Francis Durbridge

Francis Henry Durbridge (25 November 1912 - April 11, 1998) was a British playwright and author born in Hull.

Biography

Educated at Bradford Grammar School in Yorkshire, he was encouraged to write by his English teacher, and continued to do so whilst studying English at Birmingham University. After graduating in 1933, he worked for a short time as a stockbroker's clerk, before selling a radio play to the BBC at the age of 21.

Related Topics:
Bradford - Yorkshire - Birmingham University - 1933 - BBC

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In 1939, he created the character Paul Temple, a crime novelist and detective. With his wife Steve, a Fleet Street journalist, Temple solved numerous crimes amongst the glamorous world of the leisured middle-classes on radio and, from 1969 until 1971, in a 64-part big-budget television series.

Related Topics:
1939 - Paul Temple - Fleet Street - 1969 - 1971

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He went on to forge a successful career as a writer for the stage, with seven plays, the last of which, Sweet Revenge, was written in 1991.

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He married Norah Lawley, with whom he had two sons, in 1940. He died at his home in Barnes, London in 1998.

Related Topics:
1940 - Barnes - London - 1998

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