Paul A. Mendelson is an English television, film and radio scriptwriter.

Early life and career

He studied law at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, where he gained a first class honours degree, after attending Newcastle Royal Grammar School, Glasgow High School and Harrow County Grammar. For a short time he ran the family law department of a small firm of city

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

s and then became an advertising copywriter for

Ogilvy and Mather Ogilvy is a New York City-based British advertising, marketing, and public relations agency. It was founded in 1850 by Edmund Mather as a London-based agency. In 1964, the firm became known as Ogilvy & Mather after merging with a New York City a ...

. Whilst working as creative director for a major London advertising agency, he began writing his first television series.

Writing career

Paul Mendelson's first hit television series was the BBC Comedy ''

May to December ''May to December'' is a British sitcom which ran for 39 episodes, from 2 April 1989 to 27 May 1994 on BBC1. The series was created by Paul Mendelson and produced by Cinema Verity. The series was nominated for the BAFTA award for "Best Televi ...

'', which ran for 39 episodes, from 2 April 1989 to 27 May 1994 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

and was nominated for BAFTA best comedy. It starred

Anton Rodgers Anthony "Anton" Rodgers (10 January 1933 – 1 December 2007) was an English actor and occasional director. He performed on stage, in film, in television dramas and sitcoms. He starred in several sitcoms, including ''Fresh Fields'' (ITV, ...

as a widower solicitor in love with a much younger woman. He then created and wrote the BBC series ''

So Haunt Me ''So Haunt Me'' is a British television sitcom about a family that moves into a home occupied by the ghost of its previous resident, a middle-aged Jewish mother. The show was created by Paul Mendelson who was also credited on another British s ...

'' about a family home haunted by the ghost of a Jewish mother, played by

Miriam Karlin Miriam Karlin (23 June 19253 June 2011) was an English actress whose career lasted for more than 60 years. She was known for her role as Paddy in ''The Rag Trade'', a 1960s BBC and 1970s LWT sitcom, and in particular for the character's catchp ...

. The show was produced by

Cinema Verity Cinema Verity was a British independent television and film production company, founded in 1985 by Verity Lambert, the television producer, who named the company after herself and as a pun on the expression 'cinéma vérité'. The company's first ...

for the BBC and originally aired from 1992 to 1994. Mendelson's most recent television situation comedy series in the UK is '' My Hero'' which ran for six seasons on BBC One from February 2000 to September 2006. Based on his own experiences with testicular cancer he wrote the acclaimed ITV play ''Losing It'', starring

Martin Clunes Alexander Martin Clunes OBE DL (born 28 November 1961) is an English actor, comedian, director and television presenter. He is best known for portraying Martin Ellingham in the ITV comedy-drama series ''Doc Martin'' and Gary Strang in ''Men Be ...

, for which he was nominated Televisual Awards Best Writer 2007. Having also survived

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

, Mendelson is actively involved in cancer awareness charities and events.

Current projects

Paul Mendelson created the original idea and is creative consultant on the

DreamWorks Animation DreamWorks Animation LLC (DWA, also known as DreamWorks Animation Studios and simply known as DreamWorks) is an American animation studio that produces animated films and television programs and is a subsidiary of Universal Pictures, a division ...

/Fox forthcoming series '

Neighbors from Hell ''Neighbors from Hell'' is a short-lived American adult animated sitcom that ran on TBS from June 7 and ended on July 26, 2010; the first episode also aired on TBS's sister network Adult Swim on June 13 as a "sneak preview". The executive produce ...

'. He writes original plays for BBC radio and adapts

Joyce Porter Joyce Porter (28 March 1924 – 9 December 1990) was an English crime fiction author. She was born in Marple, Cheshire. In Macclesfield she attended the High School for Girls, then King's College London. served in the Women's Royal Air Fo ...

's Chief Inspector Dover novels for

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' ...

. Mendelson is currently developing his BBC radio play 'A Meeting in Seville' as a movie.

Writing credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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Paul Mendelson Interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendelson, Paul Alumni of the University of Cambridge English television writers English male screenwriters English radio writers Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) British male television writers