Dennis Potter

Dennis Christopher George Potter (May 17, 1935 – June 7, 1994) was a controversial British dramatist who is best known for several widely acclaimed television dramas which mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.

Psoriasis

During the early 1960s, Potter began to suffer from an acute form of psoriasis known as psoriatic arthropathy, a rare hereditary condition that affected his skin and caused arthritis in his joints. There is some indication that this disease is the one the Bible refers to as "leprosy" (which is not Hansen's disease). For the rest of his life, Potter was frequently in hospital, sometimes completely unable to move and in great pain. The disease eventually ruined his hands, reducing them to what he called "clubs". He had to learn to write by strapping a pen to his hand.

Related Topics:
1960s - Psoriasis - Arthritis

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In February 1994, Potter learned that he had terminal cancer of the pancreas and liver. With typical sardonic humour, he named his cancer Rupert, after Rupert Murdoch, who represented so much that he hated about British society. He continued to care for his wife suffering from the breast cancer that was to kill her, and then he died a week after her.

Related Topics:
1994 - Cancer - Pancreas - Liver - Rupert Murdoch - Breast cancer

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