“I must have some booze!” So goes the famous line exclaimed by Richard E Grant in his turn as the title character in the cult classic Withnail and I.
And judging by recently unearthed diaries kept by one of the struggling actors the film was based on, it’s clear to see how that kind of dialogue came so easy.
Vivian MacKerrell had few acting credits, but his major contribution to film is in the hedonistic antics that inspired the movie, written and directed by his former housemate Bruce Robinson.
His diaries chronicle the squalid life endured and – with the help of a cocktail of cheap wine, lighter fluid and benefits payments – enjoyed by the pair during their time as skint creatives living in Camden Town.
The 1987 film stars Grant and Paul McGann as two actors, Withnail and Marwood, who retreat to a country house in an attempt to escape their chaotic lifestyles in 1960s London, but the pair’s holiday turns disastrous as they get into scrapes with locals and continue to drink heavily.
Grant’s character, Withnail, is inspired by MacKerrell. The entries give a first-hand account of real-life versions of scenes from the film, such as MacKerrell drinking a can of lighter fluid and visiting wolves at the zoo in in Regent’s Park.
The actor, who died in 1995, shared a house in Camden Town with the film’s writer and director Bruce Robinson, who the Marwood character was based on, where they lived in similar squalor to the film’s main characters.
The two diaries going to auction cover the years 1974 and 1975, and even mention that Robinson was writing Withnail and I. When they’re sold at Sotheby’s in London they are expected to fetch between £12,000 and £18,000.
One excerpt reads: “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.
“After 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.”
They have never been seen outside of MacKerrell’s friends and family, and give fresh insight into the inspiration behind the film, as the actor speaks about his mouse-ridden flat, his 30th birthday and feelings about seeing friends move on with their lives.
Despite the film ending when the character based on Robinson moves out, the diaries carry on after his departure and show that MacKerrell stayed on in the same squalid home with new housemates, continuing his heavy drinking and drugtaking.
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The diaries also record MacKerrell’s dreams, a list of songs, miscellaneous notes, creative writing in prose and draft letters.
A set of photographs of MacKerrell, including unseen negatives from a Vogue photoshoot, will also be included with the two diaries. Sotheby’s books and manuscripts specialist, Gabriel Heaton, said: “Vivian MacKerrell’s 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.”
