Dennis Potter (Estate)

DENNIS POTTER

Dennis Potter, who died from pancreatic cancer in 1994, remains one of Britain’s most acclaimed television playwrights. He also wrote novels, screenplays and stage plays, but it was Potter’s pioneering use of non-naturalism that pushed the frontiers of television drama and brought him widespread recognition as a daring innovator.

Television

He wrote numerous television plays including STAND UP NIGEL BARTON (1965); SON OF MAN (1969); DOUBLE DARE (1976) BRIMSTONE AND TREACLE which was commissioned by the BBC in 1975 but was banned until 1987; BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS (1979) won BAFTA's Best Drama Award in 1979.

Series for television include *PENNIES FROM HEAVEN (1978) which won BAFTA's Best Writer's Award and most Original Production Award (Dennis wrote the screenplay for MGM's motion picture for which he received an Academy Award nomination in 1982);  THE SINGING DETECTIVE with Michael Gambon (1986) was awarded the Gold Medal, Best Mini Series, The New York Film Festival, 1987;  LIPSTICK ON YOUR COLLAR (1993); KARAOKE and COLD LAZARUS (1996).

Stage

Plays include adaptations of his television plays BRIMSTONE AND TREACLE (Sheffield, 1977); SON OF MAN (Roundhouse and RSC 1985), BLUE REMEMBERED HILLS (Royal National Theatre directed by Patrick Marber in 1996). His first original stageplay SUFFICIENT CARBOHYDRATE (Hampstead and the West End, 1983/4) was broadcast as a Screen 2 play  in 1987 under the title VISITORS

Film

He adapted several novels including GORKY PARK (1984) and his original film DREAMCHILD was released in 1985 to critical acclaim.

He was awarded the 1993 Royal Television Society's Gold Medal for outstanding services to Television and a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1993 from the Writer's Guild of Great Britain. In 1995, he received The Writers Guild of America East Lifetime Achievement Award.