John Kane (writer)
Encyclopedia
John Kane is an actor and writer.
, he played Puck in Peter Brook
's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
alongside Ben Kingsley
, Alan Howard
and Frances de la Tour
, before turning to comedy script writing. He began writing for Terry Scott
's sketch show Scott On, before taking over the reins on a project for Terry Scott and comic actress June Whitfield
, which began as Happy Ever After and later turned into the longer-running series Terry and June
, for which he wrote the entire first series and much of the subsequent run. His TV acting credits include the mentally-crippled Tommy in the 1974 Doctor Who
serial Planet of the Spiders
.
Continuing to work as an actor with the RSC, he also created sitcoms Me and My Girl
(1984–88) with Richard O'Sullivan and Tim Brooke-Taylor
, All in Good Faith
(1985–88) with Richard Briers
, and Aztec
drama The Feathered Serpent
(1976–78). He also wrote for, among others, Never the Twain
, Smuggler, Rings on Their Fingers
, and wrote the "Six Napoleons
" episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with Jeremy Brett
in the role.
Turning to the stage, he wrote the RSC's adaptation of Wizard of Oz
, West End Cole Porter
tribute A Swell Party and the words and music in 2005 for The Canterville Ghost
at the Southwark Playhouse
. He also wrote the Television Film The Vamp starring Shelley Winters
, children's cartoon Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie
, and won a Cable Ace award for his screenplay Daisies in December starring Joss Ackland
. He collaborated with composer David Bass on a children's opera Kids Court which was premiered in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2007 by the North Cambridge Family Opera Company. He continues to work as a stage and screen actor.
(born in Dorking in 1978) have followed in his footsteps, acting and writing. John now lives the village of Puissalicon
, in the Hérault
of southern France.
Career
An associate actor with the Royal Shakespeare CompanyRoyal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
, he played Puck in Peter Brook
Peter Brook
Peter Stephen Paul Brook CH, CBE is an English theatre and film director and innovator, who has been based in France since the early 1970s.-Life:...
's acclaimed production of A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
alongside Ben Kingsley
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley, CBE is a British actor. He has won an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards in his career. He is known for starring as Mohandas Gandhi in the film Gandhi in 1982, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, Alan Howard
Alan Howard
Alan MacKenzie Howard, CBE, is an English actor known for his roles on stage, television and film.He was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1966 to 1983, and played leading roles at the Royal National Theatre between 1992 and 2000.-Personal life:Howard is the only son of the actor...
and Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour
Frances de la Tour is an English actress perhaps best known for her role as Miss Ruth Jones in the British sitcom Rising Damp, and as Madame Olympe Maxime in the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1.-Early life and family:De la...
, before turning to comedy script writing. He began writing for Terry Scott
Terry Scott
Owen John "Terry" Scott was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven Carry On films. He also appeared in BBC1's popular domestic sitcom Terry and June with June Whitfield...
's sketch show Scott On, before taking over the reins on a project for Terry Scott and comic actress June Whitfield
June Whitfield
June Rosemary Whitfield, CBE is an English actress, well known in the United Kingdom since the 1950s for roles in radio and television comedy series....
, which began as Happy Ever After and later turned into the longer-running series Terry and June
Terry and June
Terry and June is a British sitcom that was broadcast on BBC1 from 1979 to 1987. The programme is largely a continuation of Happy Ever After, and stars Terry Scott and June Whitfield as a middle-class suburban couple, Terry and June Medford...
, for which he wrote the entire first series and much of the subsequent run. His TV acting credits include the mentally-crippled Tommy in the 1974 Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
serial Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders
Planet of the Spiders is a serial in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who, which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from May 4 to June 8, 1974. It was Jon Pertwee's last serial as the Doctor and marks the first, uncredited appearance of Tom Baker in the role. It also marks...
.
Continuing to work as an actor with the RSC, he also created sitcoms Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl (TV series)
Me and My Girl was a 1980s British television situation comedy starring Richard O'Sullivanwhich centred on the challenges faced by a widower raising his adolescent daughter. It was broadcast on ITV between 1984 and 1988.-Plot:...
(1984–88) with Richard O'Sullivan and Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
, All in Good Faith
All in Good Faith
All in Good Faith is a British sitcom that aired on ITV from 1985 to 1988. Starring Richard Briers, it was written by John Kane. All in Good Faith was made for the ITV network by Thames Television.-Cast:*Richard Briers - The Reverend Philip Lambe...
(1985–88) with Richard Briers
Richard Briers
Richard David Briers, CBE is an English actor whose career has encompassed theatre, television, film and radio.He first came to prominence as George Starling in Marriage Lines in the 1960s, but it was in the following decade when he played Tom Good in the BBC sitcom The Good Life that he became a...
, and Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
drama The Feathered Serpent
The Feathered Serpent (UK TV series)
The Feathered Serpent is a British children's television series. Set in Aztec Mexico and starring former Doctor Who Patrick Troughton as the scheming High Priest Nasca, two series were made for ITV by Thames Television and transmitted in 1976 and 1978....
(1976–78). He also wrote for, among others, Never the Twain
Never the Twain
Never the Twain is a British sitcom that ran for eleven series from 1981 to 1991. It was created by Johnnie Mortimer, and was the only sitcom he ever created without his usual writing partner, Brian Cooke...
, Smuggler, Rings on Their Fingers
Rings On Their Fingers
Rings On Their Fingers is a British television sitcom, written by Richard Waring. It ran from October 1978 to November 1980.-Plot:It concerns a young unmarried couple played by Martin Jarvis and Diane Keen. Sandy wishes to marry whereas Oliver is happy to remain unmarried...
, and wrote the "Six Napoleons
The Adventure of the Six Napoleons
"The Adventure of the Six Napoleons", one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories written by British author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is one of 13 stories in the cycle collected as The Return of Sherlock Holmes.-Synopsis:...
" episode of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, with Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett
Jeremy Brett , born Peter Jeremy William Huggins, was an English actor, most famous for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in four Granada TV series.-Early life:...
in the role.
Turning to the stage, he wrote the RSC's adaptation of Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is a children's novel written by L. Frank Baum and illustrated by W. W. Denslow. Originally published by the George M. Hill Company in Chicago on May 17, 1900, it has since been reprinted numerous times, most often under the name The Wizard of Oz, which is the name of...
, West End Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
tribute A Swell Party and the words and music in 2005 for The Canterville Ghost
The Canterville Ghost
"The Canterville Ghost" is a popular short story by Oscar Wilde, widely adapted for the screen and stage. It was the first of Wilde's stories to be published, appearing in the magazine The Court and Society Review in February 1887. It was later included in a collection of short stories entitled...
at the Southwark Playhouse
Southwark Playhouse
-History:Southwark Playhouse Theatre Company was founded in 1993 by Juliet Alderdice, Tom Wilson & Mehmet Ergen. They identified the need for a high quality accessible theatre which would also act as a major resource for the community...
. He also wrote the Television Film The Vamp starring Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters
Shelley Winters was an American actress who appeared in dozens of films, as well as on stage and television; her career spanned over 50 years until her death in 2006...
, children's cartoon Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie
Magic Adventures of Mumfie
Britt Allcroft's Magic Adventures of Mumfie is an animated made-for-television movie and television series created by Britt Allcroft and directed by John Laurence Collins. It is based on the Mumfie novels by Katherine Tozer, which were originally published in 1936. Mumfie is a 'nelifunt', a toy...
, and won a Cable Ace award for his screenplay Daisies in December starring Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
. He collaborated with composer David Bass on a children's opera Kids Court which was premiered in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2007 by the North Cambridge Family Opera Company. He continues to work as a stage and screen actor.
Personal life
He has had two children with opera singer Alison Warner. Both Simon Kane and Susy KaneSusy Kane
Susy Kane is an English actress, comedy writer and musician.-Personal life:She is the daughter of opera singer Alison Warner and actor and writer John Kane, and the younger sister of comedy writer and actor Simon Kane...
(born in Dorking in 1978) have followed in his footsteps, acting and writing. John now lives the village of Puissalicon
Puissalicon
Puissalicon is a commune in the Hérault department in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France....
, in the Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
of southern France.
External links
- About John Kane, North Cambridge Family Opera Company
- David John Kane, TV.com