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1-11 of 11
- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Dennis Christopher George Potter was born 17 May 1935 in Berry Hill, a small village in the Forest of Dean, where his grandfather and father were coal miners. Through books, the young Potter found that "words were chariots". He attended school in London and spent two years in the Army. During his three years at Oxford, he wrote The Glittering Coffin (1960), a bitter attack on England.
As a BBC trainee, he wrote/hosted Between Two Rivers (1960), a documentary about the Forest of Dean. In 1961 he joined the Daily Herald, where he was TV critic (1962-64). In 1964 he learned he had psoriatic arthropathy, a disease which plagued him for decades, less so after new drugs/treatments turned up. He lost the 1964 election as a Labour candidate, ending his planned political career. That same year, The Wednesday Play (1964) began on the BBC, and he submitted a novel-in-progress, which became his first TV play, The Confidence Course (1965), about motivational seminar swindlers.
Over three decades, he wrote novels, essays, stage plays, and movies but mainly focused on TV, where his semi-autobiographical explorations into consciousness and memory led to innovations in drama, often acclaimed. His masterpiece is The Singing Detective (1986), regarded by some as the best original work ever created for television. Only near the end of his life did he move into directing with Blackeyes (1989) and Secret Friends (1991). Steven Bochco's Cop Rock (1990) is just one example of Potter's widening influence.
Few Potter plays aired on USA TV, but retrospectives were at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts and NYC's Museum of Television & Radio. His plays and interviews are part of the MT&R's permanent collection, available for viewing in NYC and also at the MT&R in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Producer
John Rolfe was born in 1935 in Lewisham, London, England, UK. He was an actor and producer, known for Doctor Who (1963), The Expert (1968) and Cluff (1964). He died on 12 August 2020 in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England, UK.- Genevieve Blinn was born on 12 June 1874 in New Brunswick, Canada. She was an actress, known for The Queen of Sheba (1921), Tangled Lives (1917) and Cleopatra (1917). She was married to J.L. Blinn. She died on 20 July 1956 in Ross, California, USA.
- Rex Graham was born in 1924 in York, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for The Man in Room 17 (1965), Coronation Street (1960) and The Days of Vengeance (1960). He was married to Barbara Mitchell. He died in 1991 in Rosskeen, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, UK.
- Phyllis Carr was born on 18 October 1901 in Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK. She was an actress, known for The Safe (1930). She died on 19 October 1976 in Black Isle, Ross & Cromarty, Scotland, UK.
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
Trevor L. Sharpe was born in 1921 in Canterbury, Kent, England, UK. He is known for Dad's Army (1968). He died on 22 May 2010 in Ross-on-Wye, England, UK.- Meira Stockl was born in 1931 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Agib and Agab (1953). She was married to Erick Stockl and Eric Stockl. She died on 10 July 2014 in Garve, Ross Shire, Scotland, UK.
- Sonya Laurance was born on 29 September 1921 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Under the Counter (1949). He died on 17 May 2010 in Saltburn, Ross-shire, Scotland, UK.
- Lawrence E.G. Oates was born on 17 March 1880 in Putney, London, England, UK. He died on 17 March 1912 in Ross Ice Shelf, Antarctica.
- Actor
- Music Department
Kurt Adler was born on 2 April 1905 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary [now Austria]. He was an actor, known for Yes, Giorgio (1982), The Mike Douglas Show (1961) and Pavarotti in London (1982). He died on 9 February 1988 in Ross, California, USA.- Jane Duncan was born on 10 March 1910 in Renton, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK. She was a writer, known for The Camerons (1976). She died on 20 October 1976 in Jemimaville, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland, UK.