Samuel Raymond Cree (1928–1980) was a Northern Irish playwright. During the 1960s and 1970s he wrote several long running and popular plays for comedians James Young and

Jimmy Logan James Allan Short, Officer of the Order of the British Empire, OBE, RSAMD, FRSAMD (4 April 1928 – 13 April 2001), known professionally as Jimmy Logan, was a Scotland, Scottish performer, theatrical producer, impresario and Theatre director, ...

. His plays remain a favourite with Northern Ireland audiences and

amateur theatre Amateur theatre, also known as amateur dramatics, is theatre performed by amateur actors and singers. Amateur theatre groups may stage plays, revues, musicals, light opera, pantomime or variety shows, and do so for the social activity as well as f ...

companies.

Life

Sam Cree was born in

Lisburn Lisburn ( ; ) is a city in Northern Ireland. It is southwest of Belfast city centre, on the River Lagan, which forms the boundary between County Antrim and County Down. First laid out in the 17th century by English and Welsh settlers, with t ...

on 19 February 1928, the son of Robert Campbell Cree and his wife Sarah (''née'' Hanna). Early in his life he worked in a drawing office in

. Whilst there he was asked to do 'something entertaining' for the company's Christmas party. Cree wrote a sketch called ''A Day in the Life of a managing director''. Cree would continue writing these sketches, much to the embarrassment of his co-workers. Driven by this success Cree submitted a sketch to comedian James Young for inclusion in his summer variety show. Young's business partner Jack Hudson claimed that it was the worst script he had ever read. The set required a street of houses, the dialogue was unfunny and there was no

punch line A punch line (also punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people Laughter, laugh. It is the third and final part of the Joke#Telling jokes, typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and th ...

. Young wrote to Cree and thanked him for his efforts. Rather than discourage Cree, Young suggested that Cree come to his next show to get a better idea of what was required. Cree took full advantage of Young's offer and kept the letter saying it was his first professional criticism. Cree's work would frequently appear in Young's shows from then on. Young would give Cree his sketch ideas and Cree would quickly turn the ideas into workable scripts. Following the withdrawal of Sam Thompson's play ''Over The Bridge'' from Ulster Group Theatre, Young was invited to bring his unique comedy talents to the venue. Young asked Cree to adapt Glenn Melvyn's ''The Love Match'' for an

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

audience. The plot of Cree's adaption followed Alec Galbraith, a fanatical supporter of Linfield Football Club, whose son Davy joins rival team

Glentoran Glentoran Football Club is a professional football club based in East Belfast, Northern Ireland, that plays in the NIFL Premiership. The club was founded in 1882 and has since won more than 130 major honours. They are one of three Northern Iris ...

. The play premiered on 8 March 1960 and ran for ten weeks. The play was a success and Young and Hudson became joint managing directors of the Group Theatre in Autumn 1960. To follow up on their success they asked Cree to pen a sequel to ''The Love Match''. Cree obliged by writing ''Wedding Fever''. The premiere of ''Wedding Fever'' was attended by the

Prime Minister of Northern Ireland The prime minister of Northern Ireland was the head of the Government of Northern Ireland (1921–1972), Government of Northern Ireland between 1921 and 1972. No such office was provided for in the Government of Ireland Act 1920; however, the L ...

, Lord Brookeborough and his wife, Belfast Lord Mayor Sir Robin Kinahan and other VIPs. Cree's play ran for 42 weeks and its success allowed the Group Theatre to clear its debt. An agent offered Cree £500 to the rights to ''Wedding Fever''. Cree didn't sell and later his plays were making up to £3,000 a day. Following ''Wedding Fever'', Cree sought success away from James Young. He wanted to be out from under Young's shadow and wanted to write without interference from the show's star. Cree wrote for Scottish comedian Jimmy Logan who appeared in numerous Cree sketches and his plays ''Cupid Wore Skirts'', ''Married Bliss'', ''Second Honeymoon'' and ''Wedding Fever''. Cree was offered £80,000 for his play ''Cupid Wore Skirts'' and during the height of his success he spent three weeks in Hollywood touring the Studios and meeting the likes of

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

Dean Martin Dean Martin (born Dino Paul Crocetti; June 7, 1917 – December 25, 1995) was an American singer, actor, and comedian. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Cool", he is regarded as one of the most popular entertainers of ...

and

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, ...

. Cree would also write for The ''Carry On'' films,

George Formby George Formby, (born George Hoy Booth; 26 May 1904 – 6 March 1961), was an English actor, singer-songwriter and comedian who became known to a worldwide audience through his films of the 1930s and 1940s. On stage, screen and record he ...

and

Arthur Askey Arthur Bowden Askey (6 June 1900 – 16 November 1982) was an English comedian and actor. Askey was known for his short stature (5' 2", 1.58 m) and distinctive horn-rimmed glasses, and his playful humour incorporating improvisation an ...

. Cree's later plays premiered at the Arts Theatre, Belfast run by actor/manager Hubert R. "Hibbie" Wilmot. Following the start of

The Troubles The Troubles () were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed t ...

, however, most of the Theatres in Belfast went dark due to civil unrest. During this time Cree attempted to find success with a promotions business. However, he was not as successful as he had been as a playwright. Cree continued to write, however and even following the onset of illness he would continue to joke. Webster would visit him in hospital to read material with him. Cree would state he had 'one foot in the grate'. 'Don't you mean one foot in the grave?' she asked. 'No,' he said. 'One foot in the grate. I want to be cremated.' Following the failure of his promotions business, Cree suffered a period of illness. This, along with his wife's unexpected death led to Cree's own death in 1980 at the age of 52. Today Cree's plays are popular amongst Amateur Drama companies in Northern Ireland due to their simple humour, recognisable characters and because of the appeal to audiences of all ages.

Works

Plays

*'' *'' he Love Match'' (1960) (''based on the play of the same nam by Glenn Melvyn'') *''Wedding Fever'' (1960) *''Second Honeymoon'' (1962) *''Fanci Free'' (1963) (''With Elizabeth Quinn'') *'' Strictly for the Birds'' (1963) *'' Strictly for the Birds (play)">Strictly for the Birds'' (1963) *''Cupid Wore Skirts'' (1965) *''Married Bliss">Cupid Wore Skirts">Strictly for the Birds (play)">Strictly for the Birds'' (1963) *''Cupid Wore Skirts'' (1965) *''Married Bliss'' (1965) *''Widows' Paradise'' (1966) *''Don't Tell The Wife'' (1967) *''Stop It Nurse'' (1968) *''Family Fever'' (1968) *''The Mating Season'' (1969) *'' Separate Beds'' (1970) *'' The Love Nest'' (1971) *'' The Bed (play)'' (1971) *'' Busman's Holiday'' (1973) *''Let's Get Laid'' *''Love & Marriage'' (''A One-act play'') *''Pyjama Tops'' *''Sink or Slim'' *''Tickle Your Fancy'' *''Wimpsie'' (''A Pantomime'')

Television

*''The Love Match'' (''Based on the play by Glenn Melvyn'') (1965) *''Mugs and Money'' (''Based on the play by

Joseph Tomelty Joseph Tomelty (5 March 1911 – 7 June 1995) was an Irish actor, playwright, novelist, short-story writer and theatre manager. He worked in film, television, radio and on the stage, starring in Sam Thompson's 1960 play ''Over the Bridge''. ...

'') (1965) *''Goodnight Mrs Puffin'' (''Based on the play by Arthur Lovegrove'') (1965) *'' The Trouble With Alec'' (1965) *''A Scrape of the Pen'' (''Based on the play by David Kirk'') (1965) *'' All This, and Christmas Too!'' (1971) *'' The Mating Season'' (1976) *''

Mary Rose The ''Mary Rose'' was a carrack in the English Tudor navy of Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII. She was launched in 1511 and served for 34 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany. After being substantially rebuilt in ...

'' (''Based on the play by

J. M. Barrie Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, (; 9 May 1860 19 June 1937) was a Scottish novelist and playwright, best remembered as the creator of Peter Pan. He was born and educated in Scotland and then moved to London, where he wrote several succe ...

'') (1981)

Film

*'' Let's Get Laid'' (1978)

References