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Ray Galton Raymond Percy Galton (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) was an English radio and television scriptwriter, best known for the Galton and Simpson comedy writing partnership with Alan Simpson. Together they devised and wrote 1950s and 60s BBC sitco ...
OBE (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) and Alan Simpson OBE (27 November 1929 – 8 February 2017) were English comedy scriptwriters whose partnership lasted over 50 years. They met in 1948 whilst recuperating from
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
at the Milford Sanatorium, near
Godalming Godalming is a market town and civil parish in southwest Surrey, England, around southwest of central London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, at the confluence of the Rivers Wey and Ock. The civil parish covers and includes the settleme ...
in Surrey. They are best known for their work with comedian
Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...
on radio and television between 1954 and 1961 and their long-running television situation comedy, ''
Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and ...
'', eight series of which were aired between 1962 and 1974.


Career

The partnership's break in comedy writing came with the
Derek Roy Derek Leonard Roy (born May 4, 1983) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and the Edmont ...
vehicle ''Happy Go Lucky'', although this was not a success. The Hancock connection began with their involvement with later radio variety series, and from November 1954 continued with ''
Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the r ...
'' on radio; a series featuring their scripts for Hancock ran on television between 1956 and 1961. In October that year Hancock ended his professional relationship with the writers, and with
Beryl Vertue Beryl Frances Vertue ('' née'' Johnson; 8 April 1931 – 12 February 2022) was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. Early li ...
who worked with the writers' at their agency
Associated London Scripts Associated London Scripts (ALS) was a writers' agency organised as a co-operative which involved many leading comedy and television writers of the 1950s and 1960s. In the early 1950s, as ''The Goon Show'' was gaining popularity, its main writer S ...
. This writers' co-operative had been founded by
Eric Sykes Eric Sykes (4 May 1923 – 4 July 2012) was an English radio, stage, television and film writer, comedian, actor, and director whose performing career spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and performed with many other leading com ...
and
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
, with others involved, including Hancock for a time. After their association with Hancock had ended, they wrote a series of ''
Comedy Playhouse ''Comedy Playhouse'' is a long-running British anthology series of one-off unrelated sitcoms that aired for 120 episodes from 1961 to 1975. Many episodes later graduated to their own series, including ''Steptoe and Son'', '' Meet the Wife'', ...
'' (1961–62), ten one-off half-hour plays for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. One play in the series, ''The Offer'', was well received, and from this emerged ''
Steptoe and Son ''Steptoe and Son'' is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about a father-and-son rag-and-bone business in 26a Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherd's Bush, London. Four series were broadcast by the BBC in black and ...
'' (1962–74), about two rag and bone men, father and son, who live together in a squalid house in West London. This was the basis for the American series ''
Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that ran on the NBC television network from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC One in the United ...
'' and the Swedish series ''
Albert & Herbert ''Albert & Herbert'' was a Swedish comedy series that ran in 1974, 1976–79, 1981–82, an advent series, and a theatre play titled ''Mordet på Skolgatan 15'', and had a spin-off series in 1995. ''Albert & Herbert'', which featured father-and- ...
''. Their comedy is characterised by a bleak and somewhat fatalistic tone. ''Steptoe and Son'' in particular is, at times, extremely
black comedy Black comedy, also known as dark comedy, morbid humor, or gallows humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally considered serious or painful to discus ...
, and close in tone to
social realist Social realism is the term used for work produced by painters, printmakers, photographers, writers and filmmakers that aims to draw attention to the real socio-political conditions of the working class as a means to critique the power structure ...
drama. Both the character played by Tony Hancock in ''Hancock's Half Hour'' and Harold Steptoe (
Harry H. Corbett Harry H. Corbett OBE (28 February 1925 – 21 March 1982) was an English actor and comedian, best remembered for playing rag-and-bone man Harold Steptoe alongside Wilfrid Brambell in the long-running BBC television sitcom ''Steptoe and Son'' ( ...
) are pretentious, would-be intellectuals who find themselves trapped by the squalor of their lives. This theme had been expanded upon in their script for Tony Hancock's film '' The Rebel'' (1961), about a civil servant who moves to Paris to become an artist.
Gabriel Chevallier Gabriel Chevallier (3 May 1895 – 6 April 1969) was a French novelist widely known as the author of the satire ''Clochemerle''. Biography Born in Lyon in 1895, Gabriel Chevallier was educated in various schools before entering Lyon École des Be ...
's novel ''
Clochemerle ''Clochemerle'', published in the United States as ''The Scandals of Clochemerle'', is a French satirical novel by Gabriel Chevallier (1895–1969) first published in 1934. It centres on personal rivalries and local politics in the fictional ...
'' (1934) was adapted by Galton and Simpson as a BBC/West German co-production in 1972. They contributed the book to ''Jacob's Journey'', a musical accompaniment to a 1973 production of ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...
'', which was however soon dropped. Around this time an unbroadcast television pilot entitled ''Bunclarke With an E'' was recorded based on a ''Hancock's Half Hour'' script, with
Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 36 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad' ...
and
James Beck Stanley James Carroll Beck (21 February 1929 – 6 August 1973) was an English actor who played the role of Private Walker, a cockney spiv, in the BBC sitcom ''Dad's Army'' from the show's beginning in 1968 until his sudden death in 1973. Ea ...
, but Beck died before the project could be developed as a series. Another series from this period, ''
Casanova '73 ''Casanova '73'' is a British sitcom broadcast on BBC1 in September and October 1973. Written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson, the series starred Leslie Phillips as wealthy womaniser Henry Newhouse (the English translation of "casa nova"). Backgr ...
'' (1973) with
Leslie Phillips Leslie Samuel Phillips (20 April 1924 – 7 November 2022) was an English actor, director, producer and author. He achieved prominence in the 1950s, playing smooth, upper-class comic roles utilising his "Ding dong" and "Hello" catchphrases. ...
in the lead, was described by ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' in its obituary of Galton as "disappointingly typical of their later work." While both writers continued to work after ''Steptoe and Son'' ended, including several projects with
Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...
, they had no further high-profile successes.
Duncan Wood Wilfred Duncan Wood (24 March 1925 – 11 January 1997) was a British comedy producer, director and writer, who has been described as "the founding father of the British TV sitcom". His best-known achievements were to produce all of Tony Ha ...
, the former ''Hancock'' and ''Steptoe'' producer by then at
Yorkshire Television ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...
, commissioned ''The Galton & Simpson Playhouse'', a seven-part series broadcast in 1977, featuring leading actors of the time such as
Richard Briers Richard David Briers (14 January 1934 – 17 February 2013) was an English actor whose five-decade career encompassed film, radio, stage and television. Briers first came to prominence as George Starling in ''Marriage Lines'' (1961–66), but ...
,
Leonard Rossiter Leonard Rossiter (21 October 1926 – 5 October 1984) was an English actor. He had a long career in the theatre but achieved his highest profile for his television comedy roles starring as Rupert Rigsby in the ITV series ''Rising Damp'' from ...
and
Arthur Lowe Arthur Lowe (22 September 1915 – 15 April 1982) was an English actor. His acting career spanned 36 years, including starring roles in numerous theatre and television productions. He played Captain Mainwaring in the British sitcom ''Dad' ...
. None of these shows led to another series. Simpson retired from scriptwriting in 1978, becoming an after-dinner speaker, while Galton collaborated in several projects with
Johnny Speight Johnny Speight (2 June 1920 – 5 July 1998) was an English television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms. He emerged in the mid-1950s. He wrote for radio comics Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For tele ...
. In 1996 and 1997, comedian
Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...
revived several ''Hancock's Half Hour'' and other Galton and Simpson scripts for
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
to a mixed reception. Ray Galton's ''Get Well Soon'', based on his and Simpson's early sanatorium experiences, was broadcast by the BBC in 1997. In October 2005, Galton and
John Antrobus John Arthur Antrobus (born 2 July 1933) is an English playwright and screenwriter. He has written extensively for stage, screen, TV and radio, including the epic World War II play, ''Crete and Sergeant Pepper'' at the Royal Court. He authored t ...
premiered their play '' Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane'' at the Theatre Royal, York. The play is set in the present day and relates the events that lead to Harold killing his father, and their eventual meeting thirty years later (Albert appearing as a ghost). A series of old plays updated for modern times, entitled ''Galton and Simpson's Half Hour'', was broadcast on
BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
in 2009. The series of four episodes was made to celebrate the duo's 60-year anniversary, and the cast consists of
Frank Skinner Christopher Graham Collins (born 28 January 1957), professionally known as Frank Skinner, is an English comedian, actor, presenter and writer. At the 2001 British Comedy Awards, he was named Best Comedy Entertainment Personality. His televisio ...
,
Mitchell and Webb Mitchell and Webb are a British comedy double act, composed of David Mitchell and Robert Webb. They are best known for starring in the Channel 4 sitcom ''Peep Show'' and their radio and TV sketch shows '' That Mitchell and Webb Sound'' and '' ...
,
Rik Mayall Richard Michael Mayall (7 March 1958 – 9 June 2014) was an English actor, stand-up comedian and writer. He formed a close partnership with Ade Edmondson while they were students at Manchester University and was a pioneer of alternative ...
,
June Whitfield Dame June Rosemary Whitfield (11 November 1925 – 29 December 2018) was an English radio, television, and film actress. Her big break was a lead in the radio comedy ''Take It from Here'', which aired on the BBC Light Programme in 1953. ...
and
Paul Merton Paul James Martin (born 9 July 1957), known under the stage name Paul Merton, is an English writer, actor, comedian and radio and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, Merton's humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and someti ...
. The successful Scandinavian television series ''
Fleksnes Fataliteter ''Fleksnes Fataliteter'', better known by its shortened title ''Fleksnes'', was a Norwegian- Swedish-Danish television comedy series produced between 1972 and 2002, created by Swedish writer Bo Hermansson and based on Galton and Simpson's scripts ...
'' and ''
Albert & Herbert ''Albert & Herbert'' was a Swedish comedy series that ran in 1974, 1976–79, 1981–82, an advent series, and a theatre play titled ''Mordet på Skolgatan 15'', and had a spin-off series in 1995. ''Albert & Herbert'', which featured father-and- ...
'' were based on ''Hancock's Half Hour'' and ''Steptoe and Son''.


Awards

Galton and Simpson were both awarded OBEs in the 2000
honours list Crown Honours Lists are lists of honours conferred upon citizens of the Commonwealth realms. The awards are presented by or in the name of the reigning monarch, currently King Charles III, or his vice-regal representative. New Year Honours Ho ...
for their contribution to British television. On Saturday 1 June 2013, the British Comedy Society unveiled a
blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom and elsewhere to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker. The term i ...
to Simpson and Galton at Milford Hospital (formerly the sanatorium the pair first met in). On 8 May 2016, the two men were awarded a BAFTA fellowship for their comedy writing.


References


External links

* * *
DVDCompare review of ''The Galton and Simpson Playhouse'' (1977)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galton and Simpson English radio writers English television writers Screenwriting duos Officers of the Order of the British Empire