Jonathan Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and
film director
A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, pr ...
, producer, writer, and actor. He is known for directing the comedy films such as ''
Clue'', ''
Nuns on the Run'', ''
My Cousin Vinny
''My Cousin Vinny'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, and written by Dale Launer, who also produced with Paul Schiff. The film stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill ...
'', and ''
The Whole Nine Yards''. He also co-created and co-wrote the television series ''
Yes Minister''.
Early life
Lynn was born in
Bath, Somerset
Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...
, the son of physician Robin Lynn and sculptor Ruth Helen (née Eban), whose first cousin on her mother's side was the neurologist
Oliver Sacks. Another cousin, Caroline Sacks, married Nicholas Samuel, 5th
Viscount Bearsted
Viscount Bearsted, of Maidstone in the County of Kent, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1925 for the businessman Marcus Samuel, 1st Baron Bearsted, the joint-founder of the Shell Transport and Trading Company. ...
.
Lynn was educated at
Kingswood School, Bath, between 1954 and 1961, after which he studied law at
Pembroke College, Cambridge
Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
. (His maternal uncle, Israeli statesman
Abba Eban
Abba Solomon Meir Eban (; he, אבא אבן ; born Aubrey Solomon Meir Eban; 2 February 1915 – 17 November 2002) was an Israeli diplomat and politician, and a scholar of the Arabic and Hebrew languages.
During his career, he served as For ...
, had also studied at
Cambridge
Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...
in the 1930s.) There he participated in the
Cambridge University Footlights Club revue ''
Cambridge Circus'' (appearing with the revue in 1964 on Broadway and on ''
The Ed Sullivan Show
''The Ed Sullivan Show'' is an American television program, television variety show that ran on CBS from June 20, 1948, to March 28, 1971, and was hosted by New York City, New York entertainment columnist Ed Sullivan. It was replaced in Septembe ...
'').
Career
Acting
Lynn's first West End appearance was in a stage production of ''Green Julia'', for which he was nominated for the 1965 Plays and Players Award as Most Promising New Actor.
In 1967, he played Motel the tailor in the original West End production of ''
Fiddler on the Roof
''Fiddler on the Roof'' is a musical with music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and book by Joseph Stein, set in the Pale of Settlement of Imperial Russia in or around 1905. It is based on ''Tevye and his Daughters'' (or ''Tevye the ...
'' (production recorded by
CBS Records). From the late 1960s, Lynn was appearing in and writing television sitcoms, including the television comedy series ''
Twice a Fortnight'' with
Graeme Garden,
Bill Oddie,
Terry Jones,
Michael Palin and
Tony Buffery.
Lynn played the Irish medical student Danny Hooley in the second series of the television comedy ''
Doctor in the House'' in 1970. He wrote some episodes for ''
Doctor at Large'', ''Doctor in Charge'', ''Doctor at Sea'' and ''Doctor on the Go''.
As a TV actor, his most memorable roles included Beryl's boyfriend Robert in early series of ''
The Liver Birds'', the role of Harold in
Jack Rosenthal's 1976 television film ''
Bar Mitzvah Boy
"Bar Mitzvah Boy" is the first episode of seventh season of the British BBC anthology TV series ''Play for Today''. The television play was originally broadcast on 14 September 1976. It was written by Jack Rosenthal, directed by Michael Tuchner ...
'', and the role of Ted Margolis in Rosenthal's ''
The Knowledge'' (1979). He had a bit-part as a window cleaner in the BBC television series ''
The Good Life''. His film appearances have included roles in ''
Prudence and the Pill'' (1968), ''
The House That Dripped Blood
''The House That Dripped Blood'' is a 1971 British anthology horror film directed by Peter Duffell and distributed by Amicus Productions. It stars Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Nyree Dawn Porter, Denholm Elliott, and Jon Pertwee. The ...
'' (1971), ''
Romance with a Double Bass
''Romance with a Double Bass'' is a 1974 British short comedy film directed by Robert Young. It was adapted by Young, John Cleese and Connie Booth (uncredited)McCall, Douglas (2014). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969—2012'. McFarland & Comp ...
'' (1974), and ''
Three Men and a Little Lady'' (1990).
Lynn is a guest instructor at
HB Studio.
Screenwriting
Lynn's first (co-written) screenplay was for ''
The Internecine Project
''The Internecine Project'' is a 1974 British espionage thriller film written by Mort W. Elkind, Barry Levinson, and Jonathan Lynn, directed by Ken Hughes and starring James Coburn and Lee Grant.
Plot
Renowned American economist Robert Elliot ( ...
'', which was released in 1974. For television he wrote episodes for the ''
Doctor'' TV series and ''
On the Buses'' and wrote for
Harry Worth
Harry Bourlon Illingsworth (20 November 1917 – 20 July 1989), professionally known as Harry Worth, was an English comedy actor, comedian and ventriloquist. Worth portrayed a charming, gentle and genial character, totally bemused by life, ...
and
George Layton before eventually, in partnership with
Antony Jay, writing ''
Yes Minister'' and ''
Yes, Prime Minister
''Yes Minister'' is a British political satire sitcom written by Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn. Comprising three seven-episode series, it was first transmitted on BBC2 from 1980 to 1984. A sequel, ''Yes, Prime Minister'', ran for 16 episodes fro ...
''. His later writing credits include the first two films he directed, ''
Clue'' (1985) and ''
Nuns on the Run'' (1990). He is also known for his co-writing, co-producing, and co-directing of the revived ''Yes, Prime Minister'' series produced by the
BBC on
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
in 2013.
Books
Lynn co-authored the books ''The Complete Yes Minister'', as well as ''The Complete Yes Prime Minister'', which spent 106 weeks on the ''Sunday Times'' top 10 fiction list. Both were ranked number one on the ''Sunday Times'' list, including in December 1986 when the books were ranked number one and number two respectively. He also wrote the 1993 novel ''Mayday''. In 2011 Lynn wrote a non-fiction work entitled ''Comedy Rules''. ''The Independent'' newspaper called the book "a charming memoir, full of amusing and insightful anecdotes about the many entertainers Lynn has worked with" and described it as a combination of autobiography and how-to manual for comedy. The paper wrote further: "By dovetailing different types of book, Lynn cleverly avoids the pitfalls of both genres. Because it's ostensibly a sort of how-to book, there are no boring childhood reminiscences. Because it's also a kind of autobiography, his no-nonsense dos and don'ts are springboards for entertaining yarns, rather than academic discourse."
Lynn won praise for his direction of the 2010 London stage version of ''Yes, Prime Minister'', which he co-wrote as well.
In 2016 Lynn’s play ''The Patriotic Traitor'' was published. Its subject is the relationship of
Philippe Pétain to
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
. In the words of the blurb, ‘Two giants of the twentieth century who loved each other like father and son until they found themselves on opposing sides in World War II. In 1945 de Gaulle had his oldest friend tried for treason. Their complex relationship – noble, comic and absurd – changed history.’
Producing
Lynn also produced six episodes of the new ''Yes, Prime Minister'' television series, was executive producer of ''He's Such a Girl'', ''
Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Literature
* Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan
* ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray
* ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...
'', and was a producer for ''
Trial and Error''.
It also received an exclusive production agreement with
Columbia Pictures Television
Columbia Pictures Television, Inc. (abbreviated as CPT) was launched on May 6, 1974, by Columbia Pictures as an American television production and distribution studio. It is the second name of the Columbia Pictures television division Screen Gem ...
in 1992.
Awards
Lynn's work on the ''Minister'' series earned him three
BAFTAs
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...
, two
Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, and two Pye Television Writers Awards, and he won the
ACE Award
The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Ame ...
for Best Written Comedy Series. The
Campaign for Freedom of Information
The Campaign for Freedom of Information is an advocacy group that promotes and defends freedom of information in the UK. It seeks to strengthen the public's rights under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and related laws and opposes attempts to ...
also recognized Lynn with a special award for his work on the show.
Lynn was a recipient of a Diamond Jubilee Award for Political Satire in 2010. He received a
NAACP Image Award
The NAACP Image Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the U.S.-based National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( NAACP) to honor outstanding performances in film, television, theatre, music, and literature. Similar to ...
for the 2003 film ''The Fighting Temptations''.
Film director credits
Lynn has directed numerous films,
including:
* ''
Clue'' (1985)
* ''
Nuns on the Run'' (1990)
* ''
My Cousin Vinny
''My Cousin Vinny'' is a 1992 American comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn, and written by Dale Launer, who also produced with Paul Schiff. The film stars Joe Pesci, Ralph Macchio, Marisa Tomei, Mitchell Whitfield, Lane Smith, Bruce McGill ...
'' (1992)
* ''
The Distinguished Gentleman'' (1992)
* ''
Greedy'' (1994)
* ''
Sgt. Bilko
''Sgt. Bilko'' is a 1996 American military comedy film directed by Jonathan Lynn and written by Andy Breckman. It is an adaptation of the 1950s television series ''The Phil Silvers Show'', often informally called ''Sgt. Bilko'', or simply ''Bilk ...
'' (1996)
* ''
Trial and Error'' (1997)
* ''
The Whole Nine Yards'' (2000)
* ''
The Fighting Temptations'' (2003)
* ''
Wild Target'' (2010)
See also
*
Cambridge Theatre Company
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Official website*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lynn, Jonathan
1943 births
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English male actors
21st-century English male writers
21st-century English male actors
20th-century English screenwriters
21st-century British dramatists and playwrights
Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge
English film directors
English male comedians
English male stage actors
English male television actors
English people of Israeli descent
English people of Jewish descent
English television writers
Living people
British male television writers
People educated at Kingswood School, Bath
People from Bath, Somerset
Male actors from Somerset
Comedians from Somerset