Roland Pertwee
Encyclopedia
Roland Pertwee was an English
playwright
, film and television screenwriter
, director
and actor
. He was the father of both Doctor Who
star Jon Pertwee
and fellow playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee
. He was also the second cousin of actor Bill Pertwee
and the grandfather of actors Sean Pertwee
and Dariel Pertwee.
Following the end of the First World War
in 1918, Roland Pertwee retired from the British Army
and began to pursue a career in the burgeoning British film industry. From the 1910s to 1950s, he worked as a writer on many British films, generally providing either the basic story or full screenplay. He was one of numerous writers working on the script of A Yank at Oxford
starring Robert Taylor
and Vivien Leigh
, the film in which his son Jon made his screen debut, and on Caravan
.
While he seemingly preferred writing, he acted in ten films between 1915 and 1945 and directed Breach of Promise
, which he also wrote.
His play Heatwave, written in collaboration with Denise Robins
, was produced at the St James's Theatre
, London
, in 1929.
In 1954, he and his elder son Michael created The Grove Family
- generally regarded as being the first soap opera
on British television
- for the BBC
. Having previously written an episode of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents
, this marked Pertwee's second and final foray into television writing. Like many BBC television productions of the era, it was broadcast live. At its height, the series had drawn in almost a quarter of British people who owned a television. Reportedly, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
was a great fan. A film version, entitled It's a Great Day
, was produced in 1955, likewise written by the Pertwees.
He also wrote a number of works of juvenile fiction, most prominently the The Islanders series, which serves up typical Boy's Own
adventure with a strong field sports theme. The Islanders (1950) and Rough Water (1951) tell the adventures of three boys with the run of a sporting estate in the wild Devon
countryside during a summer holiday. The third book, Operation Wild Goose (1955), takes place some years later, on a trip to Iceland, where the boys come up against Russian spies, in between landing fat salmon. A further book, An Actor's Life For Me (1953), features just one of the Islanders boys, Nick, as he follows his parents onto the stage.
Pertwee wrote two excellent short stories, "The River God" and "Fish Are Such Liars", both of which are now considered classics and have been anthologized in the book, Fisherman's Bounty, edited by Nick Lyons, and originally published by Crown in 1970, then by Fireside in 1988.
Following the cancellation of The Grove Family in 1957, Pertwee retired from writing. He died in April 1963, three weeks shy of his 78th birthday.
Screenwriter
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, film and television screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
, director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He was the father of both 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...
star Jon Pertwee
Jon Pertwee
John Devon Roland Pertwee , was an English actor. Pertwee is best known for his role in the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, in which he played the third incarnation of the Doctor from 1970 to 1974, and as the title character in the series Worzel Gummidge...
and fellow playwright and screenwriter Michael Pertwee
Michael Pertwee
Michael Pertwee was a British playwright and screenwriter. Among his credits were episodes of The Saint, Danger Man, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, B-And-B, Ladies Who Do, and many other films and TV series....
. He was also the second cousin of actor Bill Pertwee
Bill Pertwee
William Desmond Anthony Pertwee MBE is a British comedy actor. He is best known for playing the part of antagonist ARP Warden Hodges in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.-Early and personal life:...
and the grandfather of actors Sean Pertwee
Sean Pertwee
Sean Pertwee is an English actor known for his television, film and voice-over work.-Career:In the early 80s, he auditioned for a place at the Surrey County Youth Theatre where he was cast as Captain Fitzpatrick in the play Tom Jones, based on the novel by Henry Fielding...
and Dariel Pertwee.
Following the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
in 1918, Roland Pertwee retired from the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and began to pursue a career in the burgeoning British film industry. From the 1910s to 1950s, he worked as a writer on many British films, generally providing either the basic story or full screenplay. He was one of numerous writers working on the script of A Yank at Oxford
A Yank at Oxford
A Yank at Oxford is a 1938 British film, directed by Jack Conway from a screenplay by John Monk Saunders and Leon Gordon. It was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer British Studios...
starring Robert Taylor
Robert Taylor (actor)
Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor.-Early life:Born Spangler Arlington Brugh in Filley, Nebraska, he was the son of Ruth Adaline and Spangler Andrew Brugh, who was a farmer turned doctor...
and Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
, the film in which his son Jon made his screen debut, and on Caravan
Caravan (1946 film)
Caravan is a 1946 British drama film directed by Arthur Crabtree. It was one of the Gainsborough Melodramas and is based on a novel Caravan by Eleanor Smith....
.
While he seemingly preferred writing, he acted in ten films between 1915 and 1945 and directed Breach of Promise
Breach of Promise (film)
Breach of Promise is a 1942 British romance film directed by Harold Huth and starring Clive Brook, Judy Campbell, C.V. France, Marguerite Allan and Percy Walsh. A playwright meets a young woman and she soon files a fake breach of promise action against him, hoping to receive a blackmail payment...
, which he also wrote.
His play Heatwave, written in collaboration with Denise Robins
Denise Robins
Denise Robins, née Denise Naomi Klein was a prolific British romantic novelist and the first President of the Romantic Novelists' Association...
, was produced at the St James's Theatre
St James's Theatre
The St James's Theatre was a 1,200-seat theatre located in King Street, at Duke Street, St James's, London. The elaborate theatre was designed with a neo-classical exterior and a Louis XIV style interior by Samuel Beazley and built by the partnership of Peto & Grissell for the tenor and theatre...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, in 1929.
In 1954, he and his elder son Michael created The Grove Family
The Grove Family
The Grove Family is a British television soap opera, generally regarded as the first of its kind broadcast in the UK, made and transmitted by BBC Television from 1954 to 1957...
- generally regarded as being the first soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
on British television
British television
Public television broadcasting started in the United Kingdom in 1936, and now has a collection of free and subscription services over a variety of distribution media, through which there are over 480 channelsTaking the base Sky EPG TV Channels. A breakdown is impossible due to a) the number of...
- for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
. Having previously written an episode of Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents
Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents, is a 1950s syndicated anthology series hosted and occasionally starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr.. The series offered Buster Keaton in his first dramatic role in the episode entitled "The Awakening". British actor Christopher Lee appeared in varied role in thirteen...
, this marked Pertwee's second and final foray into television writing. Like many BBC television productions of the era, it was broadcast live. At its height, the series had drawn in almost a quarter of British people who owned a television. Reportedly, Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother
Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon
Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon was the queen consort of King George VI from 1936 until her husband's death in 1952, after which she was known as Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, to avoid confusion with her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II...
was a great fan. A film version, entitled It's a Great Day
It's a Great Day
It's a Great Day is a 1955 British comedy film directed by John Warrington. A spin-off of the popular soap The Grove Family, the film stars Ruth Dunning as Gladys Grove, Edward Evans as Bob Grove, and Sid James as Harry Mason. A builder has problems with his local council in getting supplies vital...
, was produced in 1955, likewise written by the Pertwees.
He also wrote a number of works of juvenile fiction, most prominently the The Islanders series, which serves up typical Boy's Own
Boy's Own Paper
The Boy's Own Paper was a British story paper aimed at young and teenage boys, published from 1879 to 1967.-Publishing history:The idea for the publication was first raised in 1878 by the Religious Tract Society as a means to encourage younger children to read and also instil Christian morals...
adventure with a strong field sports theme. The Islanders (1950) and Rough Water (1951) tell the adventures of three boys with the run of a sporting estate in the wild Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
countryside during a summer holiday. The third book, Operation Wild Goose (1955), takes place some years later, on a trip to Iceland, where the boys come up against Russian spies, in between landing fat salmon. A further book, An Actor's Life For Me (1953), features just one of the Islanders boys, Nick, as he follows his parents onto the stage.
Pertwee wrote two excellent short stories, "The River God" and "Fish Are Such Liars", both of which are now considered classics and have been anthologized in the book, Fisherman's Bounty, edited by Nick Lyons, and originally published by Crown in 1970, then by Fireside in 1988.
Following the cancellation of The Grove Family in 1957, Pertwee retired from writing. He died in April 1963, three weeks shy of his 78th birthday.
Selected filmography
Actor- The Four Just MenThe Four Just Men (film)The Four Just Men is a 1939 British thriller film directed by Walter Forde and starring Hugh Sinclair, Griffith Jones, Edward Chapman and Garry Marsh. It is based on the novel The Four Just Men by Edgar Wallace.-Cast:...
(1939) - Pimpernel Smith (1941) as Sir George Smith
Screenwriter
- Return to YesterdayReturn to YesterdayReturn to Yesterday is a 1940 British drama film directed by Robert Stevenson. It stars Clive Brook and Anna Lee. It was based on the play Goodness How Sad! by Robert Morley.-Cast:* Clive Brook as Robert Maine* Anna Lee as Carol Sands...
(1940)