Back in my Z Channel days, no actor seemed to show up more often—or was more welcomed by me—than England’s late great Oliver Reed.  In his 40-year career, Reed made nearly 100 films ranging from The Brood, The Devils, Tommy, Burnt Offerings, to the film that killed him (in a Maltese pub, of course), Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.

I think even as a kid, I was able to identify Reed’s onscreen appeal.  It’s the same element missing from so many of today’s career-focused actors: joy.  Reed loved performing, loved having an audience.  As might be expected from the man who once famously said, “My only regret is that I didn’t drink every pub dry and sleep with every woman on the planet,” Reed loved life, loved living it, and he clearly planned to squeeze from it every possible drop of pleasure, pinball wizards and haunted houses be damned.

Even “King of Cool” Steve McQueen proved no match for the Oliver Reed lifeforce.  The story goes that McQueen flew to London to discuss a project.  Putting business aside for a bit, the pair went on a marathon pub crawl which resulted in Reed vomiting on McQueen.  The project was never consummated.

Fortunately, we have all those many great films to remember Reed by.  But now, thanks to YouTube, we can revisit some of his more memorable small-screen performances.  Reed was a frequent, frequently drunk, guest on television both here and in the UK.

In a testament to the saccharine and stage-managed nature of our current talk show landscape, witness below as Reed gropes feminist writer Kate Millett on British TV’s After Dark.  Thanks to After Dark’s supplying of Reed with a “booze buffet” before and during taping, what starts out as a sober-minded discussion on militarism, masculine stereotypes, and violence to women, soon devolves into something else:

 
And that’s just the mesmerizing endpoint to an escalating, tour de force Reed workout you can watch in its entirety here: I, II, III.  But even on the dog-and-pony circuit this side of the Atlantic, Reed was no more willing to dilute his behavior.  His face-off with David Letterman follows below:

 
Bonus I: Oliver Reed drunk on Aspel and Company

Bonus II: Drinking With Oliver Reed

(Thank you, Chris Campion!)

Mmm, he’s absolutely one of my favorites as well. So manly, so fearless, so dangerous… That scene where he and Alan Bates naked oil wrestle in Women in Love is burned in my memory…

Was Reed a better drunk than a actor?

Your posting certainly lionizes his remarkable ability to be pissed on National TV and make the people around him writhe in confusion/embarrassment.

Drunks are often route and boring spectacles, and all this posting affirms for me is that Alcohol remains the one drug that most always creates insufferably tiresome human beings.

Epic pub crawls with the famous aside, Id prefer to remember Reed as the male lead actor in Burnt Offerings.

Drinking may have been Mr. Reed’s sideline, but acting was his profession and he did this admirably and was more often than not top notch.
From his early work in such films as The Curse of the Werewolf(1961)for Hammer Films,to smaller films such as Hannibal Brooks(1969)or playing so wonderfully the character of Athos in The Three Musketeers(1973)and its sequel to his final performance as Proximo in Gladiator(2000)Mr.Reed could make you shudder, laugh or bring tears to your eyes. His body of work includes over 100 films which is not bad for a man that some say couldn’t stand up for being so drunk. And when I asked Rita Tushingham during an interview about her experience with Mr.Reed while filming The Trap(1966)together, she related some crazy moments with him on location, but added that “Ollie was a very sweet man and always very professional.”
Though I say sadly that I didn’t get to know him personally, I liked him more than many people I do know. I only wish I could have acted alongside him in a film or lift a glass together. Cheers Oliver Reed!

I first saw Oliver Reed in a film when I was a young teenager in the ‘60’s. I found him fascinating,sinfully attractive, and immensely talented.
I also loved him in The Trap, but a special favorite of mine was The Assassination Bureau which he did with the equally wonderful Diana Rigg. It is a charmingly dark and witty comedic satire, and proved that Mr. Reed was equally adept in comedy as well as drama.
I was so sorry that he died and was taken away from us too soon! I wish the person writing about him had stressed his superb acting skills rather than dwelling on his alcoholic vice.

Another interesting Reed interview was with none other than Max Headroom.  Anyone interested in seeing this?  Drop me a line at pdtv_info@yahoo.com.  Highlights include Reed claiming in the same sentence that he was a “bad M_ F_” and “a nice guy”.  I’ve got lots of other Max stuff, too.  Nothing showing on the iOffer page right now, but send me a note and we can work something out.

Great post, Oliver Reed has long been a favourite of mine. His role in Oliver! was a staple of my childhood, and his performance remains one of the most villainous I’ve seen. Love the tv clips!

I recently watched Reed’s performance in The Adventures of Baron Munchausen and was totally shocked by how different it was from the role I know him best from—The Three Musketeers.  It really illustrated for me that he had an acting ability that not many of today’s stars can claim.

Absolutely larger-than-life.  Incredibly entertaining.  Definitely missed-show biz needs more character actors like Oliver Reed.  His portrayal of Bill Sykes in ‘Oliver’ remains in my memory. One of the best villains in film history.

Hurling on McQueen is not exactly evidence of coolness. Being able to drink mass quantities without spewing on your mates is generally more highley regarded. Still, I like Reed’s acting.

Shouldn’t that be “Reed was no *more* willing to dilute his behavior”?

Anyone here ever see the 1981 killer snake movie Venom?

It feat. both our drunken madman Oliver Reed and the batshit fucking insane Klaus Kinski. One can only imagine what the set was like…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-o-nSBtrdjI

This is so sad to see.  One would think that Oliver realized he had such a tremendous problem and that he would possess enough self control to binge in private.  So sad to hear too how he died in the midst of filming ‘Gladiator’ after giving such a great performance and one that would have undoubtedly resurrected his career.  Kudos to Ridley Scott for providing such an opportunity considering his reputation.  Seems like Oliver did have some kind of major self-destructive personality disorder.  And there was such a belligerence about the man that came across in almost every character he played.  I first noted it when I was a kid and saw him play opposite Rita T. in ‘The Trap.’  What bear!  While I admired his talent, there was just something about the man, even when he was acting, that just rubbed the wrong way.

As for ‘After Dark,’ good for them.  Throw the guy out.  But please, lady, spare us the shrinking violet act about being hugged by a drunk.  They all obviously observed his condition before they started taping.  So was it a set-up, to spice up an otherwise dull discussion?  In viewing all the videos you offered, it did seem to me that these producers liked the drunk act and most likely encouraged it.  Otherwise, they would have barred him from the stage.

I hav to agree that the British interview seemed like a set-up. The producers knew he had overindulged and allowed him on the group discussion.
  I did love him Oliver handled David Letterman who was being his most obnoxious. I also found out that Mr.Reed had an incredible facility for picking up dialects—who knew.
  Still Letterman asked for everything he got since Oliver Reed said on air that he specifically stated that he wouldn’t speak about his past drinking problems.
  If letterman had only stuck to Oliver’s career I’m certain he could have gleaned some fascinating stories from Mr Reed!
  I forhet his increible performances as Bill Sykes—he truly brought that Dicken’s villain to life!

Thank you for this…I’ve always wondered if Reed might’ve worked things out if he’d hung around a little bit longer (see also Elvis Presley and Richard Burton).  His role in The Gladiator was magnificently sad.  Reed always struck me as an actor whose art was wrecked in equal amounts by personal demons as much as by the crappy Hollywood studio system (c.f. Brando).  And booze, of course. Nice job.

Oliver isn’t surely my most loved actor at all but he’s loved by mo Mummy a lot!
So I’ll try to love him too!=)

Best actor and best looking man in the world
Wish he was still here