Bill Naughton

For other people with the same name, see William Naughton.
Bill Naughton
Born (1910-06-12)12 June 1910
Ireland
Died 9 January 1992(1992-01-09) (aged 81)
Isle of Man
Occupation Playwright, screenwriter, novelist
Genre Fiction

William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton (12 June 1910 – 9 January 1992) was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.[1]

Early life

Born in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland, he moved to Bolton, Lancashire, England, in 1914 as a child. There he attended Saint Peter and Paul's School, and worked as a weaver, coal-bagger and lorry-driver before he started writing.[1]

Writing career

Although best remembered for his play, Alfie, mostly because of the British film starring Michael Caine in the eponymous role, Naughton was a prolific writer of plays, novels, short stories and children's books. His preferred environment was working class society, which is reflected in much of his written work.

In addition to Alfie, at least two of his other plays have been made into feature films. These are Spring and Port Wine, which had James Mason starring in the role of Rafe Crompton, and All in Good Time, filmed as The Family Way, which starred John Mills. His novel Alfie Darling, the sequel to his earlier novel and play, was also filmed, with Alan Price succeeding Michael Caine in the lead role.

His work also includes the novel One Small Boy (1957), and the collection of short stories The Goalkeeper's Revenge: And Other Stories (1961). His 1977 children's novel My Pal Spadger is an account of his childhood in 1920s Bolton.

Many of his plays were performed at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton town centre. An 85-seat adaptable studio theatre within the Octagon is named after him.

Awards

During his lifetime, he received the following awards:

Death

Naughton died in 1992, aged 81, in Ballasalla on the Isle of Man. A "Bill Naughton Short Story Competition", administered by The Kenny/Naughton Autumn School, was named in his honour.[2][3]

Bibliography

Plays

Novels

Collections

Short stories

Autobiography

References

  1. 1 2 Glenn Collins (11 January 1992). "Bill Naughton, 81, a British Playwright Who Created 'Alfie'". New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  2. ↑ The Bill Naughton Short Story Competition, 2008, retrieved 2 June 2010
  3. ↑ GLENN COLLINS (11 January 1992). "Bill Naughton, 81, a British Playwright Who Created 'Alfie'". New York Times. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  4. ↑ A Goalkeeper's revenge and other stories, retrieved 27 January 2012

External links

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