Mary Diana Morgan (29 May 1908 – 9 December 1996) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and novelist, mostly associated with her work for

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

as Diana Morgan. She was married to fellow screenwriter Robert MacDermot.

Career

Mary Diana Morgan was born in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales on 29 May 1908. She studied at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art. Her London stage debut was in

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' called "a sense of personal style, a combination of c ...

's ''

Cavalcade A cavalcade is a procession or parade on horseback, or a mass distance ride by a company of riders. Sometimes the focus of a cavalcade is participation rather than display and the participants do not wear costumes or ride in formation. ...

'' at the

Theatre Royal, Drury Lane The Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, commonly known as Drury Lane, is a West End theatre and listed building, Grade I listed building in Covent Garden, London, England. The building faces Catherine Street (earlier named Bridges or Brydges Street) an ...

in 1931.Adam Benedic
Obituary: Diana Morgan
''The Independent'', 6 January 1997 On 8 September 1934, she married Robert MacDermot Barbour (born 1910 in

Poona Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, India), who would become Head of BBC TV Drama in 1948. They had a son, Richard Morgan Derry MacDermot Barbour. After their marriage, they began writing as a partnership. Their early work was for the London stage and included a full revue in 1938 at the

London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survi ...

, ''Black and Blue'', starring Frances Day, Vic Oliver and Max Wall. Morgan and MacDermot were later hired by stage director Norman Marshall, who was impressed with their witty and satirical scripts. Their task was to write a stage show for Hermione Gingold. Although slow to begin, the show was a great success, selling out for its eight-week run. Morgan and MacDermot would go on to write the stage shows, ''Lets Face It!'' (1939) and ''Swinging the Gate'' (1940), as well as many revues for the West End and the outlying club theatres. In the 1940s Morgan wrote several plays including a ''House in the Square'' (1940) and ''Rain before Seven'' (1949). Also during the 1940s, Morgan made significant script contributions to several Ealing screenplays. She is currently better known for her screenplays than her stage work. A contract writer, her film work included '' Went the Day Well?'' (1942) and additional dialogue for '' A Run for Your Money'' (1949). In 1960 she scripted

Philip Leacock Philip David Charles Leacock (8 October 1917 – 14 July 1990) was an English television and film director and producer. His brother was documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock. Career Born in London, England, Leacock spent his childhood in the ...

's film '' Hand in Hand'' about a Roman Catholic child and his Jewish friend, for which she won several international awards. Her television work included '' Emergency – Ward 10'' and its spin-off ''Call Oxbridge 2000'', while she also made contributions to radio and wrote two novels: ''Delia'' (1974) and ''Thomas the Fish''.

Death

MacDermot died in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 21 November 1964. Morgan died in

Northwood, Middlesex Northwood is an area in the London Borough of Hillingdon, North West London, located northwest of Charing Cross. Northwood was part of the ancient parish of Ruislip, Middlesex. The area was situated on the historic Middlesex boundary with Hert ...

on 9 December 1996, at the age of 88.

Notable stage work

*''Bats In The Belfry'' (1937) *''Transatlantic Lullaby'' (1939) * ''Black & Blue'' Revue – Frances Day (1939) *''Let's Face it!'' (1939) *''A House in the Square'' (1940) *''Three Waltzes'' (1945) *''My Sex Right or Wrong'' (1947) *''Swinging the Gate'' (1950) *''Everyman'' (1952) *''After my Fashion'' (1952) *''The Starcross Story'' (1953) *''I"ll Take the High Road...'' (1956) *''Your Obedient Servant'' (1960) *''Rain Before Seven'' (1960) *''Time to Kill'' (1961) *''Hand in Hand'' (1963) *''Little evenings'' (1971) *''My Cousin Rachel'' (1980) (based in the novel ''

My Cousin Rachel ''My Cousin Rachel'' is a Gothic novel written by English author Daphne du Maurier, published in 1951. Bearing thematic similarities to her earlier and more famous novel ''Rebecca'', it is a mystery-romance, set primarily on a large estate i ...

'' by

Daphne Du Maurier Dame Daphne du Maurier, Lady Browning, (; 13 May 1907 – 19 April 1989) was an English novelist, biographer and playwright. Her parents were actor-manager Gerald du Maurier, Sir Gerald du Maurier and his wife, actress Muriel Beaumont. Her gra ...

)

Notable film work

*'' Go to Blazes'' (short, 1942) *'' Went the Day Well?'' (1943) *'' Pink String and Sealing Wax'' (1945) *'' A Run for Your Money'' (1949) * ''

Poet's Pub ''Poet's Pub'' is a 1949 British second feature ('B') comedy film directed by Frederick Wilson and starring Derek Bond, Rona Anderson and James Robertson Justice. It was written by Diana Morgan based on the 1929 novel of the same title ...

'' (1949) *''

Dance Hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

'' (1950) *'' Hand in Hand'' (1960)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Diana 1908 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Welsh dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Welsh screenwriters 20th-century Welsh women writers 20th-century Welsh actresses 20th-century Welsh novelists Writers from Cardiff Welsh satirists Welsh women screenwriters Welsh stage actresses Welsh women dramatists and playwrights British women satirists British humorists British women humorists Alumni of the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Welsh television writers Welsh romantic fiction writers British women television writers Welsh women novelists