Dick Vosburgh
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Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was a Grammy-nominated, Tony-nominated American-born comedy writer and lyricist working chiefly in Britain.


Early life

Vosburgh was born in
Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a city and the county seat of Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.New J ...
. He persuaded his father to let him study at the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA; ) is a drama school in London, England, that provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in the Bloomsbury area of Central London, close to the Sen ...
in London (where he met his future wife, Beryl Roques) and won the Comedy Acting prize. He was soon writing for
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
, starting with scripts for Bernard Braden in 1953.


Career

In the 60s he moved from radio to television, writing (and occasionally performing onscreen) on television comedy shows like ''
The Frost Report ''The Frost Report'' is a satirical television show hosted by David Frost. It introduced John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, and Ronnie Corbett to television, and launched the careers of other writers and performers. It premiered on BBC1 on 10 March ...
'', ''
That Was The Week That Was ''That Was the Week That Was'', informally ''TWTWTW'' or ''TW3'', is a satirical television comedy programme that aired on BBC Television in 1962 and 1963. It was devised, produced, and directed by Ned Sherrin and Jack (aka John) Duncan, and pr ...
'', '' We Have Ways of Making You Laugh'', ''
Do Not Adjust Your Set ''Do Not Adjust Your Set'' (''DNAYS'') is a British television series produced originally by Rediffusion, London, then, by the fledgling Thames Television for British commercial television channel ITV from 26 December 1967 to 14 May 1969. The ...
'', ''
At Last The 1948 Show ''At Last the 1948 Show'' is a satirical television show made by David Frost's company, Paradine Productions (although it was not credited on the programmes), in association with Rediffusion London. Transmitted on Britain's ITV network in 19 ...
'' and ''
How To Irritate People ''How to Irritate People'' is a US television broadcast filmed in the UK at LWT on 14 November 1968 and written by John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Marty Feldman and Tim Brooke-Taylor. Cleese, Chapman, and Brooke-Taylor also feature in it, along wit ...
''. On all these shows Vosburgh worked alongside members of what was to be
Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...
and he formed lasting friendships with them. He later appeared on one episode of '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'' as a bearded Russian spy who fights Lemming of the BDA, played by Eric Idle. Vosburgh also provided the serious-sounding voice-over on the theatrical trailer for the film '' Monty Python and the Holy Grail''. Throughout the 70s he was in the top tier of British comedy writers often partnering with Garry Chambers and
Barry Cryer Barry Charles Cryer (23 March 1935 – 25 January 2022) was an English writer, comedian, and actor. As well as performing on stage, radio and television, Cryer wrote for many performers including Dave Allen, Stanley Baxter, Jack Benny, Rory ...
on material, working on the most popular shows of the time like ''
The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...
'', ''
Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew, 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman, 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working i ...
'' and '' Who Do You Do?'' on which he was also script editor. ''Who Do You Do?'' pioneered a fast format of cutting between impressionists performing individual jokes against a neutral background which still feels modern today. From the 70s onwards he wrote for many comedy television shows starring
Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...
,
Ronnie Barker Ronald William George Barker (25 September 1929 – 3 October 2005) was an English actor, comedian and writer. He was known for roles in British comedy television series such as '' Porridge'', ''The Two Ronnies'', and ''Open All Hours''. ...
,
David Frost Sir David Paradine Frost (7 April 1939 – 31 August 2013) was a British television host, journalist, comedian and writer. He rose to prominence during the satire boom in the United Kingdom when he was chosen to host the satirical programme ' ...
, Roy Hudd,
Bobby Davro Robert Christopher Nankeville, known professionally as Bobby Davro (born 13 September 1958), is an English actor and comedian. He made his television debut in 1981 followed by breakthrough in ''Live from Her Majesty's'' (1983); this was follow ...
,
Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...
,
Bob Monkhouse Robert Alan Monkhouse (1 June 1928 – 29 December 2003) was an English comedian, writer and actor. He was the host of television game shows including ''The Golden Shot'', '' Celebrity Squares'', '' Family Fortunes'' and '' ''Wipeout'. Ear ...
,
Lenny Henry Sir Lenworth George Henry (born 29 August 1958) is a British actor, comedian, singer, television presenter and writer. Henry gained success as a stand-up comedian and impressionist in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in '' The Le ...
, Tommy Cooper,
Freddie Starr Freddie Starr (born Frederick Leslie Fowell; 9 January 1943 – 9 May 2019) was an English stand up comedian, impressionist, singer and actor. Starr was the lead singer of Merseybeat rock and roll group the Midniters during the early 1960s, an ...
and even visiting US stars such as
Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...
and
Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...
. Late in his career, he made a brief return to radio and worked on material for the radio revival of the
Marx Brothers The Marx Brothers were an American family comedy act that was successful in vaudeville, on Broadway, and in motion pictures from 1905 to 1949. Five of the Marx Brothers' thirteen feature films were selected by the American Film Institute (AFI) ...
show ''
Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel ''Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel'' is a situation comedy radio show starring two of the Marx Brothers, Groucho and his older brother Chico Marx, and written primarily by Nat Perrin and Arthur Sheekman. The series was originally broadcast in the ...
''. Vosburgh would often get called in to "gag up" an existing movie script (meaning to add extra jokes to make it funnier), and worked on many films including ''
Up Pompeii ''Up Pompeii!'' is a British television comedy series broadcast between 1969 and 1970, starring Frankie Howerd. The first series was written by Talbot Rothwell, a scriptwriter for the ''Carry On'' films, and the second series by Rothwell and S ...
'', ''
Up the Chastity Belt ''Up the Chastity Belt'' (also released as ''Naughty Knights'' in the United States) is a 1971 British comedy film directed by Bob Kellett and starring Frankie Howerd. It was a spin-off from the TV series '' Up Pompeii!'' Plot Eleanor of Aquit ...
'', ''
Carry On Nurse ''Carry On Nurse'' is a 1959 British comedy film, the second in the series of 31 ''Carry On'' films (1958–1992). Of the regular team, it featured Joan Sims (in her ''Carry On'' film debut), Kenneth Williams, Kenneth Connor and Charles Hawt ...
'' and ''
Call Me Bwana ''Call Me Bwana'' is a 1963 British Technicolor farce film starring Bob Hope and Anita Ekberg and directed by Gordon Douglas. Largely set in Africa, it was the only film made by Eon Productions not about the fictional MI6 agent James Bond un ...
'' and the sitcom '' Tell It to the Marines''. According to legend, he did much of his writing while continuously riding the Circle Line of the
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
to avoid interruptions. As a trained actor with a deep American voice living in London, Vosburgh was in demand for voice-over work. He voiced Larry Dart in the cult 1962 children's television show '' Space Patrol''. His voice also appeared on many radio and television ads, for example, it was him saying "Flame-Grilled Whopper!" on Burger King's UK television ads for years. He was the recorded voice of The
Grolier Grolier was one of the largest American publishers of general encyclopedias, including '' The Book of Knowledge'' (1910), ''The New Book of Knowledge'' (1966), ''The New Book of Popular Science'' (1972), ''Encyclopedia Americana'' (1945), ''Acad ...
Electronic Encyclopedia, one of the first commercial CD-ROM titles. As a lyricist, he had a reputation for being meticulous about the use of words and rhymes, and having a huge knowledge of the Hollywood and
Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
classic musicals. He wrote three West End musicals: the pastiche ''
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine ''A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine'' is a musical comedy consisting of two essentially independent one-act plays, with a book and lyrics by Dick Vosburgh and music by Frank Lazarus. Additionally, songs by other composers are incorporat ...
'' with composer
Frank Lazarus Francis M. "Frank" Lazarus, Ph.D. is a retired educator and higher education administrator. He served as the president of the University of Dallas in Irving, Texas, from 2004 until 2009, when he was honored by the board of trustees with the title ...
(1979), '' Windy City'' (with
Tony Macaulay Tony Macaulay (born Anthony Gordon Instone; 21 April 1944) is an English author, composer for musical theatre, and songwriter. He has won the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors Award twice as 'Songwriter of the Year' (1970 a ...
, based on ''
The Front Page ''The Front Page'' is a Broadway comedy about newspaper reporters on the police beat. Written by former Chicago reporters Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur, it was first produced in 1928 and has been adapted for the cinema several times. Plot The ...
'', 1982) and '' A Saint She Ain't'' (with
Denis King Denis Andrew King (born 25 July 1939) is an English composer and singer. He is best remembered as a member of a family ensemble, The King Brothers. Early career: the King Brothers King was born in Hornchurch, Essex, England. He began his mus ...
, 1999). His greatest success was the Marx Brothers-parody musical comedy ''
A Day in Hollywood/A Night in the Ukraine ''A Day in Hollywood / A Night in the Ukraine'' is a musical comedy consisting of two essentially independent one-act plays, with a book and lyrics by Dick Vosburgh and music by Frank Lazarus. Additionally, songs by other composers are incorporat ...
'' for which he wrote book and lyrics. It started at a small fringe theatre, The New End in Hampstead, London and was an immediate hit. It soon transferred to the West End, running at the Mayfair Theater and was produced on Broadway the following year, 1980, in a significantly reworked version. It was a hit on Broadway, running for two seasons. It was this show that earned Vosburgh his three Tony nominations (Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Score (with composer Frank Lazarus)). Overall the show got 9 Tony nominations and won 2. The original Broadway cast recording was nominated for a Grammy, earning Vosburgh his Grammy nomination. In an article for the Times in 1982,
Jane Ellison Jane Elizabeth Ellison (born 15 August 1964) is a British Conservative Party politician, who was first elected at the 2010 general election as the Member of Parliament for Battersea. On 7 May 2015, she was re-elected with an increased margin o ...
calls him 'a compulsive worrier, perfectionist and master of the wisecrack'. In the same article Dick says of himself:
"Television is not the ideal place for a Virgo to work. In fact, I am a Virgoan son of a Virgo, which is much much worse. I must be the most nit-picking person ever born - I sat up all night writing a speech for the wedding of one of my daughters. On stage, you can see the actors say your lines and you have a better chance to make them better next time. On television, you're reduced to clawing the screen."
He wrote many obituaries of comedians and
B-movie A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double featur ...
actors for the ''Observer'' and ''The Times''. According to writer Garry Chambers, "When you were told you were working with such a ifficultperson again, he would say 'Be sure to give him my loathe.'" He also created the radio show of good songs from flop musicals ''Tunes the Backers Whistled While Jumping Off the Roof''.
He is mentioned as being depicted in the background in the animated film '' A Liar's Autobiography''Commentary, A Liar's Biography.


Personal life and death

He and his wife who married in 1953, had six children including actress
Tilly Vosburgh Matilda Vosburgh (born 17 December 1960) is a British character actress. Early life Born in the Westminster district of London, Vosburgh is the daughter of comedy writer and lyricist Dick Vosburgh and former actress Beryl Vosburgh (née Roques ...
and musician Matthew Vosburgh of the band Solid Space. He died in London, aged 77 and was survived by his wife Beryl Vosburgh (née Roques) and their six children.


Obituaries written by Dick Vosburgh

* Arnold Auberbach *
Joyce Blair Joyce Blair (born Joyce Ogus; 4 November 1932 – 19 August 2006) was an English actress and dancer. She was the younger sister of Lionel Blair, with whom she often performed. Early life and education Blair was born in London, as the daughter ...
*
Irving Brecher Irving S. Brecher (January 17, 1914 – November 17, 2008) was a screenwriter who wrote for the Marx Brothers among many others; he was the only writer to get sole credit on a Marx Brothers film, penning the screenplays for '' At the Circus'' ( ...
* Bernard Bresslaw *
Bob Crosby George Robert Crosby (August 23, 1913 – March 9, 1993) was an American jazz singer and bandleader, best known for his group the Bob-Cats, which formed around 1935. The Bob-Cats were a New Orleans Dixieland-style jazz octet. He was the young ...
*
Ted Dicks Edward Dicks (5 May 1928 – 27 January 2012) was an English composer. He is best known for composing the music for the novelty songs " Right Said Fred" and " The Hole in the Ground". They were both Top 10 hits in the UK Singles Chart in 1962, r ...
*
George Fenneman George Watt Fenneman (November 10, 1919 – May 29, 1997) was an American radio and television announcer. Fenneman is best remembered as the show announcer and straight man on Groucho Marx's '' You Bet Your Life''. Marx, said of Fenneman in 1976, ...
*
Buddy Feyne Buddy Feyne (born Bernard Feinstein, June 9, 1912 – December 10, 1998) was an American lyricist during the swing era. He wrote the lyrics for "Tuxedo Junction", which went to No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' chart in 1940 when Glenn Miller recorded ...
*
Ken Hoare Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...
*
Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. Early life and education Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 2 ...
* Paul Jerrico * Leo Killion *
Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor and comedian. One of the most popular and enduring American entertainers of the mid-20th century, Martin was nicknamed "The King of Cool". M ...
*
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
* Jack Paar *
Don Porter Donald Cecil Porter (September 24, 1912 – February 11, 1997) was an American stage, film and television actor. On television, he played Peter Sands, the boss of Ann Sothern's character on ''Private Secretary'', and Russell Lawrence, the wi ...
*
Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...
*
Harold Spina Harold Spina (21 June 1906 – 18 July 1997) was an American composer of popular songs. His best-known work happened in the early 1930s, when he collaborated with lyricists Johnny Burke and Joe Young on songs such as "Annie Doesn't Live Her ...


References


External links


''The Independent'' ObituaryBBC Comedy Guide
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vosburgh, Dick 1929 births 2007 deaths Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art American comedy writers American expatriates in the United Kingdom American musical theatre lyricists Writers from Elizabeth, New Jersey Male actors from London Songwriters from New Jersey Actors from Elizabeth, New Jersey