Gerald Savory
Gerald Savory | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gerald Douglas Savory 17 November 1909 London, England |
| Died | 9 February 1996 (aged 86) England |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, television producer |
| Spouses | Althea Murphy
(m. 1950; died 1952)Sheila Brennan (m. 1970) |
Gerald Douglas Savory (17 November 1909 – 9 February 1996) was an English writer and television producer specialising in comedies.[1][2]
Early life
[edit]The son of Kenneth Douglas Savory and actress Grace Lane (1877–1956),[3][4] Savory was educated at Bradfield College and worked as a stockbroker's clerk before turning to the stage (Hull Repertory Theatre Company 1931–33), first as an actor then a writer.[2][5]
Career
[edit]Savory's play George and Margaret, written while out of work as an actor, ran for two years at Wyndham's Theatre and a year at the Piccadilly.[6] It then transferred to Broadway, where it ran for 86 performances, and was later filmed.[7][8] His earliest work in the film industry was as a dialogue writer for director Alfred Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (1937).[1]
Savory lived in the USA in the 1940s and 50s writing for film and television, and became an American citizen.[2] After returning to England in the mid 1950s he became a writer, producer and production manager for Granada Television, producing five episodes of ITV Play of the Week; adapting Saki, J.B. Priestley, Noël Coward and Tennessee Williams for television. He then joined BBC Television, first as Head of Serials, then Head of Plays.[4] He produced the unsuccessful series Churchill's People (1975–76) for the BBC and Love in a Cold Climate (1980) for Thames Television.[9][10]
Personal life
[edit]Savory was married four times but had no children other than a stepson by his fourth wife. His first marriage, to writer Teo Dunbar,[3] ended in divorce. In 1950, he married American actress Althea Murphy (1916–1952), who died of leukemia in 1952.[11][12][13] In 1953, he married actress Annette Carell, who died by suicide in 1967.[14][15] He was survived by his fourth wife, actress Sheila Brennan, whom he married in 1970.[16][3]
Savory died in England on 9 February 1996.[17]
Plays
[edit]- George and Margaret 1937[18] (377 performances in the West End, filmed in 1940)
- Hand in Glove 1944 with Charles K. Freeman based on his own novel Hughie Roddis[19]
- A Likely Tale 1957[20]
- A Month of Sundays 1957
- So Many Children 1959
- Cup and Saucer 1961
- Twinkling of an Eye 1965
Novels
[edit]- Hughie Roddis 1942
- Behold This Dreamer 1943
Television
[edit]- South, 24 November 1959, ITV Play of the Week (adaptation)
- Count Dracula, 1977
- Mapp and Lucia, Series One 1985; Series Two 1986
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Gerald Savory". Archived from the original on 10 February 2018.
- ^ a b c "Gerald Savory - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ a b c Who's Who In The Theatre (15th ed.). Pitman. 1972. p. 1379.
- ^ a b Shivas, Mark (7 March 1996). "Obituary: Gerald Savory". The Independent.
- ^ "Gerald Savory - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- ^ "Production of George & Margaret - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
- ^ League, The Broadway. "George and Margaret – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
- ^ "George and Margaret (1940)". Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
- ^ "Churchill's People - 1970-1979 - Guardian Century". www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Love in a Cold Climate (1980) - Donald McWhinnie - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
- ^ "Marriages". Billboard. 30 December 1950. p. 28.
- ^ "The Final Curtain". Billboard. 8 November 1952. p. 65.
- ^ "Obituary: Althea Murphy Savory". Wilmette Life. Wilmette, Illinois. 6 November 1952. p. 63.
- ^ Sullivan, Ed (31 August 1953). "Talk of the Town". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Annette Carell". The Stage and Television Today. No. 453. 26 October 1967. p. 9. (subscription required)
- ^ "Obituaries: Gerald Savory". The Times. London. 13 February 1996. p. 17.
- ^ Shorter, Eric (2 April 1996). "Gerald Savory: Dramatics of Live Television". The Guardian. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
- ^ League, The Broadway. "Gerald Savory – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
- ^ "A Likely Tale - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
External links
[edit]| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
 | This article needs additional or more specific categories. (May 2024) |
- 1909 births
- 1996 deaths
- 20th-century English dramatists and playwrights
- 20th-century English male writers
- 20th-century English novelists
- BBC executives
- BBC television producers
- British male dramatists and playwrights
- English emigrants to the United States
- English male novelists
- English television producers
- ITV people