Julian Penkivil Slade (28 May 1930 – 17 June 2006) was an English writer of

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

, best known for the show '' Salad Days'', which he wrote in six weeks in 1954, and which became the UK's longest-running show of the 1950s, with over 2,288 performances.

Biography

Born 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 ...

, England, in 1930, he moved with his family in 1940 to

Painswick Painswick is a town and civil parish in the Stroud District in Gloucestershire, England. Originally the town grew from the wool trade, but it is now best known for its parish church's Taxus baccata, yew trees and the local Painswick House, Pain ...

, Gloucestershire, where he spent his formative years, becoming a young member of the village dramatic society. 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 ...

and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, where he was the first Footlights Vice President. After leaving Cambridge he went on to the drama school at the

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

. During his time at the Old Vic, Slade wrote incidental music for several productions including '' Two Gentlemen of Verona'' and '' The Duenna''. In 1954, he was asked to write a musical for the Old Vic Summer Season. It was then that he came up with '' Salad Days'' with

Dorothy Reynolds Dorothy Reynolds (26 January 1913 – 7 April 1977) was a British writer and actress. She is mainly known for writing a number of musicals in collaboration with Julian Slade. The best known were '' Salad Days'' and '' Free as Air''. Filmograph ...

. The show was such a success that it moved to London, where it ran for over 2,288 performances - a record at the time. It was in London that a young

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

saw the show with his aunt and decided to become a

theatrical producer Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communi ...

. Slade and Mackintosh stayed close friends throughout his life. Slade's second most successful musical was '' Free as Air'', written with Dorothy Reynolds, which opened at the Opera House in Manchester in 1957, before moving to the Savoy Theatre, London, where it ran for 417 performances.

Personal life

He had two brothers, Adrian Slade CBE ( Liberal Party President) and Sir Christopher Slade (

Lord Justice of Appeal A Lord Justice of Appeal or Lady Justice of Appeal is a judge of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the court that hears appeals from the High Court of Justice, the Crown Court and other courts and tribunals. A Lord (or Lady) Just ...

, 1982–1991), and a sister. Julian and Sandy, the

polari Polari () is a form of slang or Cant (language), cant historically used primarily in the United Kingdom by some actors, circus and fairground performers, professional wrestlers, merchant navy sailors, criminals and prostitutes, and particula ...

-speaking homosexual thespians of the radio show ''Round the Horne'', were named after Slade and fellow musical playwright

Sandy Wilson Alexander Galbraith "Sandy" Wilson (19 May 1924 – 27 August 2014) was an English composer and lyricist, best known for his musical '' The Boy Friend'' (1953). Biography Wilson was born in Sale, Cheshire, England, and was educated at Harrow ...

. Slade died of

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 ...

on 17 June 2006, aged 76.

Shows

* ''Christmas in King Street'' (1952) * ''The Merry Gentleman'' (1953) * '' Salad Days'' (1954) *''The Comedy of Errors'' (1954 television, 1956 stage) * '' Free As Air'' (1957) * ''Hooray For Daisy'' (1959) * '' Follow That Girl'' (1960), adapted from ''Christmas in King Street'' * ''Wildest Dreams'' (1960) * ''Vanity Fair'' (1962) * ''Nutmeg and Ginger'' (1963) *''The Pursuit of Love'' (1967) *''Winnie the Pooh (''1970) * ''Trelawny'' (1972) * ''Out Of Bounds'' (1973)

References

External links

JULIAN SLADE - the new authorised 2009 websiteFootlights WebsiteSalad Days Original London Cast Recording on Amazon
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Slade, Julian 1930 births 2006 deaths English musical theatre composers English male composers People educated at Eton College Composers from London Alumni of Bristol Old Vic Theatre School Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Deaths from cancer in England 20th-century British male musicians