Eric Chappell

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eric Chappell
BornEric George Chappell
September 1933
Grantham, Lincolnshire,
England
OccupationScriptwriter
NationalityBritish
Period1973–present
GenreTelevision
Notable worksThe Squirrels (1974–1977)
Rising Damp (1974–1978)
Only When I Laugh (1979–1982)
Misfits (1981)
The Bounder (1982–1983)
Duty Free (1984–1986)
Home to Roost (1985–1990)
Singles (1984–1991)
Natural Causes (1988)
Haggard (1990–1992)
Fiddlers Three (1991)

Eric George Chappell (born September 1933 in Grantham, Lincolnshire) is an English playwright and television comedy writer who wrote and co-wrote a number of the UK's biggest sitcom hits during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Early life[]

Chappell was born in September 1933 in Grantham, Lincolnshire and worked as an auditor for the East Midlands Electricity Board for 22 years. He wrote several novels which were rejected by publishers, before deciding to become a playwright.[1]

Career[]

Chappell wrote the play The Banana Box, which was staged at the Hampstead Theatre Club in 1970 and was later moved to the West End in 1973. This play later became the hit sitcom Rising Damp, which aired on ITV from 1974-1978 and won the 1978 BAFTA for Best Situation Comedy.[2] The Banana Box had a brief run at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York in 1979.[3] A film version of Rising Damp was released in 1980 and won several Evening Standard awards. Chappell went on to write the sitcoms The Squirrels, Only When I Laugh, The Bounder, Duty Free, Singles, Haggard, Home to Roost and Fiddlers Three.[4]

Work[]

Television[]

Plays[]

  • The Banana Box (aka Rising Damp)
  • Dead Reckoning
  • Double Vision
  • False Pretences
  • Father's Day
  • Fiddlers Three
  • Ground Rules
  • Haggard (with Michael Green)
  • Haunted
  • Haywire
  • Heatstroke (aka Snakes and Ladders)
  • It Can Damage Your Health (aka Only When I Laugh)
  • Last of the Duty Free
  • Mixed Feelings
  • Natural Causes
  • Passing Strangers
  • Side Effects
  • Sitting Tenants
  • Something's Burning
  • Summer End
  • The Night in Question
  • Theft
  • Up and Coming
  • We're Strangers Here
  • Wife after Death

Film[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Chappell, Eric". screenonline.org.uk. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  2. ^ "Television: Situation Comedy in 1978". Bafta.org. Retrieved 11 January 2021.
  3. ^ Gussow, Mel (October 2, 1979). "Stage: The Banana Box, On Apartment-Sharing". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2021.
  4. ^ Born: Grantham, Lincs. "Eric Chappell | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 2014-03-25. Retrieved 2014-03-25.


Stub icon

This biographical article related to British television is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

  • v
  • t
Retrieved from ""