Places: The Journey of My Days, My Lives by Thaao Penghlis

I've been a fan of handsome Australian actor Thaao Penghlis ever since I was quite young, so I couldn't resist the opportunity to read his autobiography at Net Galley, and I am so glad I did.  It's full of stories about famous people and his travels to places such as Egypt, and well-written.

Penglis begins with the account of how a former psychic predicted that he would travel to America and become an actor.  He didn't take much notice of this, but he jumped at the chance to go to the USA to the horror of his Greek parents, and the prediction was fulfilled, to his surprise.  Charming and suave,  Penglis began his career at a prestigious art gallery where he worked for a snobbish boss who treated him rather like a servant.  The boss was amazed when Jackie Kennedy insisted on dealing with Penglis!  While working for a fashion designer, Penglis met other famous people, such as Robert Redford and Paul Newman.

Soon he made it to Hollywood where he started his career in films and soapies, especially Days of Our Lives.  He tells tales about nasty directors, meeting Omar Sharif, and the dog-eat-dog world of the soapies. The worst part of starring in soapies seems to be having to die over and over again.

I enjoyed this part of the book more than the anecdotes about his travels.  Penglis is rather spiritual and 'New Agey', and some of this was a little bit over the top, I thought.  However, he's obviously a lovely man, and Australians can be proud of him.

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