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Michael Green (born 2 January 1927 in
Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city l ...
, England, died 25 February 2018) was a British journalist and author of humorous books. He is best known for ''
The Art of Coarse Rugby Michael Green (born 2 January 1927 in Leicester, England, died 25 February 2018) was a British journalist and author of humorous books. He is best known for ''The Art of Coarse Rugby'', ''The Art of Coarse Acting'' and other books with similar ...
'', ''
The Art of Coarse Acting ''The Art of Coarse Acting'' is a 1964 humorous book on amateur theatre by British journalist Michael Green, following the success of his ''The Art of Coarse Rugby'' in 1960. Green describes a coarse actor as: Green had a friend called Askew, ...
'' and other books with similar titles.


Career

Green began his career as a junior journalist on the ''
Leicester Mercury The ''Leicester Mercury'' is a British regional newspaper for the city of Leicester and the neighbouring counties of Leicestershire and Rutland. The paper began in the 19th century as the ''Leicester Daily Mercury'' and later changed to its pre ...
''. He later joined the ''
Northampton Chronicle and Echo The ''Northampton Chronicle & Echo'' (known locally as ''"The Chron"'') is a local newspaper serving Northampton, England, and the surrounding towns and villages. It was published daily from Monday-Saturday until 26 May 2012 at a price of £0.4 ...
'', where he worked on both the sporting and theatrical fronts, then the ''
Birmingham Gazette The ''Birmingham Gazette'', known for much of its existence as ''Aris's Birmingham Gazette'', was a newspaper that was published and circulated in Birmingham, England, from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. Founded as a weekly publicatio ...
'' as a sub-editor. Later he was a sports writer on ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' and a contributor to 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 ...
'', among others. ''The Art of Coarse Rugby'', which became a best-seller in 1960, and ''The Art of Coarse Acting'' were both products of his
Midlands The Midlands (also referred to as Central England) are a part of England that broadly correspond to the Kingdom of Mercia of the Early Middle Ages, bordered by Wales, Northern England and Southern England. The Midlands were important in the Ind ...
days, when he was involved with amateur rugby and dramatics. Green was commissioned to write ''The Art of Coarse Rugby'' by Hutchinson, to go with a republication of ''The Art of Coarse Cricket'' by
Spike Hughes Patrick Cairns "Spike" Hughes (19 October 1908 – 2 February 1987) was a British musician, composer and arranger involved in the worlds of classical music and jazz. He has been called Britain's earliest jazz composer. Later in his career, he ...
, who had intended the title as a play on ''Coarse Fishing''. Green describes a coarse actor as "one who can remember his lines, but not the order in which they come. One who performs ... amid lethal props..." and goes on: "The Coarse Actor's aim is to upstage the rest of the cast. His hope is to be dead by Act Two so that he can spend the rest of his time in the bar. His problems? Everyone else connected with the production." In similar vein, the coarse rugby player is described as differentiated from the rugger player in that he does not enjoy playing, but instead plays for any one of a number of other reasons, such as to get away from his wife, or because he dare not admit he is too old. Other books in the series followed, and ''The Art of Coarse Moving'' subsequently became the 1977 BBC TV series '' A Roof over My Head'' with
Brian Rix Brian Norman Roger Rix, Baron Rix, (27 January 1924 – 20 August 2016) was an English actor-manager, who produced a record-breaking sequence of long-running farces on the London stage, including ''Dry Rot'', '' Simple Spymen'' and ''One for ...
. His book about journalism, ''Don't Print My Name Upside Down'', was based largely on his Northampton days. Stanley Worker, the paper's long-serving chief sub-editor, was so proud of references to him in the book that he kept a copy in his desk drawer to peruse with quiet satisfaction during rare lulls in his working day. Green also published two autobiographical books: ''The Boy Who Shot Down an Airship'', which includes reminiscences about his
National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...
experiences, and ''Nobody Hurt in Small Earthquake'', about his postwar journalist and sub-editor experiences in Northampton, Birmingham and London. He also created and wrote the character of Squire Haggard for a newspaper
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
written by Peter Simple, subsequently a novel and the ''
Haggard Haggard may refer to an adjective reflecting exhaustion or poverty. Haggard may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Haggard (band), a German symphonic metal group * ''Haggard'' (TV series), a British comedy television series * '' Ha ...
'' TV series 1990–92 on
ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...
. He created three Coarse Acting Shows, two of which were performed at the
Edinburgh Festival __NOTOC__ This is a list of arts and cultural festivals regularly taking place in Edinburgh, Scotland. The city has become known for its festivals since the establishment in 1947 of the Edinburgh International Festival and the Edinburgh Fe ...
in 1977 and 1979; these are essentially a series of sketches about bad acting. ''Tonight Josephine'' is a book of amusing imaginary letters written by historical figures. Green was famous for his zany and slightly eccentric behaviour. Members of the Masque Theatre in
Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
were able to recall Green's antics in minute detail many years (decades?) after his departure, and the ''Northampton Chronicle'' office was awash with Green stories, all on the theme of good intentions leading to all-round chaos. At the ''Leicester Mercury'' he was firewatching one night with Maurice Barsby. Maurice said when looking at the huge printing presses in the basement "I know how these things work …” Michael said "Go on, then". He pulled the main switches and Maurice pressed the button. The press started but not gradually, and the enormous reel of paper broke and spewed into the machine-room. So there was no midnight edition of the Mercury, and as the presses did not stop when the button was pressed they had to switch off at the mains. Next day Michael was questioned and then sacked, but not Maurice. Green admits that he "had a reputation for playing the fool." The overnight firewatching job was unpopular, except with lads of 16 or 17 who were too young to be called up; they could drink brown ale, use the typewriters and telephones and smoke the editor's cigars (leaving burns in the carpet).


See also

* The
Questors Theatre The Questors Theatre is a theatre venue located in the London Borough of Ealing, west London. It is home of The Questors, a large theatre company which hosts a season of around twenty productions a year and is a member of the ''Little Theatre Gui ...
, Ealing where he has links


Works


Autobiography

*''The Boy Who Shot Down an Airship''
Heinemann Heinemann may refer to: * Heinemann (surname) * Heinemann (publisher), a publishing company * Heinemann Park, a.k.a. Pelican Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States See also * Heineman * Jamie Hyneman James Franklin Hyneman (born Se ...
, London, 1988, *''Nobody Hurt in Small Earthquake'' Heinemann, London, 1990,


The 'Coarse' Series

*''
The Art of Coarse Rugby Michael Green (born 2 January 1927 in Leicester, England, died 25 February 2018) was a British journalist and author of humorous books. He is best known for ''The Art of Coarse Rugby'', ''The Art of Coarse Acting'' and other books with similar ...
'', Hutchinson, London, 1960 *''The Art of Coarse Sailing'', Hutchinson, London, 1962 *''Even Coarser Rugby, or what did you do to Ronald?'', Hutchinson, London, 1963 *''
The Art of Coarse Acting ''The Art of Coarse Acting'' is a 1964 humorous book on amateur theatre by British journalist Michael Green, following the success of his ''The Art of Coarse Rugby'' in 1960. Green describes a coarse actor as: Green had a friend called Askew, ...
, or how to wreck an amateur dramatic society'', Hutchinson, London, 1964 *''The Art of Coarse Sport'', Hutchinson, London, 1965 *''The Art of Coarse Golf'', Hutchinson, London, 1968 *''The Art of Coarse Moving'', Hutchinson, London, 1969 *''The Art of Coarse Drinking'', Hutchinson, London, 1973 *''The Art of Coarse Cruising'', Hutchinson, London, 1976 *''Even Coarser Sport'', Hutchinson, London, 1978 *''The Art of Coarse Sex'', Hutchinson, London, 1980 *''The Art of Coarse Office Life, or 'He's just popped out' '', Hutchinson, London, 1985


Novels

*''Don’t Print My Name Upside Down'', Hutchinson, London, 1963 (about newspapers) *''Squire Haggard’s Journal'', Hutchinson, 1975


Plays

*''Four Plays for Coarse Actors'', Samuel French, 1978 *''The Coarse Acting Show Two'', Samuel French, 1980 *''The Third Great Coarse Acting Show'', Samuel French, 1985 *''Coarse Acting Strikes Back'', Samuel French, 2011


Others

*''Tonight, Josephine'',
Secker and Warburg Harvill Secker is a British publishing company formed in 2005 from the merger of Secker & Warburg and the Harvill Press. History Secker & Warburg Secker & Warburg was formed in 1935 from a takeover of Martin Secker, which was in receivership, ...
, 1981 *''Don’t Swing from the Balcony, Romeo'', Secker and Warburg, 1983 *''Rugby Alphabet'', Pelham, 1971 *''Stage Noises and Effects'', Herbert Jenkins, 1958 (a handbook)


References

*


External links


The Art of Coarse Writing
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Michael British humorists British male journalists People educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys People from Leicester 1927 births 2018 deaths