Brian Cooke (born 1937) is a British comedy writer who, with co-writer

Johnnie Mortimer John Edward Mortimer (2 July 1930 – 2 September 1992) was a British scriptwriter for British TV whose work, along with creative writing partner Brian Cooke, also served as inspiration for American television projects. Career John Edward ...

, penned scripts for and devised many top 1970s/80s television sitcoms, including '' Man About the House'', '' George and Mildred'', and '' Robin's Nest''. Cooke also wrote and created the 1980s TV sitcom '' Keep It in the Family'', starring Robert Gillespie and the late-1960s/early-1970s sitcom '' Father, Dear Father'' starring

Patrick Cargill Patrick Cargill (3 June 191823 May 1996) was an English actor remembered for his lead role in the British television sitcom ''Father, Dear Father''. Early life Cargill was born to middle-class parents living in Bexhill-on-Sea, Sussex. After edu ...

. ''Man About the House'', ''George and Mildred'', ''Robin's Nest'', and ''Keep It in the Family'' were remade for American television as '' Three's Company'', '' The Ropers'', '' Three's a Crowd'' and '' Too Close for Comfort''.

Early career

He was born in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

- now

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

. Starting off as a cartoonist during his term of national service, he soon began to sell strips to magazines and newspapers. He met Johnnie Mortimer at a cartoonists convention. They also wrote the screenplays for the film version of the play '' No Sex Please, We're British'', and the movie versions of their series ''Man About the House'' and ''Father Dear Father''.

Scriptwriter

Earlier in his career, Cooke was a writer for the last series of the 1960s radio series '' Round the Horne'' and its short-lived successor '' Stop Messing About''. He had much success in 2003-5 when he revived the format for a theatre tribute show, ''Round the Horne ... Revisited'', which ran in the West End for 15 months and spawned three national tours. In 2004, it was made into a television film, with the original London cast, by BBC Four. '' Stop Messing About'' was also turned into a stage play in 2009.

References

External links

* * * (source: BBC)
BBC Four interview with Brian Cooke
1937 births English comedy writers English television writers British male television writers Living people Writers from Liverpool British television producers {{UK-screenwriter-stub