Colin Welland
Colin Welland (born July 4, 1934 in Liverpool , Lancashire , now Greater Manchester , England , † November 2, 2015 in London , England), actually Colin Williams , was a British screenwriter , actor and art teacher.
Life
Colin Welland came from a humble background and studied at Goldsmiths College . He first worked as an art teacher for a few years before he came to television in 1962 and took on the role of a police officer in the series Z-Cars . Also in 1962 he married Patricia Sweeney, with whom he would later have four children. He made his first film experience as an actor in the 1969 film Kes , for which he received the British Film Award for Best Supporting Actor in 1971 . His script for the television series Play for Today also received an award . In 1970, 1973 and 1974 he was voted the UK's best television screenwriter.
In 1979 he played a child in the TV movie Blue Remembered Hills and frolicked through forests and fields in shorts.
In the same year Welland worked as a writer for John Schlesinger . After the success of Yanks - We Were Strangers Yesterday , he decided to focus on scriptwriting. In 1981 he won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for The Winner's Hour .
Welland suffered from Alzheimer's disease and died on November 2, 2015 at the age of 81.
Filmography (selection)
actor
- 1962–1965: Task Force Police (TV series, 87 episodes)
- 1969: Jackanory (TV series, five episodes)
- 1969: Kes
- 1971: They mess everything up (Villain)
- 1971: Who sows violence (Straw Dogs)
- 1973: Love at 50 (TV movie)
- 1975: The foxes (The Sweeney)
- 1977: Code name Sweeney (Sweeney!)
- 1980–1981: Cowboys (TV series, 13 episodes)
- 1990: The Night Before (Dancin 'Thru the Dark)
- 1997: A child goes missing (Trial and Retribution)
Screenwriter
- 1979: Yanks - Yesterday we were strangers (Yanks)
- 1981: The Victory's Hour (Chariots of Fire)
- 1985: Twice in a Lifetime
- 1989: A Dry White Season (A Dry White Season)
- 1994: War of the Buttons
Awards
- 1971: British film award for the screenplay of Play for Today and for best actor in Kes
- 1981: Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for The Winner's Hour
Web links
- Colin Welland in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Danny Boyle: Colin Welland, Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire writer and actor, dies at 81. In: telegraph.co.uk. The Telegraph , November 3, 2015, accessed November 3, 2015.
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Welland, Colin |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Williams, Colin (real name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British screenwriter and actor |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 4th July 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Liverpool , Lancashire , now Greater Manchester , England |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 2, 2015 |
| Place of death | London , England |