Denis Cannan (14 May 1919 – 25 September 2011) was a British dramatist, playwright and script writer. Born Denis Pullein-Thompson, the son of Captain Harold J. Pullein-Thompson and novelist Joanna Cannan, he changed his name by deed poll in 1964. His younger sisters were Josephine Pullein-Thompson, Diana Pullein-Thompson and Christine Pullein-Thompson.

Life and career

Denis Pullein-Thompson was born in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, he was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

.''Who's Who 2007'' After attending Eton he worked as an actor, before joining the Queen's Royal Regiment of West Surrey when the Second World War broke out, rising to the rank of captain and being mentioned in dispatches. He, as Denis Cannan, became a successful playwright and screenwriter known for his comedies. Apart from the plays listed below, he has written several screenplays for television and radio, also adaptions for television series. With Christopher Fry he adapted '' The Beggar's Opera'' for the 1953 film starring

Laurence Olivier Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier ( ; 22 May 1907 – 11 July 1989) was an English actor and director. He and his contemporaries Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud made up a trio of male actors who dominated the British stage of the m ...

. He also wrote the screenplay for the 1963 fim, Tamahine, which should be compared in theme to The French Mistress, from 1960, (itself adapted from the 1955 play). Cannan was married to Joan Ross in 1946; the couple had two sons and a daughter. The marriage was dissolved, and he later remarried, to Rose Evansky in 1965.Denis Cannan (obituary)
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The Telegraph ''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are often names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include: Australia * The Telegraph (Adelaide), ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaid ...

'', 2 November 2011. Denis Cannan died on 25 September 2011, at the age of 92.Denis Cannan (obituary)
''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 17 October 2011)

Selected plays

* '' Captain Carvallo'' (1950) * ''Misery Me!'' (1955) * ''The Power and the Glory'' (adaptation) (1956) * '' US'' (1966) * ''Colombe'' * '' Dear Daddy'' * ''Ibsen's Ghosts'' (adaptation) * ''Max'' * ''One At Night'' * '' The Ik'' (adaptation) * ''You and Your Wife'' * ''Who's Your Father?''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannan, Denis 1919 births 2011 deaths British Army personnel of World War II People educated at Eton College Writers from Oxford Place of death missing British male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British dramatists and playwrights 20th-century British male writers Queen's Royal Regiment officers