Born in Paris to Polish-Jewish parents, Polanski dealt with the terrors of his childhood — including internment in Auschwitz — by creating an elaborate fantasy world in which he lived as a film star. Polanski would go on to become one of the best and most infamous directors in Hollywood’s history, with a list of achievements that includes Repulsion, Rosemary’s Baby, Macbeth, Chinatown, Tess, Frantic, and more recently, the Golden Globe- and Oscar-winning The Pianist.

Yet the most dramatic story has unfolded within his own personal life: in August 1969, his pregnant wife Sharon Tate and seven of their friends were butchered by the Manson family. Polanski was in London at the time. Eight years later he was arrested by L.A. police on charges of drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl in Jack Nicholson’s home. Polanski fled the country and has since lived in exile in Paris.

The director is currently filming Oliver Twist and promises to follow it with his version of the Tate killings. Both projects, dealing with child exploitation and murder, can only fuel the controversy that surrounds him. This biography is timed to coincide with the release of the movies, and will be the first opportunity to read about this talented yet wildly excessive personality in such depth for over fourteen years.

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page

Christopher Sandford has been writing about pop music for twenty years, his articles appearing in the Times, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, The Spectator and New York Times, among others. In 1998 Rolling Stone called him “the pre-eminent author in his field today.”

 Back to top | e-mail or print this page