Ronald Jeans (10 May 1887 – 16 May 1973) was a British
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
with a career spanning nearly 50 years.
Early life
Ronald Jeans was born in
Oxton, Merseyside
Oxton is a suburb of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. Administratively it is a ward of the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral. Originally a village in its own right, it became part of the Municipal Borough of Birkenhead upon its creation in 1877. Bef ...
, the younger son of
Sir Alexander Grigor Jeans (1849–1924), the founder and managing editor of the ''
Liverpool Post and Mercury'', and his wife, Ellen Gallon (d. 1889).
Career
According to his entry in the ''
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
'', "Between the 1930s and 1955 he was one of the
West End's most reliable sources of undemanding, expertly crafted
social comedy
In English literature, the term comedy of manners (also anti-sentimental comedy) describes a genre of realistic, satirical comedy of the Restoration period (1660–1710) that questions and comments upon the manners and social conventions of a gre ...
."
Jeans wrote the 1916 short revue "Oh, Law!" produced by Fred Karno, which was a revue version of Karno's most famous sketch "Mumming Birds." The plot of "Oh, Law!" centered on a dispute between rival revue producers in a copyright battle over the fictional show "Have a Banana!". It starred Vernon Watson as lead comic, impersonating music hall stars of the day.
Selected plays
*''Hullo, Repertory!'' (1915)
*''No Reflection on the Wife'' (1915)
*''Higgledy-Piggledy'' (1915)
*''Oh, Law!'' (1916)
*''Tabs'' (1918)
*''Buzz Buzz'' (1918)
*''
Can the Leopard...?'' (1931)
* ''
Lean Harvest
''Lean Harvest'' is a 1931 play by the British writer Ronald Jeans. It portrays a married couple in the years after the First World War, with the ''New Statesman'' review concluding that the moral of the play was "too much money and too little mo ...
'' (1931)
* ''
The Composite Man
''The Composite Man'' is a 1935 comedy play by the British writer Ronald Jeans. The lead character is a successful athlete who is assumed to be a genius in everything else, which is far from the case.
It premiered at the Birmingham Repertory Th ...
'' (1935)
*''
Young Wives' Tale
''Young Wives' Tale'', also known as ''Fun for Four'', is a 1951 British comedy film directed by Henry Cass and starring Joan Greenwood, Nigel Patrick, Derek Farr, and Guy Middleton. The film is based on the 1949 play ''Young Wives' Tale'' by Ron ...
'' (1949)
* ''
Count Your Blessings'' (1951)
*''Grace and Favour'' (1954)
Personal life
On 6 June 1917, he married Margaret Evelyn Wise. They had a son and a daughter, Angela Jeans, an actress and model. She married Henry "Sam" Ainley, a merchant seaman, journalist and restaurateur, but they divorced. Their daughter
Clarissa Dalrymple is an art curator.
[Linda Yablonsky]
"Eye Spy"
''The New York Times'', 26 August 2007
Jeans died at 14 Eaton Gardens, Hove, on 16 May 1973.
References
External links
Five plays by Ronald Jeans on Great War Theatre
English dramatists and playwrights
1887 births
1973 deaths
Ronald
Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'',#H2, Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; #H1, Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English ''Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised ...
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