Irene Shubik (26 December 1929 – 26 September 2019) was a British television producer and story editor, known for her contribution to the development of the single play in British

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional te ...

. Beginning her career in television at

ABC Weekend TV ABC Television Limited, popularly known as ABC Weekend TV, was a British broadcaster which provided the weekend service in the Midlands and Northern England regions of the Independent Television (ITV) network from 1956 to 1968. It was one of ...

, she worked on ''

Armchair Theatre ''Armchair Theatre'' is a British television drama anthology series of single plays that ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by ABC Weekend TV. Its successor Thames Television took over from mid-1968. The Ca ...

'' as a story editor, where she devised the

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

anthology series '' Out of this World''. Moving to the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, she briefly worked as a story editor before being promoted to producer, creating the science fiction

anthology television series An anthology series is a written series, radio program, radio, television show, television, film series, film, or video game series that presents a different story and a different set of characters in each different episode, Season (television) ...

Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction and horror anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were dramatisations of s ...

''. Leaving ''Out of the Unknown'' after two seasons, Shubik co-produced ''

The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramatic ...

'', overseeing its transition into ''

Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...

'' in 1970. She left the BBC in 1976, and subsequently produced the first season of ''

Rumpole of the Bailey ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer. It starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, a middle-aged London barrister who defended a broad variety of clients, ...

'' for

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

before joining

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire on weekdays only, as ABC Weekend TV, ...

where she produced ''

Staying On ''Staying On'' is a novel by Paul Scott which was published by University of Chicago Press in 1977. It was the recipient of the 1977 Booker Prize. Background Paul Scott started writing his novel which was concluded and published in 1977. The ...

'' and devised '' The Jewel in the Crown''. She also wrote film scripts and a novel, ''The War Guest''.

Early life and career

Irene Shubik was born in 1929 in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, England, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, located mainly in the London Borough of Camden, with a small part in the London Borough of Barnet. It borders Highgate and Golders Green to the north, Belsiz ...

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 ...

to a

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n-born

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish father Joseph Shubik, who worked for a Scottish textile company and a French Jewish mother, Sara (née Soloveychik). When

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out in 1939, she was evacuated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with her mother and Martin, her brother.Ward, ''Out of the Unknown'', p. 9. She read

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from the English-speaking world. The English language has developed over more than 1,400 years. The earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian languages, Anglo-Frisian d ...

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

, obtaining an MA in “The Use of English History in Drama from 1599-1642”.Shubik, ''Play for Today'', p. ix. Uninterested in a career in academia, she applied to join the

but was turned down. Unable to obtain work, she moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, visiting her brother, the

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

Martin Shubik Martin Shubik (1926–2018) was an American mathematical economist who specialized in game theory, defense analysis, and the theory of money. The latter was his main research interest and he referred to it as his "white whale". He also coined th ...

, who was teaching at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. Meeting with little success in building a career in Princeton, when her brother was called before the Dean of the University for keeping a woman in his quarters, she moved to Wilmette,

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

where her other brother,

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

researcher Philippe Shubik, was based. She joined the film department of the ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

'', who were impressed by her MA thesis, where Shubik worked as a scriptwriter. Shubik was subsequently offered a twelve-month contract with the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

but was unable to take up the position as both of her parents had become seriously ill.

Television career

With ABC Weekend TV

By 1960, now back in England, Shubik's career was back at square one. She contributed occasional scripts to documentary series such as

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

's '' This Week'' before securing employment at

.Vahimage, ''Irene Shubik (1935 - )''. At ABC, she worked as a

story editor Story editor is a job title in motion picture and television production, also sometimes called supervising producer. The responsibilities of the story editor vary depending on the production; this article describes the duties the role most commo ...

for producer

Sydney Newman Sydney Cecil Newman (; April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian producer and screenwriter who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, he was app ...

on the

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

series ''

'', overseeing such plays as ''Where I Live'' by

Clive Exton Clive Exton (11 April 1930 – 16 August 2007) was a British television and film screenwriter who wrote scripts for the series '' Poirot'', ''Jeeves and Wooster'' and '' Rosemary & Thyme''.A Night Out'' by

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

and ''After The Funeral'' by

Alun Owen Alun Davies Owen (24 November 1925 – 6 December 1994) was a Welsh playwright, screenwriter and actor, predominantly in television. However, he is best remembered by a wider audience for writing the screenplay of The Beatles' debut feature f ...

. An enthusiast of

, while working on ''Armchair Theatre'' she oversaw ''Murder Club'', an adaptation of

Robert Sheckley Robert Sheckley (July 16, 1928 – December 9, 2005) was an American writer. First published in the science-fiction magazines of the 1950s, his many quick-witted stories and novels were famously unpredictable, Absurdist fiction, absurdist, and ...

’s novel ''Seventh Victim''. Its success enabled her to persuade Newman to develop a science fiction version of ''Armchair Theatre'' – this became '' Out of This World'', a thirteen part anthology series, hosted by

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

, that aired between 30 June 1962 and 22 September 1962. Many of the stories featured in ''Out of this World'' were adaptations of stories by science fiction authors including

Isaac Asimov Isaac Asimov ( ; – April 6, 1992) was an Russian-born American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. H ...

, Philip K. Dick and Clifford D. Simak.

At the BBC

When Sydney Newman was poached by the BBC to head up their drama department in late 1962, he invited Shubik to join him. Accepting the offer, on the condition that she be promoted to producer within a year, Shubik joined the BBC in 1963 and became the story editor for ''Story Parade'', an anthology series of adaptations of modern novels that was intended to be the main drama strand for the new channel

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

due to be launched in 1964. One of the best-received installments of ''Story Parade'' that Shubik worked was an adaptation of

's 1954 novel '' The Caves of Steel'' starring

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

. Just as the success of “Murder Club” had enabled Shubik to persuade Newman to commission ''Out of this World'', so ''The Caves of Steel''’s positive reception opened the door for Shubik to devise a similar anthology series for BBC2 called ''

'', on which Shubik acted as story editor and producer. Like ''Out of this World'', under Shubik's stewardship ''Out of the Unknown'' concentrated mainly on adaptations of science fiction stories including works by

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist and short-story writer, satirist and essayist known for psychologically provocative works of fiction that explore the relations between human psychology, technology, s ...

and Isaac Asimov (of whom Shubik was a particular fan, commissioning adaptations of six of his works for ''Out of the Unknown'', once commenting that he was "one of the most interesting and amusing men I have ever met"). Among the most notable productions were adaptations of

Kate Wilhelm Kate Wilhelm (June 8, 1928 – March 8, 2018) was an American author. She wrote novels and stories in the science fiction, mystery, and suspense genres, including the Hugo Award–winning '' Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang''. Wilhelm establish ...

’s ''Andover and the Android'', John Brunner’s ''Some Lapse of Time'', E.M. Forster’s '' The Machine Stops'' and Mordecai Roshwald’s '' Level 7''. The adaptation of ''The Machine Stops'' won the first prize at the Fifth ''Festival Internazionale del Film di Fantascienza'' (''International Science Fiction Film Festival'') in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital and largest city of the Regions of Italy#Autonomous regions with special statute, autonomous region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, as well as of the Province of Trieste, ...

on 17 July 1967. In parallel with producing the second season of ''

'', Shubik produced '' Thirteen Against Fate'', a series of adaptations of short crime stories by ''

Maigret Jules Maigret (), or simply Maigret, is a fictional French police detective, a '' commissaire'' ("commissioner") of the Paris ''Brigade Criminelle'' ('' Direction Régionale de la Police Judiciaire de Paris:36, Quai des Orfèvres''), created ...

'' creator

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 12/13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer who created the fictional detective Jules Maigret. One of the most prolific and successful authors of the 20th century, he published around 400 ...

broadcast between 19 June 1966 and 11 September 1966. In 1967, as she began work assembling scripts for the third season of ''Out of the Unknown'', Shubik accepted the chance to take over as co-producer (with Graeme MacDonald) of ''

'',

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...

’s premier drama slot, producing such plays as Tony Parker's “Mrs Lawrence Will Look After It”,

William Trevor William Trevor Cox (24 May 1928 – 20 November 2016) was an Irish novelist, playwright, and short story writer. One of the elder statesmen of the Irish literary world, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest contemporary writers of sho ...

's “A Night With Mrs Ta Danka” and Peter Terson's “The Last Train Through the Harecastle Tunnel”. In 1970, she oversaw the transition of ''The Wednesday Play'' into ''

''. The most well received play she oversaw for ''Play for Today'' was Jeremy Sandford's "

Edna, the Inebriate Woman "Edna, the Inebriate Woman" is the second episode of the second season of the BBC anthology TV series ''Play for Today'', originally broadcast on 21 October 1971. ''Edna, the Inebriate Woman'' was written by Jeremy Sandford, directed by Ted Kotc ...

", which was later ranked 57th in the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

's list of the

100 Greatest British Television Programmes The BFI TV 100 is a list of 100 television programmes or series that was compiled in 2000 by the British Film Institute (BFI), as chosen by a poll of industry professionals, with the aim to determine the best British television programmes of any ...

published in 2000. However, ''Edna''s writer Jeremy Sandford later wrote that Shubik seemed to "sabotage" the effectiveness of the play influencing policy makers in her 1975 book on television drama by questioning the veracity of its content. Moving on from ''Play for Today'' she oversaw an adaptation of

Thomas Hardy Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Literary realism, Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, including the poetry ...

’s ''

Wessex Tales ''Wessex Tales'' is an 1888 collection of tales written by English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy, many of which are set before Hardy's birth in 1840. In the various short stories, Hardy writes of the true nature of nineteenth-century marria ...

'' in 1973 before taking on the role of producer on another anthology series called '' The Mind Beyond'', a spin-off from the '' Playhouse'' series of single plays.

Return to Independent Television

One of the plays Shubik produced for ''Play for Today'' was

John Mortimer Sir John Clifford Mortimer (21 April 1923 – 16 January 2009) was a British barrister, dramatist, screenwriter and author. He is best known for short stories about a barrister named Horace Rumpole, adapted from episodes of the TV series '' R ...

’s “

” (broadcast 17 December 1975), starring

Leo McKern Reginald "Leo" McKern (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notable roles include Clang in ...

as the eponymous barrister. He was cast at Shubik's insistence, while Mortimer had expressed a strong preference for

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern (3 October 19112 May 1995) was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death ...

. McKern greatly enjoyed playing the role and had indicated it was a part to which he would be interested in returning. Shubik commissioned six new ''Rumpole'' scripts from John Mortimer with a view to making a series but a change of senior personnel in the BBC led to the project being put on hold. In late 1976, at the invitation of

Verity Lambert Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer. Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...

, Shubik departed the BBC for

and brought the ''Rumpole'' scripts with her. Shubik produced the first season of ''Rumpole of the Bailey'' in 1978 and commissioned the scripts for the second. "I wouldn’t say the BBC threw away a pearl richer than all its tribe, but it has mislaid a tasty box of kippers", wrote

Nancy Banks-Smith Nancy Banks-Smith (born 1929) is a British TV critic, television and radio critic, who spent most of her career writing for ''The Guardian''. Life and career Born in Manchester and raised in a pub, she was educated at Roedean School. Banks-Smith ...

in ''

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 ...

''.Shubik, ''Play for Today'', p. 195 She left Thames for

, her professional relationship with Lambert having seriously deteriorated, where she was hired to produce an adaptation of Paul Scott’s '' Raj Quartet''. When Granada got cold feet about the scale of the project and the cost of filming in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, Shubik suggested that she produce an adaptation of Scott's ''

'' as a pilot. ''Staying On'' was made in 1980 and put stars

Trevor Howard Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith (29 September 1913 – 7 January 1988) was an English stage and screen actor. After varied work in the theatre, he achieved leading man star status in the film '' Brief Encounter'' (1945), followed by '' The Third M ...

and

Celia Johnson Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson (18 December 1908 – 26 April 1982) was an English actress, whose career included stage, television and film. She is especially known for her roles in the films ''In Which We Serve'' (1942), ''This Happy Breed ...

together on screen again for the first time since ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British Romance film#Romantic drama, romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life (play), Still Life''. The film stars Celia Johnson and ...

''. Its success led Granada to give the go ahead to the '' Raj Quartet'', which was filmed as '' The Jewel in the Crown'' and became one of Granada's most celebrated productions, placed twenty-second in the British Film Institute's 100 Greatest British Television Programmes. Shubik did not produce ''The Jewel in the Crown'', having moved on to write the screenplay for the film ''Girl on a Swing'' for

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

, but, having worked extensively on the fourteen scripts, was given a “devised by” credit at the start of each episode.

Other work

Shubik was the author of ''Play for Today: The evolution of television drama'', an autobiographical account of the development of the single play in British television which has become a standard reference work on the subject. The first edition appeared in 1975 and a revised second edition, incorporating new material on ''Rumpole of the Bailey'', ''Staying On'' and ''The Jewel in the Crown'', appeared in 2001. She also wrote the novel ''The War Guest'' (W.H. Allen, 1986). In 1992, Shubik was chairman of the judges for the Best Drama Serial category for that year's

British Academy Television Awards The BAFTA TV Awards, or British Academy Television Awards, are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. They have been awarded annually since 1955. Background The first-ever Awards, given in ...

(BAFTAs). The award was presented to ''

Prime Suspect ''Prime Suspect'' is a British police procedural television series devised by Lynda La Plante. Broadcast on ITV between 1991 and 2006, it stars Helen Mirren as Jane Tennison, one of the first female Detective Chief Inspectors in Greater Lo ...

'', but following the ceremony four of the other seven members of the jury signed a public statement declaring that they had voted for '' G.B.H.'' to win. Shubik, who as chairman did not cast a vote, refused to publicly comment on the affair, but BAFTA Chairman Richard Price stated that the ballot papers passed on to him by Shubik had shown four votes for ''Prime Suspect'' and three for ''G.B.H.''. Price claimed that the ballot papers could not be recounted as they had subsequently been destroyed. No blame was ever attached to Shubik by the four judges, and it was to her that they had initially turned to raise the apparent discrepancy with BAFTA. Jeremy Sandford pointed to Shubik's feud with Verity Lambert (who was the executive producer of ''G.B.H.'') as an explanation for the incident.

Production credits

Notes

References

* * *

External links

*
Biography at BFI Screenonline
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shubik, Irene 1929 births 2019 deaths Alumni of University College London BBC television producers British Jews British people of French descent British people of Russian-Jewish descent British television producers British women television producers People from Hampstead