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Gerald Savory

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English screenwriter and TV producer (1909–1996)

Gerald Savory
BornGerald Douglas Savory
(1909-11-17)17 November 1909
London, England
Died9 February 1996(1996-02-09) (aged 86)
England
Occupation(s)Writer, television producer
Spouses
Teo Dunbar ​ ​(m. 1938, divorced)​
Althea Murphy ​ ​(m. 1950; died 1952)​
Annette Carell ​ ​(m. 1953; died 1967)​
Sheila Brennan ​(m. 1970)​

Gerald Douglas Savory (17 November 1909 – 9 February 1996) was an English writer and television producer specialising in comedies.

Early life

The son of Kenneth Douglas Savory and actress Grace Lane (1877–1956), 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.

Career

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. It then transferred to Broadway, where it ran for 86 performances, and was later filmed. His earliest work in the film industry was as a dialogue writer for director Alfred Hitchcock's Young and Innocent (1937).

Savory lived in the USA in the 1940s and 50s writing for film and television, and became an American citizen. 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. He produced the unsuccessful series Churchill's People (1975–76) for the BBC and Love in a Cold Climate (1980) for Thames Television.

Personal life

Savory was married four times but had no children other than a stepson by his fourth wife. His first marriage, to writer Teo Dunbar, ended in divorce. In 1950, he married American actress Althea Murphy (1916–1952), who died of leukemia in 1952. In 1953, he married actress Annette Carell, who died by suicide in 1967. He was survived by his fourth wife, actress Sheila Brennan, whom he married in 1970.

Savory died in England on 9 February 1996.

Plays

  • George and Margaret 1937 (377 performances in the West End, filmed in 1940)
  • Hand in Glove 1944 with Charles K. Freeman based on his own novel Hughie Roddis
  • A Likely Tale 1957
  • A Month of Sundays 1957
  • So Many Children 1959
  • Cup and Saucer 1961
  • Twinkling of an Eye 1965

Novels

  • Hughie Roddis 1942
  • Behold This Dreamer 1943

Television

References

  1. ^ "Gerald Savory". Archived from the original on 10 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Gerald Savory - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  3. ^ Who's Who In The Theatre (15th ed.). Pitman. 1972. p. 1379.
  4. ^ Shivas, Mark (7 March 1996). "Obituary: Gerald Savory". The Independent.
  5. "Gerald Savory - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  6. "Production of George & Margaret - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
  7. League, The Broadway. "George and Margaret – Broadway Play – Original - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  8. "George and Margaret (1940)". Archived from the original on 5 May 2019.
  9. "Churchill's People - 1970-1979 - Guardian Century". www.theguardian.com.
  10. "Love in a Cold Climate (1980) - Donald McWhinnie - Cast and Crew - AllMovie". AllMovie.
  11. "Marriages". Billboard. 30 December 1950. p. 28.
  12. "The Final Curtain". Billboard. 8 November 1952. p. 65.
  13. "Obituary: Althea Murphy Savory". Wilmette Life. Wilmette, Illinois. 6 November 1952. p. 63.
  14. Sullivan, Ed (31 August 1953). "Talk of the Town". The Evening Sun. Baltimore, Maryland. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Annette Carell". The Stage and Television Today. No. 453. 26 October 1967. p. 9. (subscription required)
  16. "Obituaries: Gerald Savory". The Times. London. 13 February 1996. p. 17.
  17. Shorter, Eric (2 April 1996). "Gerald Savory: Dramatics of Live Television". The Guardian. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. p. 48. ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
  19. League, The Broadway. "Gerald Savory – Broadway Cast & Staff - IBDB". www.ibdb.com.
  20. "A Likely Tale - Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.

External links

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