Howard Griffiths (8 October 193524 October 1999) was a screen and television writer born in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

who wrote '' Licensed to Kill'' and many

Australian television Television in Australia began experimentally as early as 1929 in Melbourne with radio stations 3DB and 3UZ, and 2UE in Sydney, using the ''Radiovision'' system by Gilbert Miles and Donald McDonald, and later from other locations, such as Bris ...

shows.

Biography

Born in Swansea, Griffiths earned a scholarship to the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with the highest entry results in Wales. He studied Classics at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

.''The Australian'' 16 Nov 1999 Griffiths did his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The ...

in the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...

as a Russian linguist with

RAF Intelligence Intelligence services in the Royal Air Force are delivered by Officers of the Royal Air Force Intelligence Branch and Airmen from the Intelligence Analyst Trade and Intelligence Analyst (Voice) Trade. The specialisation has around 1,200 person ...

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

listening to

Soviet Air Force The Soviet Air Forces ( rus, Военно-воздушные силы, r=Voyenno-vozdushnyye sily, VVS; literally "Military Air Forces") were one of the air forces of the Soviet Union. The other was the Soviet Air Defence Forces. The Air Forces ...

pilots radio transmissions. Griffiths recalled one Russian pilot wishing "A happy Christmas to our British listeners!" After leaving the military he edited a personnel magazine for Business Publications London, where he met his future wife, who was Australian. After his marriage he worked for the

World Book Encyclopedia The ''World Book Encyclopedia'' is an American encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is designed to cover major areas of knowledge uniformly, but it shows particular strength in scientific, technical, historical and medical subjects. ''World Book'' wa ...

, which transferred him to Sydney, Australia to develop an Australian version of the encyclopedia. Griffith's first screenplay was '' Licensed to Kill'' (1965). After emigrating to Australia, he wrote and story edited extensively for Australian television series, such as the spy series '' Hunter'' (1967), and police shows ''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for the Nine Network between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first dramas to follow up on the enormous success o ...

'', '' Homicide'', and ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian Police procedural, police drama series that was produced by Endemol Australia, Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, ...

''.Howard Griffiths
/ref> From 1975 to 1980 Griffiths was a script editor with the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owned ...

and received

AWGIE Awards The AWGIE Awards is an annual awards ceremony conducted by the Australian Writers' Guild, for excellence in screen, television, stage and radio writing. The awards began in 1967. The awards are judged by over 50 writers, most of whom are previou ...

for episodes of

Frank Hardy Francis Joseph Hardy (21 March 1917 – 28 January 1994), published as Frank J. Hardy and also under the pseudonym Ross Franklyn, was an Australian novelist and writer. He is best known for his 1950 novel '' Power Without Glory'', and for his ...

's ''

Power Without Glory ''Power Without Glory'' is a 1950 historical novel written by Australian author Frank Hardy, following the life and ambitions of John West, a politician born into a working-class family who rises to prominence in Australian federal politics. ...

'' and ''Truckies''. Griffith also co-wrote ''Becca'' (1988), an Australian-Welsh television co-production of an 1840s Welshman transported to Australia, as well as writing the teleplay to ''

Outbreak of Love ''Outbreak of Love'' is a 1981 Australian miniseries about Melbourne society just before World War I. *Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p. 220 * * References External links''Outbreak of Love ...

'' from the novel by

Martin Boyd Martin à Beckett Boyd (10 June 1893 – 3 June 1972) was an Australian writer born into the à Beckett– Boyd family, a family synonymous with the establishment, the judiciary, publishing and literature, and the visual arts since the early 19t ...

. In addition to writing, Griffiths interviewed many survivors of RAF Bomber Command for the 1987 ABC documentary ''

Wings of the Storm ''Wings of the Storm'' is a 1926 American "dog-hero" drama film directed by John G. Blystone and written by Elizabeth Pickett Chevalier, Gordon Rigby, and Dorothy Yost. Released in November 1926 by Fox Film Corporation, the film showcases Thu ...

'' and donated all his footage to the Australian War Memorial. Griffiths also held teaching positions with the

Australian Film, Television and Radio School The Australian Film Television and Radio School (AFTRS) formerly Australian Film and Television School, is Australia's national screen arts and broadcast school. The school is a Commonwealth Government statutory authority. History Establishe ...

in Sydney and the

Victorian College of the Arts The Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) is the arts school at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It is part of the university's Faculty of Fine Arts and Music. It is located near the Melbourne city centre on the Southbank campus of the ...

and was a Victorian delegate of the Australian Writers Guild.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Howard 1935 births 1999 deaths Writers from Swansea Welsh screenwriters Australian screenwriters Welsh emigrants to Australia 20th-century British screenwriters 20th-century Australian screenwriters