Brian Cooke
Encyclopedia
Brian Cooke is a British
comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer
wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House
, George and Mildred
and Robin's Nest
. Cooke also wrote and created the 1980s TV sitcom Keep It in the Family
, starring Robert Gillespie
and the 1960s sitcom Father, Dear Father
starring Patrick Cargill
. Man About the House, George and Mildred, Robin's Nest, and Keep It in the Family were remade for American television as Three's Company
, The Ropers
, Three's a Crowd
, and Too Close for Comfort
.
Starting off as a cartoonist during his term of National Service
, he soon began to sell strips to magazines and newspapers. He met Johnnie Mortimer at a cartoonists convention. They also wrote the screenplays for the film version
of the play No Sex Please, We're British
, and the movie versions of their series' Man About the House and Father Dear Father.
Earlier is his career Cooke was a writer for the last series of the 1960s radio series Round The Horne
, and its short-running successor Stop Messing About
. He had much success in 2003-5 when he revived the format for a theatre tribute show, Round The Horne ... Revisited, which ran in the West End for 15 months and spawned three national tours. In 2004 it was made into a television film, with the original London cast, by BBC Four
. Stop Messing About
was also turned into a stage play in 2009.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
comedy writer who, along with co-writer Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer
Johnnie Mortimer was a British scriptwriter for television.He started out as a cartoonist, which brought him into contact with his writing partner Brian Cooke...
wrote scripts for and devised many of the top TV sitcoms of the 1970s, including Man About the House
Man About the House
Man About the House is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast for six seasons on ITV from 1973 to 1976. It was created and written by Johnnie Mortimer and Brian Cooke. The series was considered daring at the time due to its subject matter of...
, George and Mildred
George and Mildred
George and Mildred is a British sitcom produced by Thames Television that aired from 1976 to 1979. It was a spin-off from Man About the House and starred Brian Murphy and Yootha Joyce as an ill-matched married couple, George and Mildred Roper...
and Robin's Nest
Robin's Nest
Robin's Nest is a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan as Robin Tripp, one of the lead characters in the sitcom Man About the House, which had ended in 1976. Robin's Nest aired for six series from 1977 to 1981, and co-starred Tessa Wyatt as Robin's girlfriend and later wife and Tony Britton...
. Cooke also wrote and created the 1980s TV sitcom Keep It in the Family
Keep It in the Family (TV series)
Keep It in the Family is a British comedy television series that aired for five seasons between 1980 and 1983. It was about a likable and mischievous British cartoonist, Dudley Rush. Also featured were Dudley's wife, Muriel and their two daughters, Jacqui and Susan...
, starring Robert Gillespie
Robert Gillespie
Robert Gillespie is a British actor.He was brought up in Nantes until his parents moved to Manchester, having arrived in Plymouth in 1940...
and the 1960s sitcom Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father
Father, Dear Father is a British television sitcom produced by Thames Television for ITV from 1968 to 1973 starring Patrick Cargill. It was subsequently made into a spin-off film of the same title released in 1973....
starring Patrick Cargill
Patrick Cargill
Patrick Cargill was a British actor known for his role on the British television sitcom Father, Dear Father.-Career:...
. Man About the House, George and Mildred, Robin's Nest, and Keep It in the Family were remade for American television as Three's Company
Three's Company
Three's Company is an American sitcom that aired from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984, on ABC. It is based on the British sitcom, Man About the House....
, The Ropers
The Ropers
The Ropers is an American sitcom that ran from March 13, 1979 to May 22, 1980 on ABC. The series is a spinoff of Three's Company and based on the British sitcom George and Mildred...
, Three's a Crowd
Three's a Crowd
Three's a Crowd is an American television sitcom spinoff of Three's Company...
, and Too Close for Comfort
Too Close for Comfort (TV series)
Too Close for Comfort is an American television sitcom which ran on the ABC network and later in first-run syndication from November 11, 1980 to September 27, 1986. It was modeled after the British series Keep It in the Family, which debuted nine months before Too Close for Comfort debuted in the U.S...
.
Starting off as a cartoonist during his term of National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
, he soon began to sell strips to magazines and newspapers. He met Johnnie Mortimer at a cartoonists convention. They also wrote the screenplays for the film version
No Sex Please, We're British (film)
No Sex Please, We're British is a 1973 British comedy film directed by Cliff Owen and starring Ronnie Corbett, Ian Ogilvy, Susan Penhaligon and Arthur Lowe...
of the play No Sex Please, We're British
No Sex Please, We're British
No Sex Please, We're British is a British comedic play written by Alistair Foot and Anthony Marriott, first staged in London's West End in 1971. It was unanimously panned by critics, but still ran for nearly a decade to packed audiences...
, and the movie versions of their series' Man About the House and Father Dear Father.
Earlier is his career Cooke was a writer for the last series of the 1960s radio series Round The Horne
Round the Horne
Round the Horne was a BBC Radio comedy programme, transmitted in four series of weekly episodes from 1965 until 1968. The series was created by Barry Took and Marty Feldman - with others contributing to later series after Feldman returned to performing — and starred Kenneth Horne, with Kenneth...
, and its short-running successor Stop Messing About
Stop Messing About
Stop Messing About was a BBC radio series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up to Round the Horne, a number of key talents from the previous show were retained and recast, with Kenneth Williams as the new show's main star.It was rewritten for the stage in...
. He had much success in 2003-5 when he revived the format for a theatre tribute show, Round The Horne ... Revisited, which ran in the West End for 15 months and spawned three national tours. In 2004 it was made into a television film, with the original London cast, by BBC Four
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British television network operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation and available to digital television viewers on Freeview, IPTV, satellite and cable....
. Stop Messing About
Stop Messing About
Stop Messing About was a BBC radio series broadcast in 1969 and 1970. Forced by circumstance into being a follow-up to Round the Horne, a number of key talents from the previous show were retained and recast, with Kenneth Williams as the new show's main star.It was rewritten for the stage in...
was also turned into a stage play in 2009.