Not My Father's Son: A Memoir
Alan Cumming, 2014
HarperCollins
304 pp.
ISBN-13: 9780062225061
Summary
In his unique and engaging voice, the acclaimed actor of stage and screen shares the emotional story of his complicated relationship with his father and the deeply buried family secrets that shaped his life and career.
A beloved star of stage, television, and film—“one of the most fun people in show business” (Time magazine)—Alan Cumming is a successful artist whose diversity and fearlessness is unparalleled. His success masks a painful childhood growing up under the heavy rule of an emotionally and physically abusive father—a relationship that tormented him long into adulthood.
When television producers in the UK approached him to appear on a popular celebrity genealogy show in 2010, Alan enthusiastically agreed. He hoped the show would solve a family mystery involving his maternal grandfather, a celebrated WWII hero who disappeared in the Far East. But as the truth of his family ancestors revealed itself, Alan learned far more than he bargained for about himself, his past, and his own father.
With ribald humor, wit, and incredible insight, Alan seamlessly moves back and forth in time, integrating stories from his childhood in Scotland and his experiences today as a film, television, and theater star. At times suspenseful, deeply moving, and wickedly funny, Not My Father’s Son will make readers laugh even as it breaks their hearts. (From the publisher.)
Author Bio
• Birth—January, 27 1965
• Where—Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, UK
• Education—Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama
• Awards—numerous for stage acting
• Currently—lives in Manhanttan
Alan Cumming is a Scottish-born American actor who has appeared in numerous films, television shows and plays.
His London stage appearances include Hamlet, the Maniac in Accidental Death of an Anarchist (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in Bent, and the National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae.
On Broadway he has appeared in The Threepenny Opera, as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret (for which he won a Tony Award), and Design for Living. His best-known film roles include his performances in GoldenEye, Spy Kids, and X2. Cumming also introduces Masterpiece Mystery! for PBS and appears on The Good Wife, for which he has been nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards and a Satellite Award.
He has also written a novel, Tommy's Tale and a memoir, Not My Father's Child, hosted a cable talk show called Eavesdropping with Alan Cumming, and produced a line of perfumed products labelled "Cumming". He has contributed opinion pieces to many publications and performed a cabaret show, I Bought A Blue Car Today. In 2008, still retaining his British citizenship, Cumming became a naturalised U.S. citizen.
Early life
Cumming was born in Aberfeldy, Perthshire, Scotland, the son of Mary (nee Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming, a forester. He has stated that his father was physically and emotionally abusive, a topic he explores in his 2014 memoir, Not My Father's Son.
After his graduation from high school, he spent a year and a half as an editor and columnist for the pop and TV magazine TOPS before entering the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow. On graduation he married fellow student Hilary Lyon; they divorced eight years later and had no children.
Personal life
Cumming lives in Manhattan with his husband, graphic artist Grant Shaffer, and their dogs, Honey and Leon.[18] The couple dated for two years before entering into a civil partnership at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, London in 2007; they remarried in New York in 2012, the fifth anniversary of their London union.
Once described as "a frolicky pansexual sex symbol for the new millennium," Cumming said he considers himself bisexual, "although the pendulum has obviously swung." Previous relationships include an eight-year marriage to actress Hilary Lyon, a two-year relationship with actress Saffron Burrows, and a six-year relationship with theater director Nick Philippou. After his civil partnership with Shaffer, when asked if he was monogamous, he stated "I don't believe that monogamy is feasible." In 2006, Cumming stated that he "would dearly like to adopt a child," but that his life was "too hectic" for children.
Cumming used to be a member of the Church of Scotland, until his mother received a letter from them saying they had "read something about me being an atheist and would I like to leave." He said he had attended out of tradition, but realised being a part of it was "only condoning and validating lots of things I disapprove of: oppression, guilt, shame, etc." Adapted from a much longer version on Wikipedia. Retrieved 2/15/2014.)
Book Reviews
Scottish actor Cumming struggles to reconcile with his troubled past in this moving, if oddly structured, memoir. Alternating between three time periods—"Then," "Now," and a span of several months in 2010—Cumming recounts his life...under the brutal reign of his abusive father.... [This is] a case where the journey is more important than the destination.
Publishers Weekly
[A]n insightful, relentless examination of Cumming's hardships, alongside keen observations about the continuing effect of abuse on his life. A moving read that fans of the man and of memoirs won't want to put down. —Ashleigh Williams, School Library Journal
Library Journal
Instead of writing a showbiz memoir with stories of his eclectic career, Cumming...anchors his book with his discovery of the truth about his grandfather's premature death (at age 35) and a recognition of the "dual family narrative" of shame and secrecy..... A raw, revealing memoir from a courageous actor and writer.
Kirkus Reviews
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