Unfinished Business: Memoirs: 1902-1988

As an actor who worked in theater, films and television for nearly the entire 20th century, Houseman has seen it all, heard it all, experienced it all -- and knows nearly everyone. He has put it all in the pages of this modest little book - gossip, media moguls, lovers, wives, boards of directors and politicians. Beginning with The Mercy Theater, Houseman takes us to the Negro Theatre Project in Harlem then on the "Men from Mars," "Citizen Kane," "The Voice of America," "The Blue Dahlia," Brecht's "Galileo," "Playhouse 90," The American Shakespeare Festival, Juilliard, Paramount, Universal, MGM, the Acting Company and the Oscars. It's a broad picture of film and theater arts in America as well as a fine portrait of a successful actor.Houseman's other books, RUN THROUGH, FRONT AND CENTER and FINAL DRESS have been praised by critics as some of the best memoirs extant about the American theatrical scene. UNFINISHED BUSINESS is a distillation of the essence of the more than 1500 pages of those volumes.

When I started this book, I had no idea who John Houseman was, other than that he was vaguely associated with theatre arts. From page one, I was hooked. I had just finished "Goldwyn" by A. Scott Berg, and was pleasantly surprised to find many similar names - people, places, movies, plays. The book is well written, with a novelist's pleasure in words and phrases. John Houseman, with no false modesty, but with no avoidance of the fame and honour that came later either, tells his own, remarkable and colourful story. A tale that chronicles, in a unique way, the history of American theatre since 1918 or so to the 1980s. What makes John Houseman's life interesting to read about is not only the famous people he worked with (and the famous collaboration with Orson Welles plays a significant yet overall only a small part in the complete story), but also Houseman's own personality: born of a Jewish-Alsatian father and a British (Welsh-Irish) mother, Houseman grew up in Europe and was educated in Britain before leaving for Argentina and then the US. He jumped at exciting opportunities throughout his life, and did not let facts like complete lack of experience or qualifications deter him! He produced, directed, managed, helped write scripts and screenplays, started theatres and theatrical programs, got into movies, radio, the Voice of America, and much later television and acting. He doesn't seem to have been much of a father or husband, but this does not detract from his fascinating and inspiring story. My only gripe was the large number of typos (in the Applause paperback 1989 version).

This complete collection of the three volumes of John Houseman's autobiography is one of the finest memiors that I have ever read. The book begins with Houseman's early life in pre WWI Europe and his post war experiences as a grain trader in Argentina, London and new York. For anyone interested in international business in the 1920's this provides a brief but facinating view into a somewhat closed world. The story becomes especially interesting with Houseman's career in the Theater, particularly following his fateful first meeting with the 19 year old dramatic prodigy, Orson Welles. Many biographers have tried to capture the relationship between these two talents, but for me no one has come close to Houseman for incite and sense of the dramatic in their relationship. He chronicles their triumphs and failures and his almost half century career following his professional separation from Welles.Houseman reveals himself to be a brilliant writer and the book is a joy to read.