Norman James Crisp (11 December 1923 – 14 June 2005), known as a writer only by his initials and surname, N. J. Crisp, was a prolific British television writer, dramatist and novelist. In the sixties after writing some single dramas, Crisp moved to writing for serials and turned out scripts for many BBC series including ''

Compact Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to: * Interstate compact * Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines * Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...

'', '' R3'', ''

Dixon of Dock Green ''Dixon of Dock Green'' was a BBC police procedural television series about daily life at a fictional London police station, with the emphasis on petty crime, successfully controlled through common sense and human understanding. It ran from 19 ...

'', ''

Dr Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictiona ...

'', ''

Colditz Colditz () is a small town in the district of Leipzig, in Saxony, Germany. It is best known for Colditz Castle, the site of the Oflag IV-C POW camp for officers in World War II. Geography Colditz is situated in the Leipzig Bay, southeast of the c ...

'' and '' Secret Army''. In 1968, he co-created '' The Expert'', a serial about a forensic scientist, with its producer

Gerard Glaister John Leslie Glaister DFC (21 December 1915 – 5 February 2005), known as Gerard or Gerrard Glaister, was a British television producer and director best known for his work with the BBC. Amongst his most notable successes as a producer were ''Co ...

. Four years later the pair repeated these roles with the boardroom drama '' The Brothers''. His 1996 play ''

That Good Night ''That Good Night'' is a play by NJ Crisp, written with the intention of it being performed by Donald Sinden and his son Marc Sinden playing the central characters of the father and son. However Marc, who in 1991 had starred in Crisps' psycholog ...

'' starred

Donald Sinden Sir Donald Alfred Sinden (9 October 1923 – 12 September 2014) was a British actor. Sinden featured in the film ''Mogambo'' (1953), and achieved early fame as a Rank Organisation film star in the 1950s in films including ''The Cruel Sea (195 ...

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

Lucy Fleming Eve Lucinda "Lucy" Fleming (born 15 May 1947) is a British actress. Biography Early life and ancestry Fleming was born in Nettlebed, England. She is the second daughter of actress Celia Johnson and writer Peter Fleming (brother of James Bo ...

Patrick Ryecart Patrick Geoffrey Ryecart (born 9 May 1952) is an English actor. Early life and career Ryecart was born in Warwick, Warwickshire. His first West End appearance was in Bernard Shaw's '' Candida'' at the Albery Theatre, playing the young poet M ...

and Julie-Kate Olivier and was directed by

Edward Hall Edward Hall ( – ) was an English lawyer and historian, best known for his ''The Union of the Two Noble and Illustre Families of Lancastre and Yorke''—commonly known as ''Hall's Chronicle''—first published in 1548. He was also sever ...

. The film of the same title, based on Crisp's play, received its world premiere in June 2017 at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

. It was

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 25 January 2017) was an English actor whose career spanned over five decades. Hurt was regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. Director David Lynch described him as "simply the greatest actor in t ...

's final film, and was nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature Film. Crisp's 1987 psychological thriller '' Dangerous Obsession'' was filmed in 1999 as '' Darkness Falls'', starring

Ray Winstone Raymond Andrew Winstone (; born 19 February 1957) is an English television, stage and film actor with a career spanning five decades. Having worked with many prominent directors, including Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, Winstone is perha ...

Tim Dutton Tim Dutton (born 1967) is a British stage, film, and television actor. Dutton's films include '' Darkness Falls'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), The Infiltrator (2016) and '' The Detonator''. He starred in the Academy Award and BAFTA ...

and

Sherilyn Fenn Sherilyn Fenn (born Sheryl Ann Fenn; February 1, 1965) is an American actress and author. She came to attention for her performance as Audrey Horne on the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991, 2017) for which she was nominated for a Go ...

. However, Crisp was so appalled at the end result and how his famously intricate plot had been turned on its head without his permission that he insisted on having his name removed from the final print. He was married to Marguerite (née Lowe), had three sons and one daughter and five grandchildren.

Writing credits

References

Obituary: N. J. CRISP
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', 18 August 2005, by Anthony Hayward
NJ Crisp
''

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 ...

'', 19 July 2005 by Patrick Newley

External links

* 1923 births 2005 deaths English television writers Writers from Southampton British male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 20th-century English novelists 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers British male television writers 20th-century English screenwriters {{england-writer-stub