Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England,[2] and was educated at Harrow School. In 1942 he won a State Scholarship for a wartime course at SOAS and was assigned to study Japanese. He was thus one of the so-called 'Dulwich Boys' who studied at SOAS and boarded at Dulwich College. While there he put together a satirical review titled 'A Matter of Course' based on his experiences on the Japanese course.[3][4] He was one of the few not to complete the course and he subsequently served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Great Britain, Egypt and Iraq. After the war he went to Oriel College, Oxford and while a student wrote revues for the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club and then attended the Old Vic Theatre School on a production course.[5]
Most of his work for the stage was material for revues, such as Hermione Gingold's Slings and Arrows, Laurier Lister's Oranges and Lemons, and See You Later,[2] starring such performers as Peter Cook. He wrote the book, music and lyrics for The Boy Friend for the Players' Theatre in 1953.[2] Its success resulted in a longer version being produced in the West End at Wyndhams Theatre.[2] After its opening in January 1954, over 2,000 performances were put on there. It opened on Broadway in 1954, at the Royale Theater, and introduced Julie Andrews in her Broadway debut.[1] The show ran on Broadway for over 480 performances.[5]
His autobiography, published in 1975, is titled I Could Be Happy.[7]
Sandy Wilson died in Taunton, England in 2014, aged 90.[5] His longtime partner was Chak Yui.[6] Wilson was a member of the Labour Party and contributed to the Elizabethan magazine during his years of greatest fame.[citation needed]
In 1999, Wilson donated his papers to the Harry Ransom Center.[8] The papers include produced and unproduced plays, mostly musicals but also plays for stage and TV, as well as drafts of Wilson's published and unpublished works including an autobiography, illustrated book, novels, articles, and short stories, along with correspondence.
^Sandy Wilson, I Could be Happy: An Autobiography (London: Joseph, 1975), p. 75.
^Peter Kornicki, Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan (London: Hurst & Co., 2021), p. 57.
^ abcdSlotnik, Daniel E. (31 August 2014). "Sandy Wilson, Composer and Writer of 'The Boy Friend,' Dies at 90". The New York Times. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
^ abFreedland, Michael; Coveney, Michael (27 August 2014). "Sandy Wilson obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
^Beck, Andy and Fisher, Brian. Broadway for Two, Alfred Music Publishing, 2007, ISBN0-7390-4477-X, p. 82
^"Sandy Wilson:A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center", Utexas.edu, retrieved 9 March 2010
Referencesedit
Gale, Steven. Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese, Volume 2, Taylor & Francis, 1996, ISBN0-8240-5990-5, p. 1216.
sandy, wilson, other, people, named, disambiguation, alexander, galbraith, sandy, wilson, 1924, august, 2014, english, composer, lyricist, best, known, musical, friend, 1953, bornalexander, galbraith, wilson, 1924, 1924died27, august, 2014, 2014, aged, known, . For other people named Sandy Wilson see Sandy Wilson disambiguation Alexander Galbraith Sandy Wilson 19 May 1924 27 August 2014 was an English composer and lyricist best known for his musical The Boy Friend 1953 1 Sandy WilsonBornAlexander Galbraith Wilson 1924 05 19 19 May 1924Died27 August 2014 2014 08 27 aged 90 Known forThe Boy Friend 1953 Contents 1 Biography 2 Musicals 3 Notes 4 References 5 External linksBiography editWilson was born in Sale Cheshire England 2 and was educated at Harrow School In 1942 he won a State Scholarship for a wartime course at SOAS and was assigned to study Japanese He was thus one of the so called Dulwich Boys who studied at SOAS and boarded at Dulwich College While there he put together a satirical review titled A Matter of Course based on his experiences on the Japanese course 3 4 He was one of the few not to complete the course and he subsequently served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Great Britain Egypt and Iraq After the war he went to Oriel College Oxford and while a student wrote revues for the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club and then attended the Old Vic Theatre School on a production course 5 Most of his work for the stage was material for revues such as Hermione Gingold s Slings and Arrows Laurier Lister s Oranges and Lemons and See You Later 2 starring such performers as Peter Cook He wrote the book music and lyrics for The Boy Friend for the Players Theatre in 1953 2 Its success resulted in a longer version being produced in the West End at Wyndhams Theatre 2 After its opening in January 1954 over 2 000 performances were put on there It opened on Broadway in 1954 at the Royale Theater and introduced Julie Andrews in her Broadway debut 1 The show ran on Broadway for over 480 performances 5 Wilson wrote the musical Valmouth in 1958 based on a Ronald Firbank novel set in a seaside resort In 1964 he wrote Divorce Me Darling a sequel to The Boy Friend 5 His last work was a version of Aladdin 1979 for the Lyric Theatre Hammersmith 6 His autobiography published in 1975 is titled I Could Be Happy 7 Sandy Wilson died in Taunton England in 2014 aged 90 5 His longtime partner was Chak Yui 6 Wilson was a member of the Labour Party and contributed to the Elizabethan magazine during his years of greatest fame citation needed In 1999 Wilson donated his papers to the Harry Ransom Center 8 The papers include produced and unproduced plays mostly musicals but also plays for stage and TV as well as drafts of Wilson s published and unpublished works including an autobiography illustrated book novels articles and short stories along with correspondence Musicals editCaprice 1950 The Boy Friend 1953 The Buccaneer 1955 Valmouth 1958 Pieces of Eight 1959 Divorce Me Darling 1964 As Dorothy Parker Once Said 1969 His Monkey Wife 1971 The Clapham Wonder 1978 based on the novel The Vet s Daughter by Barbara Comyns Aladdin 1979 Notes edit a b Stevens Christopher 2010 Born Brilliant The Life of Kenneth Williams John Murray pp 364 5 ISBN 978 1 84854 195 5 a b c d Colin Larkin ed 2002 The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music Third ed Virgin Books p 502 ISBN 1 85227 937 0 Sandy Wilson I Could be Happy An Autobiography London Joseph 1975 p 75 Peter Kornicki Eavesdropping on the Emperor Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain s War with Japan London Hurst amp Co 2021 p 57 a b c d Slotnik Daniel E 31 August 2014 Sandy Wilson Composer and Writer of The Boy Friend Dies at 90 The New York Times Retrieved 29 October 2019 a b Freedland Michael Coveney Michael 27 August 2014 Sandy Wilson obituary The Guardian Retrieved 29 October 2019 Beck Andy and Fisher Brian Broadway for Two Alfred Music Publishing 2007 ISBN 0 7390 4477 X p 82 Sandy Wilson A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center Utexas edu retrieved 9 March 2010References editGale Steven Encyclopedia of British Humorists Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese Volume 2 Taylor amp Francis 1996 ISBN 0 8240 5990 5 p 1216 External links editSandy Wilson Papers at the Harry Ransom Center University of Texas at Austin Sandy Wilson at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Sandy Wilson Neglected master of the British musical Cached page retrieved from Archive org Sandy Wilson at The Playwrights Database Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sandy Wilson amp oldid 1200562738, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
