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Johnny Speight

April 08, 2024

Johnny Speight (2 June 1920 – 5 July 1998) was an English television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms.

Johnny Speight
Cropped still by Lewis Morley, 1962
Born(1920-06-02)2 June 1920
Canning Town, London, England
Died5 July 1998(1998-07-05) (aged 78)
Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, England
OccupationRadio scriptwriter, TV screenwriter
Period1955–98
GenreTelevision
Notable worksTill Death Us Do Part (1965–75)
Curry & Chips (1969)
In Sickness and in Health (1985–92)
Spouse
Connie Barrett
​
(m. 1956)​
Children3

Speight emerged in the mid-1950s, writing for radio comics Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For television he wrote for Morecambe & Wise, Peter Sellers and The Arthur Haynes Show.[1] Later, he began to write Till Death Us Do Part, which included his most famous creation, the controversial bigot Alf Garnett.[2] His shows often explored the themes of racism and sexism through satire.[3]

Life and career edit

John Speight was born into an Irish Catholic family in Canning Town,[4][5] West Ham, Essex (now Greater London).[6] He left school at 14, and after a series of odd jobs, tried his hand at writing, looking to George Bernard Shaw as inspiration.[6] He began contributing scripts to comedy shows in 1955, starting with Great Scott - It's Maynard!.[2] He later contributed to Sykes and a... (1960–65), which starred Eric Sykes, Hattie Jacques and Richard Wattis.[7] Speight was one of many writers on that series which also included Sykes, John Antrobus and Spike Milligan. He created the iconic working class tramp figure played by Arthur Haynes in the latter's long-running and top-rating ATV comedy series.[8] Haynes died in 1966.[2]

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 Curry and Chips (1969) was a more controversial sitcom from LWT for the ITV channel, soon cancelled on the instructions of the Independent Broadcasting Authority.[12] His next comedy was For Richer...For Poorer (1975), a one-off pilot which featured Harry H. Corbett as a left-wing answer to Alf Garnett.[13] After a brief return of Till Death Us Do Part on ITV in 1981 as Till Death..., Alf Garnett returned on the BBC's In Sickness and in Health which ran from 1985 to 1992.[9][10] In 1985, he wrote the unbroadcast pilot "Jewel in the Crown" starring Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes, with Milligan wearing blackface and making racially charged jokes, while adopting a Pakistani accent.[14]

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 edit

In 1998, Speight died of pancreatic cancer, aged 78 at his home in Chorleywood.[15] LWT put forward a series of specials featuring Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett, giving his thoughts on a variety of subjects.[3] The programmes were originally shelved by ITV controller David Liddiment.

TV writing credits edit

References edit

  1. ^ Dust jacket, For Richer, For Poorer, Johnny Speight; ISBN 0-563-36269-3
  2. ^ a b c Profile, screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Speight of the nation". The Independent. 1 August 1998. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022.
  4. ^ "Speight, John [Johnny] (1920–1998)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/70207. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  5. ^ . BFI. Archived from the original on 2 June 2017.
  6. ^ a b c "BBC News | Entertainment | Alf Garnett's creator dies". news.bbc.co.uk.
  7. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Sykes and a... (1960-65)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  8. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Haynes, Arthur (1914-1966) Biography". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  9. ^ a b "BFI Screenonline: Till Death Us Do Part (1966-75)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  10. ^ a b "Actor Warren Mitchell dies aged 89". BBC News. 14 November 2015.
  11. ^ "6 American Sitcoms Based on British Originals". BBC America. 5 January 2015. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  12. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Curry and Chips (1969)". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  13. ^ . 26 March 2005. Archived from the original on 26 March 2005.
  14. ^ "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.
  15. ^ Johnny Speight, the writer who created Alf Garnett, dies of cancer aged 78. Retrieved 29 October 2016.

External links edit

  • Johnny Speight at IMDb

April 08, 2024
johnny, speight, june, 1920, july, 1998, english, television, scriptwriter, many, classic, british, sitcoms, cropped, still, lewis, morley, 1962born, 1920, june, 1920canning, town, london, englanddied5, july, 1998, 1998, aged, chorleywood, hertfordshire, engla. Johnny Speight 2 June 1920 5 July 1998 was an English television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms Johnny SpeightCropped still by Lewis Morley 1962Born 1920 06 02 2 June 1920Canning Town London EnglandDied5 July 1998 1998 07 05 aged 78 Chorleywood Hertfordshire EnglandOccupationRadio scriptwriter TV screenwriterPeriod1955 98GenreTelevisionNotable worksTill Death Us Do Part 1965 75 Curry amp Chips 1969 In Sickness and in Health 1985 92 SpouseConnie Barrett m 1956 wbr Children3Speight emerged in the mid 1950s writing for radio comics Frankie Howerd Vic Oliver Arthur Askey and Cyril Fletcher For television he wrote for Morecambe amp Wise Peter Sellers and The Arthur Haynes Show 1 Later he began to write Till Death Us Do Part which included his most famous creation the controversial bigot Alf Garnett 2 His shows often explored the themes of racism and sexism through satire 3 Contents 1 Life and career 2 Death 3 TV writing credits 4 References 5 External linksLife and career editJohn Speight was born into an Irish Catholic family in Canning Town 4 5 West Ham Essex now Greater London 6 He left school at 14 and after a series of odd jobs tried his hand at writing looking to George Bernard Shaw as inspiration 6 He began contributing scripts to comedy shows in 1955 starting with Great Scott It s Maynard 2 He later contributed to Sykes and a 1960 65 which starred Eric Sykes Hattie Jacques and Richard Wattis 7 Speight was one of many writers on that series which also included Sykes John Antrobus and Spike Milligan He created the iconic working class tramp figure played by Arthur Haynes in the latter s long running and top rating ATV comedy series 8 Haynes died in 1966 2 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 Curry and Chips 1969 was a more controversial sitcom from LWT for the ITV channel soon cancelled on the instructions of the Independent Broadcasting Authority 12 His next comedy was For Richer For Poorer 1975 a one off pilot which featured Harry H Corbett as a left wing answer to Alf Garnett 13 After a brief return of Till Death Us Do Part on ITV in 1981 as Till Death Alf Garnett returned on the BBC s In Sickness and in Health which ran from 1985 to 1992 9 10 In 1985 he wrote the unbroadcast pilot Jewel in the Crown starring Spike Milligan and Eric Sykes with Milligan wearing blackface and making racially charged jokes while adopting a Pakistani accent 14 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 editIn 1998 Speight died of pancreatic cancer aged 78 at his home in Chorleywood 15 LWT put forward a series of specials featuring Warren Mitchell as Alf Garnett giving his thoughts on a variety of subjects 3 The programmes were originally shelved by ITV controller David Liddiment TV writing credits editGreat 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 edit Dust jacket For Richer For Poorer Johnny Speight 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 Speight John Johnny 1920 1998 Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online ed Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 ref odnb 70207 Subscription or UK public library membership required 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 amp 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 editJohnny Speight at IMDb Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Johnny Speight amp oldid 1216814125, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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