Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953).

Biography

Wilson was born in Sale,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, England, and was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. In 1942 he won a State Scholarship for a wartime course at

SOAS The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS University of London; ) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury area ...

and was assigned to study Japanese. He was thus one of the so-called 'Dulwich Boys' who studied at SOAS and boarded at

Dulwich College Dulwich College is a 2-18 private, day and boarding school for boys in Dulwich, London, England. As a public school, it began as the College of God's Gift, founded in 1619 by Elizabethan actor Edward Alleyn, with the original purpose of ...

. While there he put together a satirical review titled 'A Matter of Course' based on his experiences on the Japanese course. He was one of the few not to complete the course and he subsequently served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps in Great Britain, Egypt and Iraq. After the war he went to

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is Colleges of the University of Oxford, a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title for ...

and while a student wrote revues for the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club and then attended the

Old Vic Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, Mai ...

Theatre School on a production course. Most of his work for the stage was material for

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s, such as Hermione Gingold's '' Slings and Arrows'', Laurier Lister's ''

Oranges and Lemons "Oranges and Lemons" is a traditional English nursery rhyme, folksong, and singing game which refers to the bells of several churches, all within or close to the City of London. It is listed in the Roud Folk Song Index as No 13190. The earliest ...

'', and '' See You Later'', starring such performers as

Peter Cook Peter Edward Cook (17 November 1937 – 9 January 1995) was an English comedian, actor, satirist, playwright and screenwriter. He was the leading figure of the British satire boom of the 1960s, and he was associated with the anti-establishmen ...

. He wrote the book, music and lyrics for '' The Boy Friend'' for the Players' Theatre in 1953. Its success resulted in a longer version being produced in the West End at Wyndham's Theatre. After its opening in January 1954, over 2,000 performances were put on there. It opened on Broadway in 1954, at the Royale Theater, and introduced

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

in her Broadway debut. The show ran on Broadway for over 480 performances. Wilson wrote the musical '' Valmouth'' in 1958, based on a Ronald Firbank novel set in a seaside resort. In 1964 he wrote ''

Divorce Me, Darling! ''Divorce Me, Darling'' is a musical written by Sandy Wilson. Set 10 years after the events depicted in Wilson's much better-known '' The Boy Friend'', it is a pastiche of 1930s musicals (in particular those of Cole Porter) rather than the "Roar ...

'', a sequel to ''The Boy Friend''. His last work was a version of ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' (1979) for the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith. His autobiography, published in 1975, is titled ''I Could Be Happy''. Sandy Wilson died in

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England. It is a market town and has a Minster (church), minster church. Its population in 2011 was 64,621. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century priory, monastic foundation, owned by the ...

, England in 2014, aged 90. His longtime partner was Chak Yui. Wilson was a member of the Labour Party and contributed to the ''

Elizabethan The Elizabethan era is the epoch in the Tudor period of the history of England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I (1558–1603). Historians often depict it as the golden age in English history. The Roman symbol of Britannia (a female per ...

'' magazine during his years of greatest fame. In 1999, Wilson donated his papers to the

Harry Ransom Center The Harry Ransom Center, known as the Humanities Research Center until 1983, is an archive, library, and museum at the University of Texas at Austin, specializing in the collection of literary and cultural artifacts from the Americas and Europe ...

."Sandy Wilson:A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center"
Utexas.edu, retrieved 9 March 2010 The papers include produced and unproduced plays, mostly musicals but also plays for stage and TV, as well as drafts of Wilson's published and unpublished works including an autobiography, illustrated book, novels, articles, and short stories, along with correspondence.

Musicals

*'' Caprice'' (1950) *'' The Boy Friend'' (1953) *'' The Buccaneer'' (1955) *'' Valmouth'' (1958) *'' Pieces of Eight'' (1959) *''

'' (1964) *''As Dorothy Parker Once Said'' (1969) *'' His Monkey Wife'' (1971) *'' The Clapham Wonder'' (1978, based on the novel '' The Vet's Daughter'' by Barbara Comyns) *''

'' (1979)

Notes

References

*Gale, Steven. ''Encyclopedia of British Humorists: Geoffrey Chaucer to John Cleese'', Volume 2, Taylor & Francis, 1996, , p. 1216.

External links

Sandy Wilson Papers
at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

*
Sandy Wilson Neglected master of the British musical
ached page retrieved from Archive.orgbr>Sandy Wilson at The Playwrights Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Sandy 1924 births 2014 deaths Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford English musical theatre composers English male composers People educated at Harrow School People from Sale, Greater Manchester Musicians from Greater Manchester British Army personnel of World War II Royal Army Ordnance Corps soldiers English expatriates in Egypt British expatriates in Iraq Alumni of SOAS University of London