Giles Cooper (playwright)
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Giles Stannus Cooper, OBE (9 August 1918 – 2 December 1966) was an Anglo-Irish playwright and prolific
radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...
tist, writing over sixty scripts for
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering ...
and television. He was awarded the OBE in 1960 for "Services to Broadcasting". A dozen years after his death at only 48 the
Giles Cooper Award The Giles Cooper Awards were honours given to plays written for BBC Radio. Sponsored by the BBC and Methuen Drama, the awards were specifically focused on the script of the best radio drama produced in the past year. Five or six winners were chos ...
s for Radio Drama were instituted in his honour, jointly by 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. ...
...
and the publishers Eyre Methuen.


Early life

Giles Stannus Cooper was born into a landed Anglo-Irish family at
Carrickmines Carrickmines () is an outer suburb of Dublin in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. The area, still semi-rural, was historically on the border of English control and featured a defensive construction, Carrickmines Castle, which became the subjec ...
Giles Stannus Cooper profile
encyclopedia.farlex.com; retrieved 3 December 2015.
near
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
on 9 August 1918, the son of Guy Edward Cooper, a
Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
Commander, and nephew of politician and writer Bryan Ricco Cooper. Cooper was educated at the prep school
Arnold House School Arnold House School is a preparatory school for boys in the St John's Wood district of Westminster, Greater London. It consists of a Junior School (Years 1-4) and Senior School (Years 5-8). History Arnold House School was founded in 1905 by Miss ...
, St John's Wood,
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
, at
Lancing College Lancing College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in southern England, UK. The school is located in West Sussex, east of Worthing near the village of Lancing, on the south coast of England. ...
on the South Downs, and later studied languages in
Grenoble lat, Gratianopolis , commune status = Prefecture and commune , image = Panorama grenoble.png , image size = , caption = From upper left: Panorama of the city, Grenoble’s cable cars, place Saint- ...
in the
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and at a language school at San Sebastian in Northern Spain. It was here, with the
Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
raging around him, that he was shot through the arm one evening by a sniper's bullet, while on a mission to purchase cigarettes before dinner. The Royal Navy subsequently came to his rescue, gave him medical attention and dropped him off across the French border at St Jean de Luz. His father had planned the life of a diplomat for him, in which a Cambridge degree in Law and a Call to the Bar were prerequisites. Cooper, however, confounded these plans by enrolling as an actor at the
Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...
in London. A contemporary, joining on the same morning was the actor Michael Denison who recalls their first meeting in his autobiography ''Overture & Beginners''. Cooper's studies were interrupted by the Second World War. Initially conscripted into the ranks, he was selected for training at the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst The Royal Military College (RMC), founded in 1801 and established in 1802 at Great Marlow and High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire, England, but moved in October 1812 to Sandhurst, Berkshire, was a British Army military academy for training infant ...
, gained a commission and was subsequently despatched to the Far East in 1942. He served as an infantry officer in the
West Yorkshire Regiment ) , march = ''Ça Ira'' , battles = Namur FontenoyFalkirk Culloden Brandywine , anniversaries = Imphal (22 June) The West Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own) (14th Foot) wa ...
, spending three grueling years in the jungles of Burma fighting the Japanese, on occasion hand-to-hand. After the war he worked as an actor, first at the
Arts Theatre The Arts Theatre is a theatre in Great Newport Street, in Westminster, Central London. History It opened on 20 April 1927 as a members-only club for the performance of unlicensed plays, thus avoiding theatre censorship by the Lord Chamber ...
under Alec Clunes, where he met his future wife, the actress Gwyneth Lewis. Seasons in repertory theatre at
Newquay Newquay ( ; kw, Tewynblustri) is a town on the north coast in Cornwall, in the south west of England. It is a civil parish, seaside resort, regional centre for aerospace industries, spaceport and a fishing port on the North Atlantic coast of ...
(with
Kenneth Williams Kenneth Charles Williams (22 February 1926 â€“ 15 April 1988) was an English actor of Welsh heritage. He was best known for his comedy roles and in later life as a raconteur and diarist. He was one of the main ensemble in 26 of the 31 '' ...
) at the Connaught Theatre, Worthing (with Harold Pinter) and at the
Regent's Park Open Air Theatre Regent's Park Open Air Theatre is an open-air theatre in Regent's Park in central London. The theatre Established in 1932, Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre is one of the largest theatres in London (1,256 seats) and is situated in Queen Mary†...
continued until 1952 when he turned to script editing and then full-time writing.Giles Cooper profile
; retrieved 3 December 2015.


Writing

Cooper was a pioneer in writing for the broadcast media, becoming prolific in both radio and television drama. His early successes included radio dramatisations of Dickens' '' Oliver Twist'',
William Golding Sir William Gerald Golding (19 September 1911 – 19 June 1993) was a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Best known for his debut novel ''Lord of the Flies'' (1954), he published another twelve volumes of fiction in his lifetime. In 1980 ...
's ''
Lord of the Flies ''Lord of the Flies'' is a 1954 novel by the Nobel Prize-winning British author William Golding. The plot concerns a group of British boys who are stranded on an uninhabited island and their disastrous attempts to govern themselves. Themes ...
'' and
John Wyndham John Wyndham Parkes Lucas Beynon Harris (; 10 July 1903 â€“ 11 March 1969) was an English science fiction writer best known for his works published under the pen name John Wyndham, although he also used other combinations of his names ...
's science fiction novel '' Day of the Triffids''. Wyndham wrote to Cooper congratulating him after the first broadcast. On television he adapted Simenon's
Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created b ...
detective novels from the French, which became the major hit of the day (1960–61) starring
Rupert Davies Rupert Davies FRSA (22 May 191622 November 1976) was a British actor. He is best remembered for playing the title role in the BBC's 1960s television adaptation of '' Maigret'', based on Georges Simenon's novels. Life and career Military s ...
as the pipe-smoking sleuth in over 24 episodes, for which he won the Script Award in 1961 of the Guild of Television Producers, which subsequently became BAFTA. He also adapted four Sherlock Holmes stories,
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 â€“ July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
's ''
For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...
'' (1965), ''
Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its origin ...
'', Flaubert's ''
Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary'' (; ), originally published as ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' ( ), is a novel by French writer Gustave Flaubert, published in 1856. The eponymous character lives beyond her means in order to escape the banalities and emp ...
'' and
Evelyn Waugh Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 â€“ 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires '' Decl ...
's trilogy of novels ''
Sword of Honour The ''Sword of Honour'' is a trilogy of novels by Evelyn Waugh which loosely parallel Waugh's experiences during the Second World War. Published by Chapman & Hall from 1952 to 1961, the novels are: ''Men at Arms'' (1952); ''Officers and Gent ...
'' (1967) for ''
Theatre 625 ''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production a ...
''. He was more successful in the theatre with his original works as opposed to adaptations. His first full-length play ''Never Get Out'' was staged at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
in 1950 and transferred to the
Gate Theatre The Gate Theatre is a theatre on Cavendish Row in Dublin, Ireland. It was founded in 1928. History Beginnings The Gate Theatre was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál MacLiammóir with Daisy Bannard Cogley and Gearóid Ó Lochlai ...
in London. The first of his radio plays to make his reputation was ''Mathry Beacon'' (1956) about a small detachment of men and women still guarding a Top Secret "missile deflector" somewhere in Wales, some years after the war has ended; the first and only American production, starring
Martyn Green William Martin Green (22 April 1899 – 8 February 1975), known by his stage name, Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is remembered for his performances and recordings as principal comedian of the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company, in t ...
, was syndicated to public stations in 1981 by the National Radio Theater of Chicago. Also of note are '' Unman, Wittering and Zigo'' (1958) in which a young teacher finds his predecessor has been murdered by the boys in his class and ''The Long House'' (1965). "Out of the Crocodile" ran at the Phoenix Theatre in 1963-64 starring
Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy '' Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this per ...
, Celia Johnson and Cyril Raymond. ''"The Spies are Singing"'' was presented at the Nottingham Playhouse in 1966, starring the theatre's Artistic Director John Neville. Many of his plays were later adapted for both stage and television. ''Unman, Wittering and Zigo'', ''Seek Her Out'', in which a woman (played by
Toby Robins Toby Robins (March 13, 1931 – March 21, 1986) was a Canadian actress of film, stage and television. Robins starred in hundreds of radio and stage productions in Canada from the late 1940s through the 1960s, working with such performers as Jan ...
) witnesses an assassination on the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
and becomes the next would-be victim of the perpetrators; and ''The Long House'' were parts of an unrelated trilogy of plays by Cooper broadcast on BBC2's ''Theatre 625'' during the summer of 1965. He also wrote '' The Other Man'' a television drama starring
Michael Caine Sir Michael Caine (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Known for his distinctive Cockney accent, he has appeared in more than 160 films in a career spanning seven decades, and is considered a British film ico ...
,
Siân Phillips Dame Jane Elizabeth Ailwên Phillips (born 14 May 1933), known professionally as Siân Phillips ( ), is a Welsh actress. She has performed the title roles in Ibsen's ''Hedda Gabler'' and George Bernard Shaw's '' Saint Joan''. Early life Phi ...
and
John Thaw John Edward Thaw, (3 January 1942 – 21 February 2002) was an English actor who appeared in a range of television, stage, and cinema roles. He starred in the television series '' Inspector Morse'' as title character Detective Chief Inspector ...
and first broadcast on ITV in 1964. ''
Everything in the Garden ''Everything in the Garden'' is a play by Giles Cooper, first produced by The Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 in London. Original production ''Everything in the Garden'' premiered in a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the New Arts Theat ...
'' was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1962 at the Arts Theatre, London; in 1967, an American adaptation by Edward Albee, was first performed in 1967 at the Plymouth Theatre,
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, and dedicated to Cooper's memory. His last play was ''Happy Family'' was first presented at the
Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...
in 1966 starring
Wendy Craig Anne Gwendolyn "Wendy" Craig (born 20 June 1934) is an English actress who is best known for her appearances in the sitcoms ''Not in Front of the Children'', '' ...And Mother Makes Three'', '' ...And Mother Makes Five'' and ''Butterflies''. ...
; it then transferred to the West End with Michael Denison,
Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison, (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met ...
and
Robert Flemyng Benjamin Arthur Flemyng (3 January 1912 – 22 May 1995), known professionally as Robert Flemyng, was a British actor. The son of a doctor, and originally intended for a medical career, Flemyng learned his stagecraft in provincial repertory the ...
. A revival in 1984 directed by
Maria Aitken Maria Penelope Katharine Aitken (born 12 September 1945) is an English theatre director, teacher, actress, and writer. Early life and career Aitken was born in Dublin, Ireland, the daughter of Sir William Aitken, a Conservative MP, and Penelo ...
opened in Windsor and transferred to the
Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by th ...
in the West End, starring
Ian Ogilvy Ian Raymond Ogilvy (born 30 September 1943) is an English actor, playwright, and novelist. Early life Ogilvy was born in Woking, Surrey, England, to Francis Fairfield Ogilvy, brother of advertising executive David Ogilvy, and actress Aileen ...
,
Angela Thorne Angela Margaret Leslie Thorne (born 25 January 1939) is an English actress of stage, television and film who is best known for her roles in '' To the Manor Born'', as Audrey fforbes-Hamilton's best friend Marjory Frobisher, and as Margaret Thatc ...
,
James Laurenson James Laurenson (born 17 February 1940) is a New Zealand stage and screen actor. Early life Laurenson was born in Marton, North Island, New Zealand. He was a student at Canterbury University College in Christchurch (now University of Canter ...
and
Stephanie Beacham Stephanie Beacham (born 28 February 1947) is an English television, film, radio and theatre actress. Although she has a wide number of credits to her name, Beacham is best known for for playing Sable Colby in the ABC soap operas ''The Colbys' ...
.


Death

Cooper died at the age of 48 after falling from a train as it passed through Surbiton, Surrey, returning from a Guild of Dramatists' Christmas dinner at the
Garrick Garrick may refer to: * Garrick (name), for the name's origin and people with either the surname or given name, the most famous being: ** David Garrick (1717–1779), English actor * Garrick Club, a London gentlemen's club named in honour of David ...
on 2 December 1966. A
post-mortem An autopsy (post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of death or to evaluate any di ...
showed he had consumed the equivalent of half a bottle of whisky and the coroner at Kingston in January 1967 returned a verdict of misadventure. There have been several attempts to attribute his death to suicide, in particularly by ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'' newspaper. When interviewed by
Humphrey Carpenter Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter (29 April 1946 – 4 January 2005) was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inkl ...
in 1995, BBC radio producer
Douglas Cleverdon Thomas Douglas James Cleverdon (17 January 1903 – 1 October 1987) was an English radio producer and bookseller. In both fields he was associated with numerous leading cultural figures. Personal life He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and ...
's widow, Nest, told him that she believed it was suicide. Cooper's family have always strongly disputed this, not only because it bears no relationship to the playwright's apparent frame of mind during the period leading up to his death, but also because it unfairly colours appraisal of his work from an academic standpoint.International Radio Drama – Social, Economic and Literary Contexts, Tim Crook
/ref>


Personal life and legacy

In 1978 the Giles Cooper Awards for radio drama were established by the BBC in conjunction with the publishers Eyre Methuen, and continued to be awarded until the early 1990s. Giles Cooper had two sons and four grandchildren, including actor Giles Cooper.


References


External links

*
Review and listing of work on Diversity website



Finding aid to Giles Cooper papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Giles 1918 births 1966 deaths People from Carrickmines West Yorkshire Regiment officers British Army personnel of World War II English radio writers English television writers Officers of the Order of the British Empire Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst People educated at Lancing College Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Railway accident deaths in England Accidental deaths in London 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers British male television writers 20th-century English screenwriters British shooting survivors