Laurence Marks (born 8 December 1948) is a British screenwriter and one half of writing duo Marks and Gran (with

Maurice Gran Maurice Bernard Gran (born 26 October 1949, in London, England) is an English writer and one half of scriptwriting duo Marks and Gran. He co-wrote the British sitcom, sitcoms ''The New Statesman (1987 TV series), The New Statesman'', ''Birds of ...

Biography

Marks attended Holloway Comprehensive School (formerly Holloway County Grammar School until 1955). Prior to becoming a sitcom writer he was a reporter for a local weekly paper, the ''Tottenham Weekly Herald'' and, according to information he provided to ''Who's Who'', he was also briefly a staff writer for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

'' in the mid- to late 1970s. He also worked as writer/researcher for Thames Television's current affairs programme, ''This Week''. Following a chance encounter with comedy writer

Barry Took Barry Took (19 June 192831 March 2002) was an English writer, television presenter and comedian. His decade-and-a-half writing partnership with Marty Feldman led to the television series ''Bootsie and Snudge'', the radio comedy ''Round the Horn ...

, he and childhood friend Maurice Gran got an opportunity to write a radio show for comedian

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 ...

, which led to their becoming full-time comedy writers. Marks subsequently wrote with Gran the TV comedy-drama ''

Shine on Harvey Moon ''Shine on, Harvey Moon'' is a British television series made by Witzend Productions and Central Television for ITV from 8 January 1982 to 23 August 1985 and briefly revived in 1995 by Meridian Broadcasting. This generally light-hearted series ...

'' (1982–85, 1995) and the popular

sitcoms A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use new ...

The New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'' (1987–92), '' Birds of a Feather'' (1989–98, 2014–2020) and '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' (1993–99, 2016). They are also the authors of '' Prudence at Number 10'', a fictional diary written as though by a P.A. of UK prime minister

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chance ...

. Their theatre works include '' Dreamboats and Petticoats'', ''Von Ribbentrop’s Watch'', ''Love Me Do'', ''Playing God'', ''Save the Last Dance for Me'', and ''Dreamboats and Miniskirts''. Marks is an

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

fan and wrote the book ''A Fan for All Seasons'' (1999), a diary of his life as a writer and an Arsenal supporter. He is a member of the Labour Party. His father, Bernard Marks, was one of 43 people who died in the

Moorgate tube crash The Moorgate tube crash occurred on 28 February 1975 at 8:46 am on the London Underground's Northern City Line; 43 people died and 74 were injured after a train failed to stop at the line's southern terminus, Moorgate station, and crashe ...

of 1975, the deadliest accident on the London Underground. In 2006 Marks made a documentary for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

about his father and the crash. At the time of the crash, Marks was a freelance writer and in the documentary he stated that he had spent a year investigating the crash for freelance reports that appeared in ''The Sunday Times''. Rejecting the verdict of accidental death by the coroner's jury, Marks advocated his theory that the driver of the train had committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by crashing the train.

Writing credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Marks, Laurence 1948 births Living people British comedy writers British male journalists British male television writers British television writers Labour Party (UK) people People educated at Holloway School