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John Elliot (author)

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John Elliot
Born(1918-07-04)4 July 1918
Castle Hill, England
Died14 August 1997(1997-08-14) (aged 79)
Clifton, England
OccupationScreenwriter and television producer.
Period1954–1993
GenreDrama, adventure, science fiction
SpouseElizabeth Haynes (m. 1945)
Childrentwo daughters, and one son (deceased)

John Herbert Elliot (4 July 1918 – 14 August 1997) was a British novelist, screenwriter, director, and television producer[1] active from 1954 to 1993. Between 1954 and 1960, he scripted a succession of one-off television plays including War in the Air and A Man from the Sun.[2][3] A Man from the Sun was a pioneering work aimed at a West Indian audience.[4] In 1961, he collaborated with astronomer Fred Hoyle to write the groundbreaking TV science fiction serial, A For Andromeda. The success of A For Andromeda prompted a sequel, The Andromeda Breakthrough, in 1962.[5]

Following Andromeda, Elliot wrote more one-off plays for the BBC. He resigned from the corporation in 1963, though he would later work with them again, producing a concept for the 1965 drama series Mogul (renamed. The Troubleshooters from the second series) and later being credited as a writer on various episodes of the show.[6]

His other works include programs such as Fall of Eagles and Survival, as well as novels, namely Duel and Blood Upon the Snow. He additionally worked with Fred Hoyle to produce novelisations of A For Andromeda and "The Andromeda Breakthrough".[7]

Writing credits

[edit]
Production Notes Broadcaster
War in the Air
  • 15 episodes (1954–1955)
BBC1
A Man from the Sun
  • Television film (1956)
BBC1
Television Playwright
  • "High Fidelity" (1959)
BBC1
Who Pays the Piper?
  • Television film (1960)
BBC1
BBC Sunday-Night Play
  • "Off Centre" (1961)
BBC1
They Met in a City
  • "Ladies from a Spa" (1961)
BBC1
A for Andromeda BBC1
The Andromeda Breakthrough
  • 6 episodes (co-written with Fred Hoyle, 1962)
BBC1
Maigret
  • "Death in Mind" (1962)
BBC1
First Night
  • "The Youngest Profession" (1963)
  • "Hunt the Man" (1964)
BBC1
Love Story
  • "The Truth Game" (1964)
ITV
Z-Cars
  • "A Morning's Sport" (1965)
BBC1
Mogul
  • 20 episodes (1965–1970)
BBC1
Rainbow City
  • "What Sort of a Boy?" (1967)
  • "Why You Marry?" (1967)
  • "A Better Fortune" (1967)
  • "Always on Sunday" (1967)
BBC1
A Stranger on the Hills
  • Television film (1970)
BBC1
BBC Play of the Month
  • "Platonov" (1971)
BBC1
Brett
  • "The Saxby Route" (1971)
BBC1
Play for Today
  • "Better Than the Movies" (1972)
  • "The Chief Mourner" (1979)
BBC1
The Shadow of the Tower
  • "The White Hart" (1972)
BBC2
Shelley
  • Television film (1972)
BBC2
The Fox
  • Television film (1973)
BBC2
Fall of Eagles
  • Television miniseries (1974)
BBC1
The Double Dealers
  • "Come in Number One" (1974)
BBC2
The Madness
  • Television film (1976)
BBC2
According to Hoyle
  • Television film (1977)
BBC2
A Life at Stake
  • "So, Who's Sick?" (1978)
BBC
Spy!
  • "The Murder Machine" (1980)
  • "The Venlo Incident" (1980)
BBC1
Escape
  • "Hijack to Mogadishu" (1980)
BBC2
The Brack Report
  • "Chapter 3" (1982)
  • "Chapter 4" (1982)
  • "Chapter 9" (1982)
ITV
Natural World
  • "Man Eaters of India" (1986)
BBC
Flying for Fun: An Affair with an Aeroplane
  • Television film (1987)
BBC1
A Chance to Dance
  • Television film (1993)
ITV
A for Andromeda
  • Television film (2006)
BBC

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year Award Work Category Result Reference
1960 Society of Film and Television Arts Awards Television Special Won
1971 British Academy Television Awards The Troubleshooters Shell International Award Won

Books by John Elliot

[edit]
  • A for Andromeda (with Fred Hoyle), 1962, Souvenir Press, ISBN 978-0-285-63588-3
  • Andromeda Breakthrough (with Fred Hoyle), 1964, Souvenir Press; 1966, Corgi Books
  • MOGUL: The Making of a Myth, 1970, Barrie & Jenkins

Further reading

[edit]
  • MacKenzie, S. (2006), "War in the Air : Churchill, the Air Ministry and the BBC response to Victory at Sea", Contemporary British History

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "John Elliot". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  2. ^ "The Fated Sky, War in the Air". BBC.
  3. ^ "Obituary: John Elliot". Independent.co.uk. 22 August 1997.
  4. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Man From The Sun, A (1956)". screenonline.org.uk.
  5. ^ "BFI Screenonline: A For Andromeda (1961)". screenonline.org.uk.
  6. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Mogul/Troubleshooters, The (1965-72)". screenonline.org.uk.
  7. ^ NA, NA (5 March 2016). Writers Directory. Springer. ISBN 9781349036509 – via Google Books.
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