For literary party animals of a certain age, budget hedonists, marijuana enthusiasts and Richard E Grant fans, Withnail and I is the quintessential cult movie.
As the decades slid by, it has become elevated to a cultural mainstay, discovered, then loved by ensuing generations, like Dirty Dancing or Star Wars. In fact, on release it was a box office flop, but gained traction as a VHS cassette of choice for stoner students, who passed it around like a Camberwell Carrot.
The 1987 film stars Grant and Paul McGann as two struggling actors in a co-dependent friendship fuelled by booze, bitterness, drugs and rage. The characters of Withnail and Marwood flee their rancid squat in Camden to a house in the country where they fight with locals and drink themselves into unhinged oblivion. It is grimly depressing and utterly hilarious.
Grant’s character, Withnail, was inspired by a real-life troubled actor called Vivian MacKerrell (1944-95), who made no notable films, but whose degenerate exploits are depicted in a movie seen by millions and quoted every day by wits and idiots alike.
Photos and other items in the lot offering Vivian MacKerrell's diaries, estimate £12,000-18,000 at Sotheby's.
Writer and director Bruce Robinson had the dark pleasure and sporadic misfortune of sharing a house with MacKerrell in the early 1970s. As shown in the film, the largely unemployed performer was a roiling mix of theatrical high self-esteem, poisonous wit and depression.
The diaries capture all of these qualities with intimate detail. The entries are rich with observations and feelings, written with bracing honesty and clarity. It’s impressive, considering due his relentless appetite for oblivion.
(“...David asked B. for his rent today and mine too - je n'ai rien - hardly enough for a pint - if I had the bread I'd be drinking the finest wines oh Lord! Work! Work! Bed at 12:45 with the grisly thought of another day like today tomorrow...” February 27, 1974).
Pages of Vivian MacKerrell’s diary from January 1974. Photograph: Sotheby's
(“Up at about 9.30 to go down to sign on with B[ruce]. The labour [exchange] seemed fuller than usual – they’ve cutdown on staff – the buggers. Acer a pint... I read and corrected more of ‘Withnail and I’, his book and when he came back we opened the bottle of Pouilly-Fuissé that L had put out in the windowbox to chill…” March 27, 1974).
Touching tribute
Sotheby’s books and manuscripts specialist, Gabriel Heaton, says the diaries are a “wonderful discovery".
"They preserve a witty, acrid, unapologetic and melancholy voice, and describe a squalid bohemian lifestyle that is instantly recognisable to lovers of Withnail and I.
“It is a great privilege to be afforded this insight into the inspiration and background to one of the greatest of modern British films – indeed, into the moment that Bruce Robinson began to write his first version of Withnail and I, which is recorded in the diaries themselves.
“The diaries are also a touching tribute to MacKerrell’s friendship with Bruce Robinson, and the impact they had on each other’s lives.
“Almost 40 years on, Withnail and I remains entrenched in our consciousness – the recent stage adaptation shows the strong appeal it still retains – and these diaries allow us to better understand and celebrate one of the real-life characters who inspired it.”
The entries also record MacKerrell’s dreams, random notes, creative writing in prose and draft letters. In addition, there are photographs of MacKerrell from his personal archive, including unseen negatives from a Vogue photoshoot. Together they are all estimated at £12,000-18,000.
The diaries are offered as part of an online Books & Manuscripts Sale at Sotheby’s. Bidding is until July 11.
