Ralph Wilton Peterson (21 February 1921 – 2 November 1996) was an Australian writer (dramatist and playwright), actor and producer of film, theatre, radio and TV. He went to London and achieved fame with the success of his play '' The Square Ring'', which was turned into a film of the same name in 1953. He married the Australian actress

Betty Lucas Betty Helen Lucas (31 May 1924 – 7 April 2015), also known as Betty Lucas Peterson, was an Australian character actress and theatre director, known for her numerous roles on stage and television, starting from the post-WWII years in 1945. Ear ...

in 1946; their son, Joel Patterson (1957–2017), became a cinematographer.

Biography

Peterson was born in Adelaide, the only son of Ralph A. and Daphne (née Coulter) Peterson, and became involved in theatre and journalism in his teens. He got work on radio playing one of the students on the show '' Yes, What?'' (1937–41) which became very popular. Peterson started writing episodes. When the show ended Peterson moved to Sydney and worked as an announcer on

2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...

before joining the army. He served as an artillery officer and in the First Australian Broadcasting Control Unit. He appeared in plays at the Metropolitan Theatre and the

Independent Theatre Independent Theatre, formerly known as The Independent Theatre Ltd., was an Australian dramatic society founded in 1930 by Dame Doris Fitton in Sydney, Australia. It is also the name given to the building it occupied from 1939 (then known as t ...

, including the original production of ''

Rusty Bugles ''Rusty Bugles'' was a controversial Australian play written by Sumner Locke Elliott in 1948. It toured extensively throughout Australia between 1948–1949 and was threatened with closure by the New South Wales Chief Secretary of New South Wales, ...

''. After the war, Peterson began writing regularly for Sydney radio including comedy material for

Roy Rene Roy Rene (pron. ''reen''; born Henry van der Sluys, 15 February 189122 November 1954) was an Australian comedian and vaudevillian. As the bawdy character Mo McCackie, Rene was one of the most well-known and successful Australian comedians of th ...

Jack Davey John Andrew Davey (8 February 190714 October 1959), known as Jack Davey, was a New Zealand-born singer and pioneering star of Australian radio as a performer, producer, writer and host from the early 1930s into the late 1950s. Later in his caree ...

and

Dick Bentley Charles Walter "Dick" Bentley (14 May 1907 – 27 August 1995) was an Australian-born comedian and actor of radio, stage and screen. He starred with Jimmy Edwards in '' Take It From Here'' for BBC Radio. He was a staple of and pioneer of radio ...

. He wrote a comedy serial for him and his wife

, '' Ralph and Betty'' (1947). A radio feature about an Aboriginal child, ''The Problem of Johnny Flourcake'' (1950) was narrated by

Anthony Quayle Sir John Anthony Quayle (7 September 1913 – 20 October 1989) was a British actor. He was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role as Thomas Wolsey in the film '' Anne of the Thousand Days'' (1969). He also played impor ...

who recommended Peterson to the BBC. Peterson moved to London in 1951, writing scripts for

Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 18 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor and scriptwriter. He is best remembered for his television programme, ''The Benny Hill Show'', a comedy-variety show whose amalgam of slapstick, bu ...

and

Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series '' Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...

. His stage play '' The Square Ring'' (1952), based on his radio serial ''Come Out Fighting'', was such a success at

Frank Thring Francis William Thring IV (11 May 1926 – 29 December 1994) was an Australian character actor in radio, stage, television and film; as well as a theatre director. His early career started in London in theatre productions, before he starred i ...

Arrow Theatre The Arrow Theatre was an Australian theatre in the Melbourne suburb of Middle Park. It was located at 1–3 Armstrong Street, opposite the Middle Park railway station (a tram stop since electrification). It seated only 200 persons but had a stage ...

that the production was transferred to the much larger

Princess Theatre, Melbourne The Princess Theatre, originally Princess's Theatre, is a 1452-seat theatre in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1854 and rebuilt in 1886 to a design by noted Melbourne architect William Pitt, it is the oldest surviving entertain ...

. It was the basis of the

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 ...

film '' The Square Ring''. Peterson returned to Australia in 1954, the year his second play, '' The Night of the Ding Dong'', premiered. He continued to work in radio and wrote for film and TV. He had a success with '' My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?'' (1966–68).

Personal

Peterson married Betty Helen Lucas of Clovelly road,

Clovelly, New South Wales Clovelly is a small beach-side suburb in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Clovelly is located 8 kilometres south-east of the Sydney central business district. Clovelly is a mainly residential suburb on Clo ...

, on 8 November 1946.

Selected writing credits

*''Yes, What?'' (1937–41) – comedy radio series *'' Come Out Fighting'' (1950) – radio serial *'' The Problem of Johnny Flourcake'' (1950) – radio feature *'' The Square Ring'' (1952) – play, later turned into a 1953 film, 1954 novel and 1959 TV movie and 1960 TV play *''Greater the Truth'' (1956) – novel *'' Three in One'' (1957) – film – segment "The City" *'' Whiplash'' (1961) – TV series *''The Mating of Ulich Dooley'' (1965) – play *'' My Name's McGooley, What's Yours?'' (1966–68) – TV series – also producer *'' Rita and Wally'' (1968) – TV series – also producer *'' The Rovers'' (1969–70) – TV series *'' Snake Gully with Dad and Dave'' (1972) – TV series – also producer *''

Spyforce ''Spyforce'' is an Australian television series that aired from 1971 to 1973 on Nine Network. The series was based upon the adventures of Australian Military Intelligence operatives in the South West Pacific theatre of World War II, South West ...

'' (1972) – TV series *''The Third Secretary'' (1972) – play *''The Big Boat'' – play

References

External links

*
Ralph Peterson
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peterson, Ralph Australian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Australian novelists Australian television writers Australian screenwriters 1921 births 1996 deaths Australian radio writers Australian male novelists Australian male television writers 20th-century Australian screenwriters