Tom McGrath (playwright)
Tom McGrath (born October 23, 1940 in Rutherglen , Glasgow , † April 29, 2009 in Edinburgh ) was a Scottish playwright .
biography
In the mid-1960s, McGrath was closely associated with the burgeoning London underground scene . He participated in Alexander Trocchi's "Project Sigma", worked for the peace magazine "Peace News" and was a co-founder of the International Times .
In the early 1970s he worked with Billy Connolly on the Great Northern Welly Boot Show . From 1974 to 1977 he was director of the Third Eye Center (named under the influence of Sri Chinmoy ), a counterculture arts center in Glasgow, where he organized numerous jazz concerts.
During this time he wrote the popular play Laurel and Hardy . In 1977 he worked with Jimmy Boyle (then just released from prison where he had been sentenced to murder) on The Hard Man, about Boyle's life. In the autobiographical play The Innocent (1979) McGrath reflected on his drug addiction in the 1960s.
Tom McGrath died of liver cancer at the age of 68.
In 2011 the Tom McGrath Trust was founded in honor of Tom McGrath.
Web links
- Tom McGrath Trust (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Obituary for Tom McGrath . The Guardian, May 1, 2009
- ↑ Review of "Laurel and Hardy" on Laurelandhardy.org (English)
- ^ Growing Old with Laurel and Hardy . Review of “Laurel and Hardy” on Scotsman.com, April 17, 2005 (English)
- ↑ Web presence of the Tom McGrath Trust, see web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | McGrath, Tom |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Scottish playwright and musician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 23, 1940 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Glasgow Rutherglen (constituency, Scotland) |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 29, 2009 |
| Place of death | Edinburgh , Scotland |