received his in 1953, and shortly thereafter was arrested for soliciting sex from a man in a public lavatory.) Coward wasn't knighted until 1969.
The children got along well. Lynn spoke warmly of Vanessa's kindness to her when they were growing up, although they were briefly estranged over politics. Vanessa divorced Richardson and had a long affair with handsome Italian actor Franco Nero, with whom she had a son. He wanted a traditional wife, but she refused. They separated, and she had a passionate relationship with Timothy Dalton, but later she and Nero reconciled and had a non-legal wedding ceremony.
Tragedy tested Vanessa, and she met it resolutely. Michael died from Parkinson's Disease, and Rachel succumbed to dementia. Corin and Lynn died the same year, she from cancer. In each case, Vanessa was present and supportive. Her lovely, gifted daughter Natasha, married to Liam Neeson, died following a skiing accident.
The openly gay Spoto's smooth style, careful research, and balanced assessment of a remarkable family bring them and their times to life. The book is well-illustrated, has a comprehensive index, bibliography, and source notes.