Ray Galton | |
|---|---|
 Galton in 1964 | |
| Born | Raymond Percy Galton (1930-07-17)17 July 1930 Paddington, London, England |
| Died | 5 October 2018(2018-10-05) (aged 88) Paddington, London, England |
| Occupation | Scriptwriter |
| Period | 1954–1997 |
| Genre | Television |
| Notable works | Hancock's Half Hour,Hancock (1954–1961) Comedy Playhouse (1961–63, 1974) Steptoe and Son (1962–74). |
| Spouse | Tonia Phillips (1956–95, her death)[1] |
Raymond Percy Galton (17 July 1930 – 5 October 2018) was an English radio and television scriptwriter. He was best known as part of theGalton and Simpson comedy writing partnership withAlan Simpson. Together they devised and wrote 1950s and 60sBBCsitcoms includingHancock's Half Hour (1954–1961), the first two series ofComedy Playhouse (1961–1963), andSteptoe and Son (1962–1974).
Galton was born inPaddington,West London, and after leaving school he worked for theTransport and General Workers Union. He contractedtuberculosis aged 18 in 1948 and was admitted to Milford Sanatorium nearGodalming inSurrey, where he met fellow patient Alan Simpson.[2][3][4]
Alan Simpson retired from scriptwriting in 1978 to concentrate on his business interests. Galton then often worked withJohnny Speight on scripts, includingSpooner's Patch (1979–1982) about a corrupt police station. He also wrote scripts for sitcoms produced in Germany and Scandinavia. He co-wrote the ITV seriesRoom at the Bottom (1986–1988) about television executives. His last sitcom wasGet Well Soon in 1997 which he co-created withJohn Antrobus and which was based on his own experiences in a sanatorium. In October 2005, Galton and Antrobus premiered their playSteptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane at the Theatre Royal, York. The play was set in the present day and related the events that led to Harold killing his father, and their eventual meeting thirty years later (Albert appearing as a ghost).
Galton won two BAFTA awards among many others such as a British Comedy Award. He accepted an OBE in 2000 and he and Simpson received aBAFTA Fellowship on 8 May 2016.[5]
Galton married Tonia Phillips in 1956, and they had three children; she died from cancer in 1995.[1] He died on 5 October 2018. Galton's family said he died in his sleep at a family home after a long period suffering fromdementia.[6]
His Manager Tessa Le Bars said in a statement, "I have had the great honour of working with Ray for over 50 years and for the last 40 as his manager and friend. With his lifelong co-writer, the late Alan Simpson, they were regarded as the Fathers and creators of British sitcom. The end of an iconic era, but the legacy ofHancock's Half Hour,Steptoe and Son and over 600 scripts is huge. They will endure, inspire and bring laughter to the nation for evermore".[7]
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