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Theatre, Film, and Television Biographies
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Brock Peters to Jonathan Prince
Dennis Potter Biography (1935-1994)
Born Dennis Christopher George Potter, May 17, 1935, in the Forest of Dean, Berry Hill, Gloucestershire, England; died of cancer, June 7, 1994, at Ross-on-Wye (near the Forest of Dean), England; son of Walter Edward (a coal miner)and Margaret Constance (Wales) Potter; married Margaret Morgan (a journalist), 1959 (died, 1994); children: Jane, Sarah, Robert.
- Nationality
- English
- Gender
- Male
- Birth Details
- May 17, 1935
- Forest of Dean, England
- Death Details
- June 7, 1994
- Ross-on-Wye, England
Famous Works
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Credits; Television Work; Producer
- Executive producer, Lipstick on our Collar, Channel 4, 1993.
- Midnight Movie, BBC, 1994.
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Credits; Television Work; Director
- Blackeyes (miniseries), BBC, 1989.
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Credits; Television Appearances; Miniseries
- (Uncredited) Narrator, Blackeyes, BBC, 1989.
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Credits; Television Appearances; Specials
- Narrator, Between Two Rivers, 1960.
- Interviewee, Arena, BBC, 1987.
- An Interview with Dennis Potter, PBS, 1994.
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Credits; Film Work
- Executive producer, Dreamchild, Universal, 1985.
- Director, Secret Friends, Briar Patch Film, 1991.
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Credits; Film Appearances
- First policeman, Emma's War, 1985.
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Writings;Stage Plays
- Stand-Up, Nigel Barton, Theatre Royal, Bristol, England, 1965.
- Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton, Theatre Royal, Bristol, 1968.
- Son of Man, Leicester, England, 1969, then Round House Theatre, London, 1970.
- Only Make Believe, Harlow, England, 1974.
- Brimstone and Treacle, Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England, then London,England, both 1977, later New York City, 1989.
- Sufficient Carbohydrate, produced at Hampstead Theatre, London, 1983.
- Waiting for the Boat (three plays), Faber & Faber, 1984.
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Writings;Television Miniseries
- Casanova (six one-hour episodes), BBC, 1971.
- Late Call (based on novel by Angus Wilson), BBC, 1975.
- The Mayor of Casterbridge (adapted from the novel by Thomas Hardy), BBC,1978.
- Pennies from Heaven, BBC, 1978, then PBS.
- Blue Remembered Hills, BBC, 1979.
- Blade on the Feather (also known as Deep Cover), ITV (Independent Television), 1980, then PBS, 1990.
- Rain on the Roof, ITV, 1980, then PBS, 1990.
- Cream in My Coffee, ITV, 1980, then PBS, 1990.
- Tender Is the Night (based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald), BBC, 1985.
- The Singing Detective, BBC, 1986, then PBS, 1988.
- Christabel (based on the memoir The Past Is Myself by Christabel Bielenberg), BBC, 1988, then four-part series on Masterpiece Theatre, PBS, 1989.
- Blackeyes (based on the novel of the same name by Potter), BBC, 1989.
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Writings;Teleplays
- Between Two Rivers, 1960.
- "The Confidence Course," Wednesday Play, BBC, 1965.
- Alice, BBC, 1965.
- Stand Up Nigel Barton, BBC, 1965.
- Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton, BBC, 1965.
- Almost Cinderella, BBC, 1966.
- Emergency: Ward 9, BBC, 1966.
- Where the Buffalo Roam, BBC, 1966.
- "Message for Posterity," Wednesday Play, BBC, 1967.
- Bonegrinder, Rediffusion, 1968.
- Shaggy Dog, ITV, 1968.
- A Beast With Two Backs, BBC, 1968.
- Moonlight on the Highway, LWT (London Weekend Television), 1969.
- Son of Man, BBC, 1969.
- Lay Down Your Arms, ITV, 1970.
- Angels Are So Few, BBC, 1970.
- Paper Roses, BBC, 1971.
- Traitor, BBC, 1971.
- Follow the Yellow Brick Road, BBC, 1972.
- Only Make Believe, BBC, 1973.
- A Tragedy of Two Ambitions, 1973.
- Joe's Ark, BBC, 1974.
- Schmoedipus, BBC, 1974.
- Late Call, BBC, 1975.
- Double Dare, BBC, 1976.
- Where Adam Stood (adaptation of Father and Son by Edmund Gosse), BBC, 1976.
- Brimstone and Treacle, filmed by BBC, 1976, broadcast by BBC, 1987.
- Rain on the Roof, LWT, 1980.
- Cream in My Coffee, LWT, 1980.
- "Visitors" (based on his stage play Sufficient Carbohydrate), Screen Two,BBC, 1987.
- Lipstick on Your Collar, Channel 4, 1993.
- Midnight Movie, BBC, 1994.
- Karaoke, Bravo, 1996.
- Cold Lazarus, Bravo, 1996.
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Writings;Screenplays
- Pennies from Heaven, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1981.
- Brimstone and Treacle (based on television movie of the same name by Potter), United Artists, 1982.
- Gorky Park (adapted from the novel by Martin Cruz Smith), Orion, 1983.
- Dreamchild (based on teleplay Alice by Potter), Universal, 1985.
- Track 29 (based on the teleplay Schmoedipus by Potter), Island Pictures,1988.
- Secret Friends (adapted from the novel Ticket to Ride by Potter), Briar Patch Film, 1991.
- Mesmer, Overseas Filmgroup, 1994.
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Writings;Novels
- Hide and Seek, Deutsch, 1973.
- Pennies From Heaven, Quartet Books, 1981.
- Ticket To Ride, Faber & Faber, 1986, Vintage Books, 1989.
- Blackeyes, Faber & Faber, 1987, Random House, 1988.
- Cold Lazarus, Faber and Faber, London, 1996.
- Karaoke, Faber and Faber, London, 1996.
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Writings;Other
- The Glittering Coffin (nonfiction), Gollancz, 1960.
- The Changing Forest: Life in the Forest of Dean Today (nonfiction), Secker & Warburg, 1962.
- The Nigel Barton Plays (contains Stand Up, Nigel Barton and Vote, Vote, Vote for Nigel Barton), Penguin, 1967.
- Waiting for the Boat: On Television, Faber and Faber, 1984.
- Seeing the Blossom: Two Interviews and a Lecture, Faber and Faber, New York, 1986.
- Potter on Potter, edited by Graham Fuller, Faber and Faber, 1993.
- Also author of "White Clouds" unproduced, unpublished screenplay; short story for Daily Telegraph (London), May, 1994.
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Other Works
- Adaptations: Brimstone and Treacle was novelized by Sarah Potter, 1982.
Further Reference
Books:
- Contemporary Authors, Volume 145, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1995.
- Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, Volume 33, Gale, 1991.
- Cook, John R., Dennis Potter: A Life On Screen, St. Martin's Press, 1995.
- Creeber, Glen, Dennis Potter: Between Two Worlds: A Critical Reassessment, St. Martin's Press, 1998.
- Gilbert, W. Stephen, Fight and Kick and Bite: The Life and Work of Dennis Potter, Hodder & Stoughton, 1995.
- Gilbert, W. Stephen, The Life and Work of Dennis Potter, Overlook Press,1998.
Voights-Virchow, Echart, Maennerphantasien: Introspektion und gebrochene Wirklichkeitsillusion im Drama von Dennis Potter, Trier:
Periodicals:
- Chicago Tribune, December 22, 1981, January 10, 1986.
- Christian Science Monitor, November 26, 1969.
- Drama, autumn, 1978.
- Encounter, February, 1974.
- Entertainment Weekly, February 21, 1992.
- Guardian, October 1, 1991.
- Insight on the News, August 19, 1996, p. 37.
- Listener, November 15, 1973.
- Los Angeles Times, November 18, 1982, September 15, 1985, October 18, 1985.
- New Statesman, December 6, 1968, November 2, 1973; October 2, 1987.
- New York Times, December 11, 1981; October 4, 1985; July 10, 1988; September 9, 1988; April 18, 1989.
- New York Times Book Review, October 15, 1989.
- New York Times Magazine, November 13, 1988.
- Punch, December 4, 1968, November 19, 1969.
- Stage, October 21, 1971.
- Times (London), December 9, 1983, February 14, 1984, September 9, 1986,October 1, 1987.
- Times Literary Supplement, July 29-August 4, 1988; October 17, 1986.
- Variety, March 18, 1970.
- Washington Post, January 17, 1986.
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