Maurice Bernard Gran (born 26 October 1949 in London, England) is an English writer and one half of scriptwriting duo Marks and Gran. He co-wrote the

sitcoms A sitcom (short for situation comedy or situational comedy) is a genre of comedy produced for radio and television, that centers on a recurring cast of characters as they navigate humorous situations within a consistent setting, such as a home ...

'' The New Statesman'', '' Birds of a Feather'' and '' Goodnight Sweetheart'' with Laurence Marks. Their theatre works include '' Dreamboats and Petticoats'', ''

Save the Last Dance for Me "Save the Last Dance for Me" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, first recorded in 1960 by American musical group the Drifters with Ben E. King on lead vocals. It has since been covered by several artists, including the DeFranco ...

'' and ''Dreamboats and Miniskirts''.

Biography

Born to a Jewish family, Gran lived in

Finsbury Park Finsbury Park is a public park in Harringay, north London, England. The park lies on the southern-most edge of the London Borough of Haringey. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal ...

Road as a child and his father was the manager of a fabric shop in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

.Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran, Writers
/ref> He attended

William Ellis School William Ellis School is a voluntary aided secondary school and sixth form for boys located in Gospel Oak, London, England. Admissions The School is located near Hampstead Heath in north London. It is situated just east of Parliament Hill an ...

, a grammar school for boys in

Highgate Highgate is a suburban area of N postcode area, north London in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden, London Borough of Islington, Islington and London Borough of Haringey, Haringey. The area is at the north-eastern corner ...

. He then rose to be the manager of the Job Centre in

Tottenham Tottenham (, , , ) is a district in north London, England, within the London Borough of Haringey. It is located in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Greater London. Tottenham is centred north-northeast of Charing Cross, ...

, whilst writing scripts with Laurence Marks which they submitted 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 ...

. The duo had begun writing together after they met at a discussion group for writers that was held within the

British Drama League The All-England Theatre Festival ("AETF") organises the only countrywide eliminating One-Act Play Festival, contest for one-act plays in performance throughout England. It provides an opportunity for Amateurs to compete against like-minded group ...

.Marks & Gran at screenonline
Retrieved 30 January 2015 They were given the opportunity to write a radio show for

Frankie Howerd Francis Alick Howard (6 March 1917 – 19 April 1992), better known by his stage-name Frankie Howerd, was an English actor and comedian. Early life Howerd was born the son of a soldier Francis Alfred William (1887–1934)England & Wales, Deat ...

after a chance meeting with Barry Took.Marks and Gran at Camden New Journal
Retrieved 29 January 2015 Gran is also the co-author of '' Prudence at Number 10'', a satirical diary supposedly written by

Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...

's P.A.

Writing credits

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *Official Marks & Gran website: https://www.marksandgran.com 1949 births Living people English comedy writers English television writers English columnists British humourous columnists British satirists British satirical columnists People educated at William Ellis School Jewish comedy writers {{UK-screenwriter-stub