Raymond Hull (27 February 1919 – 7 June 1985) was an England-born

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

playwright, television screenwriter, and lecturer. He also wrote many non-fiction books, numerous magazine articles, short stories, and poetry. He is best known as the co-author of the book '' The Peter Principle'' with Laurence J. Peter. He is also known for the saying "He who trims himself to suit everyone will soon whittle himself away." He studied creative writing at the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a Public university, public research university with campuses near University of British Columbia Vancouver, Vancouver and University of British Columbia Okanagan, Kelowna, in British Columbia, Canada ...

at the age 30 after discovering he had an aptitude for the craft. After graduation, he eventually began writing television screenplays for the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

. He later branched into writing for the stage and in time formed The Gastown Players.

Biography

Hull was born on 27 February 1919 in

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury and north-northeast of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hi ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, England. Following the

Second World War 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 ...

, he emigrated to

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and worked as a waiter, janitor and civil servant. Hull began writing in the late 1950s at 38 years old. In 1983, he published ''How to Write a Play''. Hull died on 7 June 1985 at St. Paul's Hospital, Vancouver.

Works

Plays

*''The Drunkard'' (1967) *''Wedded to a Villain'' (1967) *''Son of the Drunkard'' (a.k.a. ''The Drunkard's Revenge'', 1982)

Books

*''Profitable Playwriting'' (1968) *''How To Get What You Want'' (1969) *''Writing for Money in Canada'' (1969) *''Effective Public Speaking'' (1971) *''The Peter Principle'' (co-author with Laurence Peter) *''Gastown's Gassy Jack'' (co-author) *''How to Write a Play'' (1983)

References

1919 births 1985 deaths 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers Canadian male non-fiction writers 20th-century Canadian screenwriters 20th-century Canadian non-fiction writers Screenwriters from British Columbia Canadian male screenwriters {{Canada-nonfiction-writer-stub