John Chapman (screenwriter)


John Roy Chapman was a British actor, playwright and screenwriter, known for his collaborations with Ray Cooney.

Biography

Early life

Born in Acton, John Chapman was the nephew of the actor Edward Chapman; his own father was an engineer. His brother, Paul Chapman, became an actor.
John Chapman trained at RADA, and made his acting debut in Enid Bagnold's National Velvet in 1946.

Early career

Initially a stage manager and understudy at the Whitehall Theatre for the first two years of Reluctant Heroes, the first Whitehall farce, he subsequently spent a few years in weekly rep before returning to Brian Rix's company with his first play. Dry Rot, which is about dishonest bookmakers, had a four-year run with 1,475 performances. Ray Cooney joined the cast in 1956 and first met the author at this time. Chapman followed this production with Simple Spymen, which was staged 1,404 times over a three-year run.
Chapman also wrote screenplays for Rix.

Writing and collaboration with Cooney

Before the production of Simple Spymen closed, Chapman and Cooney had begun their collaboration. Together they wrote Not Now, Darling, Move Over, Mrs. Markham, My Giddy Aunt and There Goes the Bride. Meanwhile, he also wrote extensively for television including episodes of the sitcoms Hugh and I and Happy Ever After, both of which were BBC vehicles for Terry Scott. Fresh Fields, and its sequel French Fields for Thames Television, featured Anton Rodgers and Julia McKenzie in the leads.

Personal life and death

Chapman was married to actress Betty Impey, from Whitehall, and they had four children, Mark, Adam, Justin and Guy. Chapman died from cancer at his home in Périgueux, France, on 3 September 2001, aged 74.

Filmography

Screenwriter