Lawrence Geoffrey Stephens (16 July 1923p.14926 January 1959) was a BBC radio scriptwriter, best remembered for co-writing ''

The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September ...

'' with

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 Colonial India, where he spent his ...

. Stephens was a regular writer of the show for the first two years, and then returned to ''The Goon Show'' to assist Milligan. From his association with Milligan, Stephens became involved with

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 ...

(ALS), and was said to have been "one of the most eye-catching characters, in the earliest days of the company...he played a significant cameo role in the first phase of success for ALS".

Early life

Stephens was born in

West Bromwich West Bromwich ( ) is a market town in the borough of Sandwell, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Historic counties of England, Historically part of Staffordshire, it is north-west of Birmingham. West Bromwich is part of the area ...

and moved to Quinton, Birmingham, when he was four. He attended Quinton Infant and Junior School then Birmingham Central Grammar School. Trained as an accountant, Stephens distinguished himself as a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pianist before the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. Following service in the war, during which he served as a Commando captain, he returned to England, and began writing for British 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, ...

before Hancock became well known, and was Hancock's best man at the comedian's first wedding. In turn Hancock and his new wife Cicely were witnesses at Larry's marriage to Diana Forster a few days later. Both of the brides were models for the French fashion house Lanvin.The Life and Times of Larry Stephens - Finally Revealed, Mike Brown, The Missing Page (the magazine of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society) Vol.2 Nos. 2 & 3, 2002 Milligan once remarked that "Larry and Tony were like brothers".McCann, (2006), p.150

Career

In 1952, he developed a potential radio series for Hancock, which was designed to run for a full half-hour without musical breaks, then usual, called ''Vacant Lot''. Although Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers and others were provisionally attached to the project, it was never recorded. Elements of ''Vacant Lot'' were later re-written by Stephens and broadcast by the BBC as ''Welcome to Welkham'', but with

Brian Reece Brian Reece (24 July 1913 – 12 April 1962) was an English actor. Biography Born in Wallasey, Cheshire, he starred as the eponymous policeman in the BBC radio series '' The Adventures of PC 49'' (1947–1953). His films include '' Orders Are ...

, instead of Hancock.BBC Radio 4 Programme: "Larry Stephens, The Man Who Never Was" (originally aired 24 May 2007) The original script for ''Vacant Lot'' re-emerged in 2015. After its rediscovery in the BBC Archives by Stephens' biographer Julie Warren, ''Vacant Lot'' was finally premiered in November 2017 – 65 years after its planned broadcast. Staged by Birmingham Comedy Festival as a live 'script-in-hand' performance with actor and impressionist James Hurn (as Tony Hancock) and

Janice Connolly Janice Connolly is an English actress, comedian and artistic director. She runs the Birmingham-based group Women and Theatre, and performs stand-up comedy as her character Mrs Barbara Nice. Connolly has also appeared in ''Coronation Street'', ' ...

among the cast, Stephens' "great writing" was noted. Stephens wrote for a number of popular shows, comedians and entertainers in the 1950s including

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey, (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation ...

Jon Pertwee John Devon Roland "Jon" Pertwee (; 7 July 1919 – 20 May 1996) was an English actor, comedian, entertainer, cabaret performer and TV presenter. Born into a theatrical family, he served in the Royal Navy and the Naval Intelligence Division during ...

and

Dick Emery Richard Gilbert Emery (19 February 19152 January 1983) was an English comedian and actor. His broadcasting career began on radio in the 1950s, and his self-titled television series ran from 1963 to 1981. Life and career Richard Gilbert Emery was ...

Dickie Valentine Richard Bryce ( Maxwell; 4 November 1929 – 6 May 1971), known professionally as Dickie Valentine, was a British pop singer who enjoyed great popularity in Britain during the 1950s. In addition to several other Top Ten hit singles, Valentine ha ...

Kenneth Horne Charles Kenneth Horne, generally known as Kenneth Horne, (27 February 1907 – 14 February 1969) was an English comedian and businessman. He is perhaps best remembered for his work on three BBC Radio series: ''Much-Binding-in-the-Marsh ...

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 ...

, and Charles Hawtrey. The radio shows he contributed to included ''Pertwee's Progress'', ''Bumblethorpe'' (with Spike Milligan and Peter Ling), ''The Forces Show'' (with Jimmy Grafton), ''Arthur's Inn'', ''Forces All-Star Bill'' (with Spike Milligan) and ''Star Bill'' (with

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 ''Bring On The Girls''. He wrote for Hancock again on '' The Tony Hancock Show'' (1956–57), which was screened on ITV by

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

. Stephens also wrote for other popular television series too, such as ''

The Army Game ''The Army Game'' is a British television sitcom that aired on ITV from 19 June 1957 to 20 June 1961. It was the very first ITV sitcom and was made by Granada, and created by Sid Colin. It follows the exploits of Hut 29, a dysfunctional gro ...

'' with Maurice Wiltshire, with whom he also co-wrote three ''Goon Show'' episodes (later, Wiltshire also rewrote an unused Stephens script for the show). Several of his radio scripts for ''The Goon Show'' were later adapted by Wiltshire for the TV puppet version, ''

The Telegoons ''The Telegoons'' is a comedy puppet show, adapted from the highly successful BBC radio comedy show of the 1950s, ''The Goon Show'' produced for BBC television and first shown during 1963 and 1964. Two series of 13 episodes were made. The series w ...

''. According to a

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...

programme on Stephens' life, it was while working on the second season of ''The Goon Show'' that Stephens, doubling both as a key contributor and as Milligan's agent, began to drink so heavily it affected his work. McCann (2006) states that Stephens' partnership with Milligan "foundered initially in the early 1950s – when he was drinking more than four bottles of rum and a couple of bottles of whisky each week".McCann, (2006), p.151 In February 1954, the BBC asserted that Stephens had violated the terms of his contract by failing to deliver scripts for ''The Goon Show'' on time, and that, thereafter, his work would only be considered on spec. Insulted, Stephens refused to have anything further to do with ''The Goon Show''. Two years after the BBC cancelled his contract, Milligan managed to rehire Stephens for ''The Goon Show'' on the condition that Milligan, not the BBC, pay his salary. Per McCann (2006), Stephens was

Logical, perceptive and clever, he could capture Milligan's quick little ideas before they shot straight out of sight and then place them into a relatively coherent structure. His own keen visual sense – he would even illustrate his scripts with vivid little drawings of certain goons – helped sharpen some of Milligan's characterisations and stimulated his already rich and lively imagination. Milligan would throw out all kinds of hit-or-miss suggestions; Stephens would retrieve the ones most likely to work. Milligan would sometimes get distracted or paralysed by all of the comic possibilities; Stephens would often find the most effective way to get him back on track and moving forwards.McCann, (2006), p.151

Stephens was probably at his busiest during 1955 and 1956, during which time, apart from co-writing ''The Goon Show'', he also supplied the story and helped shape the screenplay for ''

The Case of the Mukkinese Battle Horn ''The Case of the Mukkinese Battle-Horn'' is a 30-minute comedy film starring Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan and Dick Emery. The film was made in November 1955, and released in 1956. p.173. Scudamore states the film was made by Richard Lester, ...

'' (1956), and made countless last-minute re-writes of various comedians' scripts, innumerable gags for a wide range of variety shows and quite a few unofficial edits of troublesome television scripts.McCann, (2006), p.151 Stephens' heavy drinking had aggravated his high blood pressure, and he died on 26 January 1959; the official cause of death was a cerebral haemorrhage brought about by chronic hypertension.

Death

Stephens' death has been a subject of surmise and conjecture. Many ''Goon Show'' fans believe that Stephens died while having dinner with Milligan. Another theory, advanced 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 his biography of Milligan, states that he died in a car while going out to dinner with his wife, Diana, and Milligan. McCann (2006) states that Stephens and his wife were on their way to dine out with Milligan.McCann, (2006), p.152. Note: McCann has the date of Stephens' death as 25 January 1959 It was most likely that Stephens' death was the reason that ''The Goon Show'' episode, "Dishonoured – Again" (broadcast on 26 January 1959) was a remake of the show "Dishonoured" (broadcast on 14 December 1954). A

biography A biography, or simply bio, is a detailed description of a person's life. It involves more than just the basic facts like education, work, relationships, and death; it portrays a person's experience of these life events. Unlike a profile or c ...

of Stephens has been written by his cousin Julie Warren. The book is entitled ''It's All In The Mind: The Life and Legacy of Larry Stephens''.''It's All In The Mind''
/ref>

Filmography (as writer)

*''

'' (1956) Film *'' The Tony Hancock Show'' (1956–57) *''

'' (1957) TV Series * ''

'' (1963-1964) TV Series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Stephens, Larry 1923 births 1959 deaths British Army Commandos officers British radio writers English comedy writers Military personnel from Staffordshire British Army personnel of World War II British Army officers