John Sullivan (writer) R.I.P

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stuart.uk
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John Sullivan (writer) R.I.P

Post by stuart.uk »

My apoligies for posting a thread about a writer I'm sure most of you have never heard off, but John Sullivan was IMHO the UKs top comedy writer of sit-coms.

After the sad news of actress Elisabeth Sladen earlier in the week at 63, I've just found out about John's death at 64. One of his earlier successes was Citizen Smith with Robert Lindsay as political activist/layabout Wolfie Smith. Another early work was Dear John with Ralph Bates. He had a big success with Just Good Friends with Paul Nicholas (Keith Lennox in The Jazz Singer)Jan Francis (Champions and Secret Army), who played a one time engaged couple who meet by accident 5-yrs after he dumped her

However, it's for the iconic Fools And Horses he's best known, which starred Sir David Jason as modern day spiv and wannabe yupi Del Boy Trotter and Nicholas Lindhurst as his step brother Rodney, who both later on found love introducing a girl-friend and with to the show. John gave Del Boy catch phrases like You Dipstick and You Plonker when speaking to Rodney and He Who Dares Wins and This Time Next YR We'll Be Millionaires

John after Only Fools And Horses finshed wrote the sequel The Green Green Grass and prequel Rock And Chips. In RAC Nicholas Lindhurst played Freddie The Frog, Rodneys criminal father.

I'll try and find links of his work



stuart.uk
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Re: John Sullivan (writer) R.I.P

Post by stuart.uk »

I thought I'd add the 2nd part of the link of Only Fools And Horses I sent with Jim Broadbent guesting. However, there's a bit of an overlap from the previous link

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Re: John Sullivan (writer) R.I.P

Post by moira finnie »

stuart.uk wrote:John gave Del Boy catch phrases like You Dipstick and You Plonker when speaking to Rodney and He Who Dares Wins and This Time Next YR We'll Be Millionaires
Perhaps one of those catch phrases might be a good epitaph for Mr. Sullivan carved in marble? :wink: Just kidding, Stuart!

I have seen the original Dear John with Ralph Bates, which was miles ahead of the American knockoff with Judd Hirsch in the role.
It's been a tough week for sitcom writers. First Madelyn Pugh Davis of I Love Lucy fame moved to the writer's block in the sky, then Sol Saks, the author of the pilot that became Bewitched headed for the pearly gates, and now Britain's John Sullivan, at a mere 64. At least the American pair of scribes had reached the grand ages of 90 and 100 before shuffling off the mortal coil.
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stuart.uk
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Re: John Sullivan (writer) R.I.P

Post by stuart.uk »

Moira

It’s ironic that just days after Elisabeth Sladen’s death there is a new series of Dr. Who, likewise the same with John Sullivan’s Rock And Chips.sban

The sad thing about RACs there will almost certainly be unfinished business with the show. It’s set in roughly in 1960 with Del Boy a wide eyed 16-yr-old who lives with his beautiful mother Joan and his slob of a dad and granddad. Joan also has an affair with Nicholas Lindhurst’s Freddie The Frog, which produces a son Rodney. Now in the 80s in the same flat in Only Fools And Horses, Del Boy lives with Grandad and a 20 something Rodney. The show lasts nearly 20 yrs with Grandad dying, Rodney getting married to Cassandra and Del finding himself a long-term girl friend, Raquel, in a relationship which produces a son called Damian.

However, we discover, during the shows run that Joan died in 1964 and her husband run off, leaving 20-yr-old Del to look after the remaining family. Later we discover the Del and Rodney had different dads with Freddie the Frog a jailbird. That ‘s what I mean by unfinished business. I assume John Sullivan would have wanted to write Rock And Chips up until Joan’s death, but now it looks like the show will end after the current series

Have you noticed that in American sit-coms you have a team of writers while in the UK it's generally just one or 2

PS The late Ralph Bates also starred as Susannah Yorks unfaithful husband in the drama serial Second Chance
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