Dick Vosburgh
Dick Vosburgh | |
---|---|
Born | Richard Kennedy Vosburgh 27 August 1929 Elizabeth, New Jersey, US |
Died | 18 April 2007 London, England | (aged 77)
Nationality | American |
Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was an American-born Grammy and Tony-nominated comedy writer and lyricist, working chiefly in Britain.
Early life
Vosburgh was born in
Career
In the 60s he moved from radio to television, writing (and occasionally performing onscreen) on television comedy shows like
Throughout the 70s he was in the top tier of British comedy writers often partnering with Garry Chambers and Barry Cryer on material, working on the most popular shows of the time like The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise and Who Do You Do? on which he was also script editor. Who Do You Do? pioneered a fast format of cutting between impressionists performing individual jokes against a neutral background which still feels modern today.
From the 70s onwards he wrote for many comedy television shows starring Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker, David Frost, Roy Hudd, Bobby Davro, Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse, Lenny Henry, Tommy Cooper, Freddie Starr and even visiting US stars such as Bob Hope and Joan Rivers.
Late in his career, he made a brief return to radio and worked on material for the radio revival of the
Vosburgh would often get called in to "gag up" an existing movie script (meaning to add extra jokes to make it funnier), and worked on many films including Up Pompeii, Up the Chastity Belt, Carry On Nurse and Call Me Bwana[2] and the sitcom Tell It to the Marines.
According to legend, he did much of his writing while continuously riding the Circle Line of the London Underground to avoid interruptions.
As a trained actor with a deep American voice living in London, Vosburgh was in demand for voice-over work. He voiced Larry Dart in the cult 1962 children's television show
As a lyricist, he had a reputation for being meticulous about the use of words and rhymes, and having a huge knowledge of the Hollywood and
His greatest success was the Marx Brothers-parody musical comedy
In an article for the Times in 1982, Jane Ellison calls him 'a compulsive worrier, perfectionist and master of the wisecrack'. In the same article Dick says of himself:
"Television is not the ideal place for a Virgo to work. In fact, I am a Virgoan son of a Virgo, which is much much worse. I must be the most nit-picking person ever born - I sat up all night writing a speech for the wedding of one of my daughters. On stage, you can see the actors say your lines and you have a better chance to make them better next time. On television, you're reduced to clawing the screen."[3]
He wrote many obituaries of comedians and
According to writer Garry Chambers, "When you were told you were working with such a [difficult] person again, he would say 'Be sure to give him my loathe.'" He also created the radio show of good songs from flop musicals Tunes the Backers Whistled While Jumping Off the Roof.[4]
He is mentioned as being depicted in the background in the animated film
Personal life and death
He and his wife who married in 1953, had six children including actress Tilly Vosburgh and musician Matthew Vosburgh of the band Solid Space. He died in London, aged 77 and was survived by his wife Beryl Vosburgh (née Roques) and their six children.
Obituaries written by Dick Vosburgh
- Arnold Auberbach
- Joyce Blair
- Irving Brecher
- Bernard Bresslaw
- Bob Crosby
- Ted Dicks
- George Fenneman
- Buddy Feyne
- Ken Hoare
- Betty Hutton
- Paul Jerrico
- Leo Killion
- Dean Martin
- Spike Milligan
- Jack Paar
- Don Porter
- Dinah Shore
- Harold Spina
References
- ^ a b Michael Coveney (21 April 2007). "Obituary: Dick Vosburgh". The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ "Dick Vosburgh". Daily Telegraph. 23 April 2007. Retrieved 2014-01-07.
- ^ The Times Newspaper. Tuesday, July 20, 1982.
- ^ [1] Archived June 30, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Commentary, A Liar's Biography.