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From begging on the streets of London to interviewing John Wayne, Robert Hounsome's profession as a Fleet Street journalist certainly gave him a wealth of experiences.

In this compelling autobiography, Robert Hounsome recounts his varied and exciting life that has seen him come into contact with aristocrats, Nazis, criminals, film stars, singers, beauty queens and ghosts.

As well as a moving account of one man’s life, this book also captures the golden age of Fleet Street journalism after the Second World War.

In 1950, Robert departed for Fleet Street where he spent 11 years as general, Diary and finally, feature writer on the former national evening newspaper, The Star. Here he interviewed the likes of Diana Dors wearing odd stockings and no wedding ring; Liberace aboard the Queen Mary; Buster Keaton in a speeding taxi; Jayne Mansfield at the Dorchester, and he nearly met Marilyn Monroe, but finished up nose tip to nose tip with her husband Arthur Miller. He also met and interviewed numerous other celebrities, ranging from Sir Harold Wilson and Pandit Nehru through to John Wayne, Rita Hayworth, Norman Wisdom, Cliff Richard and Richard Attenborough (during the filming of Brighton Rock). He also worked in radio and was a writer for the BBC radio sitcom ‘Life With The Lyons’.

A unique record of Fleet Street's heyday from the inside.

 

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