Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight | |
---|---|
Born | Canning Town, London, England | 2 June 1920
Died | 5 July 1998 Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, England | (aged 78)
Occupation | Radio scriptwriter, TV screenwriter |
Period | 1955–98 |
Genre | Television |
Notable works | Till Death Us Do Part (1965–75) Curry & Chips (1969) In Sickness and in Health (1985–92) |
Spouse |
Connie Barrett (m. 1956) |
Children | 3 |
Johnny Speight (2 June 1920 – 5 July 1998) was an English television scriptwriter of many classic British
Speight emerged in the mid-1950s, writing for radio comics
Life and career
John Speight was born into an Irish Catholic family in
In 1965, Speight wrote a BBC TV pilot which became the 1966 series Till Death Us Do Part featuring Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett, a reactionary Conservative-voting working-class man with a chip on his shoulder and an angry word on everything.[9] Garnett became one of the most memorable characters in British TV history.[10] The 1971 US sitcom All in the Family was based on this series.[11] Also in 1965, he did uncredited screenplay work for the film You Must be Joking!. Speight also played "Barmey Harry" in the second film spin-off, The Alf Garnett Saga, in 1972 .
Speight's later series
In 1988 Speight wrote a set of special short sketches for inclusion in London's Museum of the Moving Image (MOMI) in a feature called "Ask Alf". Using random access video visitors were invited to ask Alf Garnett his thoughts on a variety of subjects including museums. Warren Mitchell recorded the short sketches free of charge for MOMI while on tour in Australia.
Speight's work brought him financial success, but despite driving a Rolls-Royce he remained a life-long socialist.[6]
He was a subject of the television programme This Is Your Life in May 1970 when he was surprised by Eamonn Andrews.[citation needed]
Death
In 1998, Speight died of
TV writing credits
- Great Scott – It's Maynard! (1955)
- Evans Abode (1956)
- Frankie Howerd (1956)
- The Dickie Valentine Show (1956)
- Two's Company (1956)
- Early to Braden (1957)
- That's Life, Says Max Wall (1957)
- The Arthur Haynes Show (1957)
- Frankie Howerd In... (1958)
- The Show of 8 April (Seven Days Early) (1958)
- The Cyril Fletcher Show (1959)
- Ladies and Gentle-Men (1960)
- Sykes and a... (1960)
- The Compartment (1961)
- That Was the Week That Was (1962)
- Shamrot (1963)
- The Graham Stark Show (1964)
- Till Death Us Do Part (1965)
- To Lucifer – A Son (1967)
- If There Weren't Any Blacks You'd Have to Invent Them (1968)
- Curry and Chips (1969)
- Spate of Speight (1969)
- All in the Family (1971)
- Them (1972)
- Ein Herz und eine Seele (1973)
- Frankie Howerd in Ulster (1973)
- Francis Howerd in Concert (1974)
- Marty Back Together Again (1974)
- For Richer...For Poorer (1975)
- The Mike Reid Show (1976)
- Spooner's Patch (with Ray Galton 1979)
- The Tea Ladies (with Ray Galton 1979)
- The Thoughts of chairman Alf at Christmas (1980)
- Till Death... (1981)
- The Lady Is A Tramp (1983)
- In Sickness and in Health (1985)
- Carrott Confidential (1987)
- The Nineteenth Hole (1989)
- A Word With Alf (1997)
- An Audience With Alf Garnett (1997)
- The Thoughts of Chairman Alf (1998)
References
- ISBN 0-563-36269-3
- ^ a b c Profile, screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
- ^ a b "Speight of the nation". The Independent. 1 August 1998. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70207. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Johnny Speight". BFI. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017.
- ^ a b c "BBC News | Entertainment | Alf Garnett's creator dies". news.bbc.co.uk.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Sykes and a... (1960-65)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Haynes, Arthur (1914-1966) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Till Death Us Do Part (1966-75)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ a b "Actor Warren Mitchell dies aged 89". BBC News. 14 November 2015.
- ^ "6 American Sitcoms Based on British Originals". BBC America. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
- ^ "BFI Screenonline: Curry and Chips (1969)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
- ^ "BBC - Comedy Guide - For Richer...For Poorer". 26 March 2005. Archived from the original on 26 March 2005.
- ^ "Eric Sykes & Spike Milligan in The Jewel in the Crown by Johnny Speight!date=1 November 2019". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
- ^ Johnny Speight, the writer who created Alf Garnett, dies of cancer aged 78. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
External links
- Johnny Speight at IMDb