THE BONUS OF LAUGHTER: AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY.[both authors SIGNED copy.]

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,both authors SIGNED,1st edn,2nd imp. NFINE/NFINE.No owner inscrptn,and no price-clip to dw/dj. Warmly inscribed,in handwritten,black ink: 'Hi Diane!! xxxxxxx Christmas '94 Leslie Crowther, Jean Crowther' to title page.Authors' colour portrait photographic dw/dj; with negligible shelf-wear and minimal creasing to edges - no nicks or tears present.Head +foot of spine/backstrip minisculely bumped with reciprocal creasing.Top+fore-edges very slightly aged/ toned - as usual/normal,else clean.Contents bright, tight and clean.Clean,plain blue paper-covered boards with bright, crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,joint authors' SIGNED,1st edn,2nd imp,1-196pp [paginated] includes half-title+title pages,contents list, foreword Pts 1+2 (3 and 13 chapters respectively),16pp b/w contemporary photographs in 8pp blocks between pp56/7 and pp120/21 respectively,an index and 4pp blanks to rear. A serious car accident in 1992 left Leslie Crowther with less than a fifty per cent chance of survival.Suffering major head injuries he spent 17 days in a coma and only intricate surgery,nursing skill and the devotion of his family could bring him back.His recovery has been close to miraculous.Now just two years on (then 1994) he looks back on a life which has never been short of incident in this warm,witty, sometimes dark yet wonderfully honest autobiography.It begins with his wife Jean's moving account of Leslie's courageous comeback - a period which Leslie now describes as 'lost months'. His story starts in Nottingham where he was born the only child of theatrical parents, Ethel and Leslie. His father's alcoholism and mother's early death cast a sad shadow over his childhood but when,at twenty-one,he married Jean,it was to be the beginning of a relationship which has lasted over forty years and seen them through both troubles and triumphs.Leslie was always destined for a career in entertainment. From drama school he worked his way through theatre,variety and radio until his television breakthrough arrived with the children's all-time favourite Crackerjack. With regular appearances,too,on The Black & White Minstrel Show, Leslie was barely off our screens.A firm favourite,he has remained that way ever since,with more recent successes including The Price is Right and Stars in their Eyes.Yet behind the scenes,as Leslie vividly describes,he was fighting a long battle against alcoholism which came close to ruining his life and culminated in a period at Clouds House Treatment Centre in 1989. Through it all he has been supported by a strong faith and the love of his family - Jean,their five children and many grandchildren.He has kept his passion for cricket and,above all,he has kept his sense of humour and learnt 'the bonus of laughter' in helping to survive the good times and the bad. Warmly inscribed+ dedicated by both authors. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the weight/value of this item for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **