Alan Simpson (scriptwriter)
{{Short description|British screenwriter (1929–2017)}}
{{EngvarB|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Alan Simpson
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|size=100%|OBE}}
| image = Alan Simpson (scriptwriter).jpg
| caption = Simpson in 1964
| birth_name = Alan Francis Simpson
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1929|11|27}}
| birth_place = Brixton, London, England
| death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|2017|02|08|1929|11|27}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Scriptwriter
| period = 1954–1979
| genre = Television
| notableworks = Hancock's Half Hour, Hancock (1954–1961)
Comedy Playhouse (1961–63, 1974)
Steptoe and Son (1962–74)
| spouse = Tessa Le Bars
| relatives =
}}
Alan Francis Simpson (27 November 1929 – 8 February 2017) was an English scriptwriter. He was best known as part of the Galton and Simpson comedy writing partnership with Ray Galton. Together they devised and wrote the BBC sitcom Hancock's Half Hour (1954–1961), the first two series of Comedy Playhouse (1961–1963), and Steptoe and Son (1962–1974).
Early life
Simpson was born in Brixton, South London, and was educated at Mitcham County Grammar School for Boys. He was a football fan and supported Brentford and Hampton & Richmond Borough where Simpson was honorary club president.{{Cite news|url=http://www.brentfordfc.co.uk/news/article/2016-17/steptoe-and-son-hancocks-half-hour-alan-simpson-dies-3564791.aspx|title=Steptoe and Son and Hancock's Half-Hour writer and Brentford FC fan Alan Simpson died today|last=Brett|first=Ciaran|access-date=8 February 2017|language=en}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.hrbfc.co.uk/news/alan-simpson-1929-2017-1752308.html |title=Alan Simpson 1929 – 2017|last=Overfield|first=Rob|access-date=23 February 2023|language=en}} After leaving school he worked as a shipping clerk and was a member of a church concert party. He contracted tuberculosis aged 17 in 1947 and was admitted to Milford Sanatorium near Godalming in Surrey, where he spent 13 months.[https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/how-we-met-ray-galton-alan-simpson-1219717.html How we met, Alan Simpson at The Independent]. Retrieved 9 May 2016[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/galton-and-simpson-grumpy-old-men-1360341.html Galton and Simpson Grumpy Old Men]. Retrieved 9 May 2016[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2016/05/05/ray-galton-and-alan-simpson-interview-there-never-was-a-golden-a/ Galton and Simpson interview at The Telegraph]. Retrieved 9 May 2016
Galton and Simpson
{{main|Galton and Simpson}}
While at the Milford Sanatorium, Simpson was housed with fellow patient Ray Galton, also 17 at the time. The two found they shared similar tastes in comedy, and quickly became friends. After leaving the sanatorium, they jointly applied and got jobs at the BBC, writing sketches for its various comedians. One of the plotlines in Linda Grant's 2016 novel The Dark Circle was based on Simpson's experience of broadcasting on hospital radio with Galton during their time at the sanatorium and its role in their subsequent careers.{{cite book| author-last1= Grant | author-first1= Linda | author-link1= Linda Grant| title= The Dark Circle | date= 3 November 2016| publisher= Virago| isbn= 978-0349006758| page= 309 }}
Following their break with the Derek Roy vehicle Happy Go Lucky,{{cite web
|last=Flanagan
|first=Barry
|title=Derek Roy
|publisher=Memories of the Hippodrome
|url=http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/hippodrome/Roy.htm
|access-date=3 February 2009
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061008204817/http://www.localhistory.scit.wlv.ac.uk/articles/hippodrome/Roy.htm
|archive-date=8 October 2006
}} they became writers for Tony Hancock, including the Hancock's Half Hour radio show and Hancock's later television specials. Subsequently, the pair wrote several comedy series for television, including Comedy Playhouse and Steptoe and Son.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36249956|title=Obituary: Alan Simpson|date=8 February 2017|work=BBC News |access-date=10 February 2017}} The latter became the basis for the American series Sanford and Son{{cite news |last=Gibson |first=Owen |title=British comedy remakes that aim to bring a smile to the US |url=http://media.guardian.co.uk/site/story/0,,1816814,00.html |date=10 July 2006 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=29 October 2010}} and the Swedish series Albert & Herbert.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Orh6CgAAQBAJ&pg=PP18|title=The Steptoe and Son Quiz Book|first=Mark|last=McCaighey|date=12 August 2015|publisher=Andrews UK Limited|isbn=9781785382130}} Many of their works were re-adopted for later production, such as the Paul Merton revival of the Hancock's Half Hour for ITV, and the 2009 audio plays Galton and Simpson's Half Hour broadcast on BBC Radio 2 to celebrate the team's 60th anniversary.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/comedy/galtonsimpson.shtml|title=BBC – Radio 2 Comedy – Galton and Simpson's Half Hour|last=BBC|publisher=BBC|access-date=10 February 2017}}
Galton and Simpson continued to write for other one-off comedies and series until Simpson's retirement in 1978, after which the two remained in contact.
Personal life
Simpson was married twice, first to Kathleen (Kate) Phillips (1958-1978) until her death and then to his Manager Tessa Le Bars until his death in 2017.{{Cite web |title=Alan Simpson {{!}} Writer, Actor, Producer |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0800882/ |access-date=2024-04-06 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}
Later life
Simpson retired from scriptwriting in 1978 around the time Kathleen, his first wife, died. He then concentrated on business interests and becoming an after dinner speaker.{{cite news|last=Barker|first=Dennis|url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2017/feb/08/alan-simpson-obituary|title=Alan Simpson obituary|work=The Guardian|date=8 February 2017|access-date=30 April 2020}} He was appointed an OBE in 2000, and he and Galton received a BAFTA Fellowship on 8 May 2016 for their comedic contributions.[http://www.bafta.org/television/awards/ray-galton-alan-simpson-bafta-fellowship-in-2016 BAFTA fellowship 2016 Ray Galton and Alan Simpson]. Retrieved 9 May 2016
Simpson died on 8 February 2017, as a result of lung disease, at the age of 87. After his death, his wife Tessa Le Bars said: "Having had the privilege of working with Alan and Ray for over 50 years, the last 40 as agent, business manager and friend, and latterly as Alan's companion and carer, I am deeply saddened to lose Alan after a brave battle with lung disease."{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-38906672|title=Steptoe writer Alan Simpson dies|date=2017-02-08|access-date=2019-08-28|language=en-GB}}
On 11 February 2017 BBC Two broadcast the Steptoe and Son episode "Divided We Stand" in his memory.{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b009j5xn|title=Steptoe and Son – BBC One|publisher=.bbc.co.uk|access-date=12 February 2017}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0800882|Alan Simpson}}
- {{British Comedy Guide|people|alan_simpson}}
{{Galton and Simpson}}
{{BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Alan}}
Category:British male television writers
Category:Deaths from lung disease
Category:English comedy writers
Category:English radio writers
Category:English television writers