Patrick John Edgeworth (25 December 1942 – 22 May 2023) was an English stage and screenwriter.

Early life

Edgeworth grew up in England. In 1969, he arrived in Australia to be best man at the wedding of his pianist brother Ron and

Judith Durham Judith Mavis Durham (née Cock; 3 July 1943 – 5 August 2022) was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician who became the lead singer of the Australian folk music group the Seekers in 1962. The group became the first Australian pop mus ...

, former lead singer of

The Seekers The Seekers were an Australian folk music, folk-influenced pop music, pop group originally formed in Melbourne in 1962. They were the first Australian pop music group to achieve major chart and sales success in the United Kingdom and the Unit ...

. He remained in Australia.

Television

Edgeworth began working as an actor for film and television, mostly in the police dramas made by

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian Media (communication), media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, a ...

. In 1971, after submitting a script to them, he was offered a position as writer on Matlock Police, which he initially declined, as it would have meant forgoing acting. However, when he compared his recent earnings as an actor to what he was being offered as a staff writer, he opted for writing. After writing eighteen episodes in eighteen months at Crawfords he left, and with co-producer

Russell Hagg Russell Hagg (1938 – 10 February 2022) was an Australian designer and director. He studied architecture at Melbourne University before becoming a designer in British films, then worked for Crawford Productions as a writer and director.Andrew P ...

, formed a production company, Homestead Films. He wrote 11 of the 13 episodes of ''

Cash and Company ''Cash and Company'' is an Australian television period adventure series, set during the Victoria (Australia), Victorian Victorian gold rush, gold rush of the 1850s. It screened on the Seven Network in Australia in 1976 and on ITV (TV channel) ...

'' and seven of the follow-up series, '' Tandarra.'' Both shows sold to TV networks world-wide. He also wrote and co-produced the film ''Raw Deal'' (1977).''''

Theatre

Edgeworth's first stage play '' Boswell for the Defence'' (1989) was a hit for

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 ...

in London's West End and throughout Australia. A second play '' Love Julie'' starring Millicent Martin and Anne Charleston toured England to rave reviews. This was followed by productions in the U.S. and South Africa. Retitled '' Girl Talk'' for Australia it had a hugely successful seven-month tour with

Jacki Weaver Jacqueline Ruth Weaver (born 25 May 1947) is an Australian theatre, film, and television actress. Her accolades include five AACTA Awards (including the Longford Lyell Award) and a National Board of Review Award, in addition to nominations ...

. His comedy/drama play '' Amorous Intrigue'' concerns the life and times of Restoration playwright

Aphra Behn Aphra Behn (; baptism, bapt. 14 December 1640 – 16 April 1689) was an English playwright, poet, prose writer and translator from the Restoration (England), Restoration era. As one of the first English women to earn her living by her writ ...

. His musical, '' Georgy Girl'', opened in December 2015 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Melbourne and toured to Sydney and Perth, for producers Richard East and Dennis Smith.

Death

Edgeworth died on 22 May 2023 in Melbourne, Australia at the age of 80.

Select credits

Television

*'' The Long Arm'' (1970) - actor *''

Homicide Homicide is an act in which a person causes the death of another person. A homicide requires only a Volition (psychology), volitional act, or an omission, that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from Accident, accidenta ...

'' - actor, writer *''

Matlock Police ''Matlock Police'' is an Australian television police drama series made by Crawford Productions for The 0-10 Network (now known as Network 10) between 1971 and 1976. The series focused on the police station and crime in the Victorian town of Ma ...

'' - actor and writer *''

Division 4 ''Division 4'' is an Australian television police drama series broadcast by the Nine Network and created by Crawford Productions airing between 1969 and 1975 for 301 episodes. Synopsis The series was one of the first to follow up on the enor ...

'' - actor *''

'' (1975) - writer, producer *'' Tandarra'' (1976) - writer, producer *'' Against the Wind'' (1978) - actor *'' Special Squad'' (1984) - writer *'' Chances'' (1991) - writer *'' Newlyweds'' (1993–94) - writer *'' Ship to Shore'' (1993–94) - writer *''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for twelve years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted th ...

'' - writer *'' Snowy River: The McGregor Saga'' - writer *'' State Coroner'' (1997) - writer *''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera that has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons and ...

'' (1999) - writer

Feature films

*'' Raw Deal'' (1977) - writer, producer *'' BMX Bandits'' (1983) - writer *'' Cool Change'' (1986) - writer *'' Driving Force'' (1989) - writer *'' A Sting in the Tale'' (1989) - actor, writer *'' Bad Blood'' (2017) - based on his screenplay

Theatre

*''Boswell for the Defence'' (1989) - writer *''Love Julie'' - writer *''Girl Talk'' (2000) - writer *''Georgy Girl - the Seekers Musical'' (2015) - creator and writer

References

External links

Patrick Edgeworth
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

Patrick Edgeworth
at

Ausstage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110708033438/http://dumdumland-patrick.blogspot.com/2009/06/chapter-one.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Edgeworth, Patrick 1942 births 2023 deaths English male screenwriters English screenwriters Writers from London Writers from Melbourne