Alan Charles Langley Hackney (10 September 1924,
Manchester
Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...
– 15 May 2009,
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...
) was an English novelist and screenwriter.
Biography
He was educated at
Thornleigh Salesian College in
Bolton
Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...
, and later, while at
Manchester University
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, was called up to the army. Hackney was posted to
Maidstone Barracks for one year where he met his first wife and was later posted to India. After demobilisation he proceeded to
New College, Oxford
New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...
, where he read
Politics, Philosophy and Economics
Philosophy, politics and economics, or politics, philosophy and economics (PPE), is an interdisciplinary undergraduate or postgraduate degree which combines study from three disciplines. The first institution to offer degrees in PPE was the Unive ...
under the tutelage of
Isaiah Berlin
Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...
.
He is best known for two of his novels, ''Private's Progress'' and ''Private Life'', both of which were adapted into
Boulting brothers films: the former as ''
Private's Progress
''Private's Progress'' is a 1956 British comedy film directed by John Boulting and starring Richard Attenborough, Dennis Price, Terry-Thomas and Ian Carmichael. The script was by John Boulting and Frank Harvey, based on the novel of the same ...
'' (1956); and the latter as ''
I'm All Right Jack'' (1959). Hackney also co-wrote the script of ''
I'm All Right Jack'', which was a satire of trade unions.
He was also a frequent contributor to ''
Punch''.
In the 1960s the British film industry went into decline, and Hackney's career was never to hit such heights again. A further two children meant that he had to travel to write and he had spells in Canada, Italy (with the
RAI TV series ''
K 2 +1'', directed by
Luciano Emmer
Luciano Emmer (19 January 1918 – 16 September 2009) was an Italian film director. He was born in Milan, but most of his childhood lived in Venice.
He started as filmmaker at filming Giotto's frescoes in Padua in 1938. Screenwriter Sergio ...
, starring the
Kessler Sisters and
Johnny Dorelli
Giorgio Guidi (born 20 February 1937), known professionally as Johnny Dorelli, is an Italian actor, singer and television host.
Early life
Giorgio Guidi was born in Meda, Lombardy, Italy. In 1946, he moved with his family to New York City, ...
), and Hollywood as well as working for British television and continuing to contribute to ''Punch''.
In later years he worked with the composer Howard Blake on a musical version of ''
I'm All Right Jack''. His best-remembered films are ''
Two-Way Stretch
''Two-Way Stretch'', also known as ''Nothing Barred'', is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Robert Day and starring Peter Sellers, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Lionel Jeffries and Bernard Cribbins. The screenplay is by Vivian Cox, John Warren ...
'' (1960), starring
Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show''. Sellers featured on a number of hit comi ...
, and ''
You Must Be Joking'' (1965), directed by
Michael Winner
Michael Robert Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was an English filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous action, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several c ...
.
Private life
His success writing for the television series ''
The Adventures of Robin Hood
''The Adventures of Robin Hood'' is a 1938 American Epic film, epic swashbuckler film from Warner Bros. Pictures. It was produced by Hal B. Wallis and Henry Blanke, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and written by Norman Reilly Ra ...
'' and the 1960 film ''
Sword of Sherwood Forest
''Sword of Sherwood Forest'' is a 1960 British Technicolor/ MegaScope adventure film directed by Terence Fisher and starring Richard Greene, Peter Cushing, Niall MacGinnis, Nigel Green and Sarah Branch. Greene reprised the role of Robin Hood, ...
'' enabled him to buy an Edwardian house in
Bovingdon
Bovingdon is a village in Hertfordshire, England, south-west of Hemel Hempstead, and a civil parishes in England, civil parish within the local authority area of Dacorum. Situated close to the Buckinghamshire border, it forms the largest part ...
, Hertfordshire where he spent the rest of his life, first with his wife, Peggy until she died in 1995 and then later with the Canadian film producer Daisy de Bellefeuille, whom he nursed through a long illness until her death in 2006.
[
]
Awards
Hackney shared a BAFTA
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...
for Best Screenplay of 1959 for "I'm All Right Jack".
Death
Alan Hackney died on 15 May 2009, aged 85.[Telegraph (newspaper) 19 May 2009]
He was survived by his six children.
Novels
*''Private's Progress'' (1954). film of that name.">Private's_Progress.html" ;"title="ater made into the 1956 Private's Progress">film of that name.*''All You Young Ladies'' (1956).
*''Private Life'' (1958). [Later made into the 1959 film '' I'm All Right Jack''.]
*''Let's Keep Religion Out of This!'' (1963). [Simultaneously made into the 1963 film ''Heavens Above!''.]
*''Whatever Turns You On, Jack'' (1972).
References
External links
Obituary in ''The Daily Telegraph''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hackney, Alan
1924 births
2009 deaths
British male screenwriters
Writers from Manchester
People from Bovingdon
Alumni of New College, Oxford
Alumni of the University of Manchester
British male novelists
20th-century British novelists
20th-century English male writers
20th-century English screenwriters
Best British Screenplay BAFTA Award winners
British Army soldiers
Military personnel from Manchester
British Army personnel of World War II