Bill Naughton

William (Bill) John Francis Naughton (born June 12, 1910 in Ballyhaunis , † January 9, 1992 in Ballasalla ) was an Irish-British author. He was known for his theatrical comedies, especially Alfie . He also worked as a screenwriter and wrote several novels, youth literature and short stories.

Live and act

Bill Naughton was born in the Irish city of Ballyhaunis in 1910. Four years later, his family moved with him to Lancashire , England. He grew up in Bolton and attended St. Peter and Paul School there. He later worked as a truck driver, weaver and coal packer, among other things. During the Second World War he served as a driver for the civil defense. During this time he began to write, initially just for himself, then published short stories in magazines. In 1945 his first novel, A Roof over your Head , was published, which was set in the 1920s in northern England, which was marked by mass unemployment.

In the 1950s Naughton moved to London, where he worked as a writer for Lilliput magazine . He published short stories in several collections, in particular the band Late Night on Watling Street (1959) received positive reviews. Naughton also worked for the BBC and wrote pieces for radio and television programs . Then he began a fruitful collaboration with London's Mermaid Theater. In 1962, his working class comedy All in Good Time premiered there. It became a success and hit Broadway in 1965 with Donald Wolfit and Marjorie Rhodes in the lead roles. In 1966 the play was filmed under the title Honigmond '67 ( The Family Way ), with Naughton himself taking on the adaptation of the script.

Naughton's most famous play was Alfie , a comedy about a London womanizer , also premiered in 1963 at the Mermaid Theater. It was based on Naughton's radio play Alfie Elkins and His Little Life . It was filmed in 1966 by Lewis Gilbert under the same title (German as The seducer lets greet you ) with Michael Caine in the leading role. Naughton was also involved as a writer on this film and was nominated for an Oscar in the category Best Adapted Screenplay in 1967 . Twelve years after Naughton's death, Charles Shyer directed another film adaptation of the subject, Alfie . This time Jude Law played the title character.

Naughton's third theatrical success was the comedy Spring and Port Wine (1967), a revised version of his older play My Flesh, My Blood . It is about a family man from Bolton and ran as Keep It In the Family on Broadway. Naughton also adapted this piece to the script. It was filmed in 1970 under the original title (German title Hering und Portwein ) by Peter Hammond .

Around 1972 Naughton moved to Ballasalla, a village in the south of the Isle of Man, in part to save taxes . There he spent his old age. In 1974 he was awarded the Prix ​​Italia for his radio play The Mysterie . In the 1980s he wrote two autobiographical works, On the Pig's Back and Saintly Bill . Naughton died in Ballasalla at the age of 81. He left behind his second wife and two children from his first marriage.

The Bolton Library maintains an archive of Bill Naughton's estate, including correspondence, original manuscripts, and unpublished material.

Works (selection)

Plays

• My Flesh, my Blood. A play in three acts. Samuel French, London 1958.
• All in good time. A comedy in two acts. Samuel French, London 1964. (First performance 1963)
• Alfie: a play in three acts. Samuel French, London 1963.
• Spring and Port Wine. Samuel French, London 1967 (German translation Eva Walch: Frühling und Portwein Henschelverlag, Berlin 1971).
• June Evening. Samuel French, London 1972.
• Annie and Fanny. 1967.
• Lighthearted Intercourse. 1971.

Novels

• A roof over your head. Pilot Press, London 1945.
• Rafe granite. Pilot Press, London 1947.
• One small boy. Macgibbon & Kee, London 1957.
• Alfie. Macgibbon & Kee, London 1966.
• Alfie darling. Macgibbon & Kee, London 1970.

Short stories

• Late Night on Watling Street. Macgibbon & Kee, London 1959.
• The Goalkeeper's Revenge. George G. Harrap & Co., London 1961.
• The bees have stopped working, and other stories. Wheaton, Exeter 1976, ISBN 0-08-020547-X .

Youth books

• A dog called Nelson. Dent, London 1976.
• My pal Spadger. Dent, London 1977.

Autobiographies

• On the pig's back: an autobiographical excursion. Oxford University Press, New York 1986, ISBN 0-19-212257-6 .
• Saintly Billy: a catholic boyhood. Oxford University Press, New York 1988, ISBN 0-19-212270-3 .

Filmography

• 1957: Nathaniel Titlark (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1958: Starr and Company (TV series, 2 episodes)
• 1960: Deadline Midnight (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1960: Yorky (TV series, 6 episodes)
• 1960/61: BBC Sunday-Night Play (TV series, 2 episodes)
• 1961: Armchair Theater (TV series, 2 episodes)
• 1962: Drama 61-67 (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1966: Honigmond '67 ( The Family Way )
• 1966: Out of Town Theater (TV miniseries) (1 episode)
• 1966: The seducer sends his regards ( Alfie )
• 1967: Seven Deadly Sins (TV series, 1 episode)
• 1970: Herring and Port Wine ( Spring and Port Wine )
• 1970: Day of Rest (short film)
• 1976: Alfie, the maddening ladyboy ( Alfie Darling )
• 2004: Alfie
• 2012: Wedding night with obstacles ( All in Good Time )

Web links

• Literature by and about Bill Naughton in the WorldCat bibliographic database
• Bill Naughton in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Bill Naughton. In: Encyclopædia Britannica . Retrieved February 16, 2015.
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Naughton, Bill In: Henry Boylan: A dictionary of Irish biography. Gill & Macmillan, Dublin 1998.
3. ^ Glenn Collins: Bill Naughton, 81, a British Playwright. In: The New York Times . January 11, 1992. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
4. ^ The 39th Academy Awards 1967 oscars.org. Retrieved February 16, 2015.
5. ↑ Bill Naughton collection ( Memento of the original from April 18, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. boltonmuseums.org.uk. Retrieved February 16, 2015.