Oliver Reed "Tommy". With their reckless lifestyles Reed and Moon had much in common, and both cited the hard drinking actor Robert Newton as a role model. Christopher Lee, a friend and colleague of Reed, commented on his alcoholism in 2014: "when he started, after [drink] number eight, he became a complete monster. It was awful to see." Reed was often irritated that his appearances on TV talk shows concentrated on his drinking feats rather than his latest films and acting career. On 26 September 1975, in front of a speechless Johnny Carson on "The Tonight Show", the bellicose Reed had a
Oliver! (film) was rejected by Hollywood studio bosses who felt that the public was not ready for a Black Nancy. Classical actor Joseph O'Conor, not well known in the U.S., played Mr. Brownlow. Shooting at Shepperton Studios, England, began on 23 June 1967. The screenplay was adapted from both Lionel Bart's musical and Dickens's novel. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris, and the film was directed by Sir Carol Reed, who was also Oliver Reed's uncle. A few of the songs from the stage production were not used in the movie, although they often make appearances in the incidental music. For