Philip King (30 October 1904 – 9 February 1979) was an English playwright and actor, born in Yorkshire. He is best known as the author of the farce '' See How They Run'' (

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

). He lived in Brighton and many of his plays were first produced in nearby

Worthing Worthing () is a seaside town in West Sussex, England, at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of Chichester. With a population of 111,400 and an area of , the borough is the second largest component of the Brighton and Ho ...

. He continued to act throughout his writing career, often appearing in his own plays.

Biography

Philip King began his career on his sixteenth birthday as an actor with a small touring company in the North of England, graduating to the Repertory Company at the Opera House, Harrogate. There he subsequently directed plays and saw his first comedy ''Without the Prince'' professionally produced, and shortly after presented in the West End at the

Whitehall Theatre Trafalgar Theatre is a new West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It is set to open in spring 2021 following a major multi-million pound restoration project aiming to reinstate it back to its ...

on 8 April 1940. King made several appearances on the London stage, playing with such well-known stars as

Sid Field Sidney Arthur Field (1 April 1904 – 3 February 1950) was an English comedy entertainer who was popular in the 1940s. Early years Field was born in Ladywood, Birmingham, Warwickshire, the son of Albert (a candlemaker) and Bertha (a dressma ...

, Frances Day and

Hugh Wakefield Hugh Wakefield (10 November 1888 – 5 December 1971) was an English film actor, who played supporting roles. He was often seen wearing a monocle. Hugh Claude Wakefield was born in Wanstead, Essex. He also had a distinguished stage career, whic ...

and despite his success as a writer he was still drawn to his first love of acting. Of the events surrounding the West End first night of ''See How They Run'', in January 1945, King wrote: "At the time I was in the RAF and, luckily, stationed at the White City, Shepherd's Bush. During my four years service I had risen from the rank of AC2 (the lowest rank possible) to AC1 (not the highest), but I was fortunate inasmuch as, owing to the shortage of accommodation at White City, I was allowed to 'live out' in civilian digs. "By the grace of God the play went like a bomb - even three 'doodlebugs' dropped during the performance. George Gee, playing the leading part, swore that all three dropped as he was saying his funniest lines. No one left the theatre until the play was over. "The morning after the 'first night' I went down to Shepherd's Bush, bought every morning paper there was, and went to my usual workmen's cafe directly opposite RAF White City, and over a pint mug of tea and a Spam sandwich read the notices. "They were marvellous! But, as I read them, I suddenly remembered the pictures I had seen of Noel Coward sitting up in a wonderful looking bed, in an even more wonderful dressing-gown, a silver tray at his side, reading ''his'' notices! And here was I...a pint mug of tea and a thick Spam sandwich. But what the hell? I had a success. That's all that really mattered." He was a keen member of

Swanwick writers' summer school The Swanwick Writers' Summer School is an annual writers' conference held at The Hayes Conference Centre, near Swanwick, Derbyshire. Founded in 1948, and first held in the summer of 1949, it is believed to be the oldest independent writers' s ...

serving on the committee in 1973.

Works

Dates are first publication, or first production if this is earlier.

Sole author

*''Without The Prince''; 1939 *''Moon Madness'' (the first title for ''See How They Run'', 1944) *'' See How They Run''; 1944 *''On Monday Next''; 1949 (filmed as

Curtain Up ''Curtain Up'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford and Kay Kendall. Written by Jack Davies and Michael Pertwee it is based on the play ''On Monday Next'' by Philip King. It ...

, 1952) *''Serious Charge''; 1956 *''Milk And Honey''; 1959 *''Pools Paradise''; 1961 *''As Black As She's Painted''; 1962 *''How Are You, Johnnie''; 1962 *''So Far ... No Further''; 1968 *''I'll Get My Man''; 1966 *''Go Bang Your Tambourine''; 1970

Co-author

With
Falkland Cary Thomas Falkland Lucius Cary (2 January 1897 – 7 April 1989), known professionally as Falkland Cary or Falkland L. Cary, was an Irish playwright, best known for his collaborations with Philip King. He abandoned a successful career as a doctor to ...

*''Crystal Clear'' (1941) *'' Sailor Beware!'' (1955) *''The Dream House'' (1957) *''An Air For Murder'' (1958) *''Watch it, Sailor!'' (1960) *''Rock-A-Bye, Sailor!'' (1962) *'' Big Bad Mouse'' (1964) *''Wife Required'' (date unknown) *''Housekeeper Wanted'' (date unknown)

With John Boland

*''Murder In Company'' (1973) *''Who Says Murder'' (1975) *''Elementary, My Dear'' (1975)

With others

*''Here We Come Gathering'' (with Anthony Armstrong, 1951Phillip King & Anthony Armstrong. ''Here We Come Gathering''. London: Samuel French Ltd. "First produced by the High Wycombe Repertory Company on January 15th, 1951".) *''The Lonesome Road'' (with

Robin Maugham Robert Cecil Romer Maugham, 2nd Viscount Maugham (17 May 1916 – 13 March 1981), known as Robin Maugham, was a British author. Trained as a barrister, he served with distinction in the Second World War, and wrote a successful novella, ''The S ...

, 1959) *''Dark Lucy'' (with Parnell Bradbury, 1971)

Filmography

*''

'', directed by

Ralph Smart Ralph Foster Smart (27 August 1908 – 12 February 2001) was a film and television producer, director, and writer, born in England to Australian parents. Biography Smart found work in Britain with Anthony Asquith and later alongside the film dir ...

(1952, based on the play ''On Monday Next'') *'' See How They Run'', directed by

Leslie Arliss Leslie Arliss (6 October 1901, London – 30 December 1987, Jersey, Channel Islands) was an English screenwriter and director. He is best known for his work on the Gainsborough melodramas directing films such as ''The Man in Grey'' and ''The Wi ...

(1955, based on the play '' See How They Run'') *'' Sailor Beware!'', directed by Gordon Parry (1956, based on the play '' Sailor Beware!'') *'' Serious Charge'', directed by Terence Young (1959, based on the play ''Serious Charge'') *'' Watch it, Sailor!'', directed by

Wolf Rilla Wolf Peter Rilla (16 March 1920 – 19 October 2005) was a film director and writer of German background, although he worked mainly in the United Kingdom. Rilla is known for directing '' Village of the Damned'' (1960). He wrote many books for stu ...

(1961, based on the play ''Watch it, Sailor!'') *'' Sømænd og svigermødre'', directed by Bent Christensen (Denmark, 1962, based on the play '' Sailor Beware!'')

References

External links

*
Doollee, the playwright's database
{{DEFAULTSORT:King, Philip 1904 births 1979 deaths 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights English male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century English male writers