Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941, in Ascot, Berkshire − 16 February 2007, in London) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir John Gielgud and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, including Noël Coward. Nicholas Kenyon called him a “cultural omnivore” who was “genuinely popular with people”.
Books in order of publication:
- A Talent to Amuse: A Biography of Noël Coward, London: Heinemann, 1969. Revised edition 1974; re-issued with a new Prologue, 1985. Later subtitled “The First Biography of Noël Coward”.
- Oscar Wilde (1976)
- Marlene Dietrich (1977)
- Sybil Thorndike: A Life in the Theatre (1977)
- Gladys Cooper: Biography (1979)
- Gertrude Lawrence: A Bright Particular Star, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981.
- Katharine Hepburn, (1984)
- Ingrid Bergman (1985)
- Other Side of the Moon: The Life of David Niven (1985)
- Elizabeth Taylor (1988)
- Odd Man Out: The Life of James Mason (1989)
- Robert: My Father, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1993).
- Audrey Hepburn (1993)
- Shall We Dance: The Life of Ginger Rogers (1995)
- Gene Kelly (1996)
- Dirk Bogarde: Rank Outsider (1996)
- Marilyn Monroe (1998)
- Hey, Mr Producer (Cameron Mackintosh) (1998, with Ruth Leon)
- Judy Garland: Beyond The Rainbow (1999, with Ruth Leon)
- John Gielgud: The Authorized Biography, London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001.
Theatre retrospectives and collected reviews
- Theatre 71: Plays, Players, Playwrights, Opera, Ballet, edited by Sheridan Morley (Hutchinson, 1971).
- Theatre 72, edited (Hutchinson, 1972).
- Theatre 73, edited (Hutchinson, 1973).
- Theatre 74, edited (Hutchinson, 1974).
- Review Copies: Plays & Players in London 1970-74 (Robson Books, 1974).
- Shooting Stars: Plays and Players,1975-1983 (Quartet Books, 1983).
- Spread A Little Happiness: The First Hundred Years of the British Musical (Thames & Hudson, 1987).
- Our Theatres in the Eighties (John Curtis/Hodder & Stoughton, 1990).
- A Century of Theatre, with Ruth Leon (Oberon Books, 2000).
- Spectator at the Theatre: A decade of First Nights 1990-1999 (Oberon Books, 2002). ISBN
Other works
The Stephen Sondheim Songbook (Chappel/Elm Tree Books, 1979).
The Brits in Hollywood: Tales from the Hollywood Raj (UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983). also published as Tales From The Hollywood Raj: The British, the Movies, and Tinseltown (New York: Viking, 1983).
The Noël Coward Diaries (with Graham Payn; Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982).
The Great Stage Stars (Angus & Robertson, Australia and UK, 1986) Dedicated: “For Margaret whose book this really is.'”
Theatrical Companion to Coward (second edition, with Barry Day, Oberon Books, 2000).
Asking For Trouble, memoirs. (Hodder & Stoughton, 2002).
An Evening with Sheridan Morley and Michael Law with Judy Campbell (CD).
