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Christopher Hampton Biography (1946-)

Full name, Christopher James Hampton; born January 26, 1946, in Fayal, Azores, Portugal; son of Bernard Patrick (a marine telecommunications engineer) andDorothy Patience (maiden name, Herrington) Hampton; married Laura Margaret de Holesch (a social worker), 1971; children: two daughters. Education:Oxford University, B.A. (French and German), 1968, also received M.A. Avocational interests: Travel, cinema. Addresses: Contact-- 2Kensington Park Gardens, London, England W11. Agent-- c/o William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Career: Writer,director, producer, song writer, and lyricist. Schauspielhaus, Hamburg, WestGermany, report writer, 1967; translator of lectures on James Joyce, Paris,France, 1967; Royal Court Theatre, London, England, resident dramatist, 1968-70. Member: Dramatists Club, Royal Society of Literature (fellow, 1976--, and council member, 1984--). Awards, Honors: Plays and Players London Critics Award, best play, and Evening Standard Award, bestcomedy, 1970, both for The Philanthropist; Variety New York Drama Critics Poll, most promising playwright, 1971; Plays and Players London Critics Award, best play (with others), 1973, and Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Playwriting Award, distinguished theatrical productions and performances, 1975, both for Savages; Evening Standard Award, best comedy, 1983, for Tales from Hollywood; Plays and Players LondonCritics Award, best play, 1985, Time Out Award, best production, 1986, London Standard Award, best play, 1986, Olivier Award, best play, 1986, NewYork Drama Critics Circle Award, best foreign play, 1987, and Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best play, 1988, all for Les Liaisons dangereuses;British Academy Award, best television film, 1986, for Hotel du lac;Prix Italia, 1988, for The Good Father; Academy Award, best screenplay(adaptation) and British Academy Award, best screenplay (adapted), 1989, both for Dangerous Liaisons; Special Jury Prize and Golden Palm nomination, Cannes Film Festival, 1995, both for Carrington; Antoinette Perry awards, best original score and best book of a musical, 1995, for Sunset Boulevard; Special Jury Prize, Cannes Film Festival, 1995, for Mary Reilly; Scott Moncrieff Prize, 1997; Evening Standard Comedy Award andLaurence Olivier Best Comedy Award, 1997, both for Wyndhams. Addresses: Contact: 2 Kensington Park Gardens, London, England W11.; Agent: c/o William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Dr., Beverly Hills, CA 90212.

Nationality

Portuguese

Gender

Male

Occupation

Writer, director, producer, song writer, lyricist

Birth Details

January 26, 1946

Fayal, Azores, Portugal

Famous Works

• CREDITS
• Film Work
• Coproducer, Dangerous Liaisons, Warner Bros., 1988
• Director, Carrington, Gramercy Pictures, 1995
• Director, The Secret Agent(also known as Joseph Conrad's Secret Agent and Secret Agent), Fox Searchlight Pictures, 1996
• Film Appearances
• The judge, Total Eclipse(also known as Rimaud Verlaine), Fine Line Features, 1995
• RECORDINGS
• Albums
• (With Don Black) Lyrics and book, Sunset Boulevard: From "Sunset Boulevard," H. Leonard, 1995
• WRITINGS
• Stage Plays
• When Did You Last See My Mother? Royal Court Theatre, then ComedyTheatre, both London, England, 1966 later Young People's Repertory Theatre, Sheridan Square Playhouse, New York City, 1967 and Bac Main, 1996 published by Faber and Faber, 1967 then Grove Press, 1967
• Total Eclipse, Royal Court Theatre, 1968 then in Washington, DC, 1972 later in New York City, 1974 and Greenwich Theatre, London, England, 1993published by Faber and Faber, 1969 then Samuel French, Inc., 1972 revised version produced in London, England, 1981 published by Faber and Faber, 1981
• The Philanthropist: A Bourgeois Comedy(also known as The Philanthropist), Royal Court Theatre, then May Fair Theatre, London, England, both 1970 then Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York City, 1972 later Wyndham's Theatre, London, England, 1991 and New Haven, CT, 1991 published by Faber and Faber, 1970 then by Samuel French, Inc., 1971 revised version published byFaber and Faber, 1985
• Savages, Royal Court Theatre, then Comedy Theatre, both 1973 laterMark Taper Forum, Los Angeles, CA, 1974 then Hudson Guild Theatre, New YorkCity, 1977 published by Faber and Faber, 1974 revised version published by Samuel French, Inc., 1977
• Treats, Royal Court Theatre, then May Fair Theatre, both 1976 thenIndiana Repertory Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, 1980 and later Hampstead Theatre, London, England, 1989-90 published by Faber and Faber, 1976 then Samuel French, Inc., 1976
• (Adaptor) Signed and Sealed, Comedy Theatre, 1976
• After Mercer, London, England, 1980
• The Prague Trial, Paris Studio, Paris, France, 1980 later at LyricHammersmith Theatre, London, England, 1989
• (With Ronald Harwood) A Night of the Day of the Imprisoned Writer,London, England, 1981
• (Adaptor) The Portage to San Cristobal of A.H., Mermaid Theatre, London, England, 1982 then Hartford Stage Company, Hartford, CT, 1982 published by Faber and Faber, 1983
• Tales from Hollywood, Mark Taper Forum, 1982 later London, England, 1983 then La MaMa, New York City, 1993 published by Faber and Faber, 1983
• Les Liaisons dangereuses, Royal Shakespeare Company, Other Place Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, 1985 then London, England, 1986 later Music Box Theatre, New York City, 1987 Virginia Stage Company, Norfolk, VA, 1988 Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, 1988-89 Caldwell Theatre Company, BocaRaton, FL, 1989-90 George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, NJ, 1989-90 ActorsTheatre of Louisville, Louisville, KY, 1989-90 published by Faber and Faber,1985
• White Chameleon, National Theatre Company, Cottlesloe Theatre, London, England, 1991 published by Faber and Faber, 1991
• (Adaptor with Martha Clarke) Alice's Adventures Under Ground,National Theatre Company, Cottlesloe Theatre, both 1994 published by Faber and Faber, 1995
• Translator and Adaptor
• Marya, Royal Court Theatre, 1967 then Jewish Repertory Theatre, New York City, 1981 and the Old Vic Theatre, London, England, 1990 published inPlays of the Year 35, Elek, 1969
• Uncle Vanya, Royal Court Theatre, 1970 published in Plays of the Year 39, Elek, 1971
• Hedda Gabler, Ibsen Festival Theatre, Stratford, Ontario, Canada,1970 then Roundabout Theatre, New York City, 1981 then Almeida Theatre, 1984then Center Theatre Group, Mark Taper Forum, 1985 later Olivier Theatre, London, England, 1989 Kings Head Theatre, 1990 Holland Park, 1993 Arena Stage, Washington, DC, Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, CA, 1994 and Etcetera, New York City, 1995 published by Samuel French, Inc., 1971 and by Faber and Faber, 1989
• A Doll's House, Playhouse Theatre, New York City, 1971 then Criterion Theatre, London, England, 1973 Etcetera, 1994 and 1995 and Bac, 1996published by Samuel French, Inc., 1972 also served as translator for the Faber and Faber publication, 1989
• Don Juan, Theatre Royal, Bristol, England, 1972 then Gate Theatre,1995 published by Faber and Faber, 1974
• Tales from the Vienna Woods, National Theatre Company, Olivier Theatre, London, England, 1977 then Arena Stage, Washington, DC, 1978 and Louisville, KY, 1991 published by Faber and Faber, 1977
• Don Juan Comes Back from the War, National Theatre Company, Cottesloe Theatre, London, England, 1978 then Manhattan Theatre Club, New York City, 1979 published by Faber and Faber, 1978
• Ghosts, Key Theatre, Peterborough, England, 1978 later Portland, ME, 1988 published by Samuel French, Inc., 1983
• The Wild Duck, National Theatre Company, Olivier Theatre, 1979 published by Faber and Faber, 1980 then Samuel French, Inc., 1981
• Tartuffe, or The Imposter, Royal Shakespeare Company, London, England, 1983 published by Faber and Faber, 1984
• Faith, Hope and Charity, Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, 1989
• Art, Wyndam's Theatre, 1996
• An Enemy of the People,1997
• The Unexpected Man,1998
• Screenplays
• A Doll's House, Paramount, 1973
• (With Maximilian Schell) Tales from the Vienna Woods(also known asGeschichten aus dem Wiener-Wald), Constantin, 1979 published by Suhrkamp, 1979
• Beyond the Limit(also known as The Honorary Consul), Paramount, 1983
• The Good Father, Skouras, 1986
• The Wolf at the Door(also known as Oviri), Manson, 1986
• Dangerous Liaisons, Warner Bros., 1988 published by Faber and Faber, 1989
• Carrington, Gramercy Pictures, 1995 published by Faber and Faber,1995
• Total Eclipse(also known as Rimbaud Verlaine), Fine Line Features, 1995
• Mary Reilly, TriStar, 1996
• The Secret Agent(also known as Joseph Conrad's the Secret Agent and Secret Agent), Fox Searchlight Pictures, 1996
• Nostromo,1997
• Unproduced
• When Did You Last See My Mother?1966
• The Tenant,1972
• A Temporary Life,1974
• The Moon and Sixpence,1975
• The Last Secret,1979
• Film Songs
• "With One Look," In and Out(also known as In & Out), Paramount, 1997
• Television Specials
• Able's Will,1977 published by Faber and Faber, 1979
• (Adaptor) The History Man(also known as Malcolm Bradbury'sThe History Man), BBC, 1981
• Hotel du Lac, BBC, then Arts and Entertainment, 1986
• "The Ginger Tree," BBC, later on Masterpiece Theatre,1990
• (Adaptor from his play) "Tales from Hollywood," American Playhouse, PBS, 1992
• Also wrote Marya; The Philanthropist; Savages; Total Eclipse; and Treats.
• Radio Plays
• 2 Children Free to Wander(documentary), 1969
• Don Juan, BBC Radio 3, 1970
• The Prague Trial 79(from a story by Patrice Chereau and Ariane Mnouchkine), 1980
• Stage lyrics
• (With Don Black) Sunset Boulevard, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Adelphi Theatre, 1993 then Shubert Theatre, Los Angeles, CA, and Minskoff Theatre, New York City, 1994
• Criticism
• The Ideology of the Text, Open University Press (England), 1990
• Theatrical Writings
• (With Don Black) Author of book (libretto), Sunset Boulevard, H. Leonard, 1995
• Compilations
• The Philanthropist with Total Eclipse, Faber and Faber, 1991
• Other
• Contributor to periodicals, including the Guardian and the Independent.

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books:

• Christopher Hampton: A Casebook, November 14, 1996 , edited by Robert Gross, Garland Publishers (New York City), 1990.
• Free, William J., Christopher Hampton: An Introduction to His Plays, edited by Dal Salwek, Borgo Press (San Bernardino, CA), 1994.

Periodicals:

• Back Stage West, p. 6.
• Guardian(London), April 28, 1993 , pp. S6-S7; September 12, 1995,pp. 2.12-2.13.
• Independent, October 9, 1996 , pp. S4-S5.
• Variety, June 19, 1995 , p. 8.