Sheridan Morley (5 December 1941 − 16 February 2007) was an English author, biographer, critic and broadcaster. He was the official biographer of Sir

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud, (; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Briti ...

and wrote biographies of many other theatrical figures he had known, including

Noël Coward Sir Noël Peirce Coward (16 December 189926 March 1973) was an English playwright, composer, director, actor, and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combina ...

Nicholas Kenyon Sir Nicholas Roger Kenyon CBE (born 23 February 1951, in Cheshire) is an English music administrator, editor and writer on music. He was responsible for the BBC Proms in 1996–2007, after which he was appointed Managing Director of the Barbican ...

called him a "cultural omnivore" who was "genuinely popular with people".

Early life

Sheridan Morley was born in

Ascot, Berkshire Ascot () is a town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is south of Windsor, east of Bracknell and west of London. It is most notable as the location of Ascot Racecourse, home of the Royal Ascot meet ...

, in a nursing home opposite

Ascot Racecourse Ascot Racecourse ("ascot" pronounced , often pronounced ) is a dual-purpose British racecourse, located in Ascot, Berkshire, England, which is used for thoroughbred horse racing. It hosts 13 of Britain's 36 annual Flat Group 1 horse races a ...

, the eldest son of actor

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

and grandson, via his mother Joan Buckmaster, of the actress Dame

Gladys Cooper Dame Gladys Constance Cooper, (18 December 1888 – 17 November 1971) was an English actress, theatrical manager and producer, whose career spanned seven decades on stage, in films and on television. Beginning as a teenager in Edwardian musi ...

.Obituary: Sheridan Morley
''Daily Telegraph'', 17 February 2007 He was named after Sheridan Whiteside, the title role his father was playing in a long-running production of ''

The Man Who Came to Dinner ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is a comedy play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It debuted on October 16, 1939, at the Music Box Theatre in New York City, where it ran until 1941, closing after 739 performances. It then enjoyed a number of ...

'' at the

Savoy Theatre The Savoy Theatre is a West End theatre in the Strand in the City of Westminster, London, England. The theatre was designed by C. J. Phipps for Richard D'Oyly Carte and opened on 10 October 1881 on a site previously occupied by the Savoy Pal ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. He had close family connections with stars of the stage: in addition to his father and his maternal grandmother, his uncle was the actor John Buckmaster, his aunt Sally Pearson married the actor

Robert Hardy Timothy Sydney Robert Hardy (29 October 1925 – 3 August 2017) was an English actor who had a long career in theatre, film and television. He began his career as a classical actor and later earned widespread recognition for roles such as Sieg ...

, and

Joanna Lumley Dame Joanna Lamond Lumley (born 1 May 1946) is an English actress, presenter, former model, author, television producer, and activist. She has won two BAFTA TV Awards for her role as Patsy Stone in the BBC sitcom '' Absolutely Fabulous'' ( ...

was a cousin. His godparents were the dramatist Sewell Stokes and the actor

Peter Bull Peter Cecil Bull, (21 March 1912 – 20 May 1984) was a British character actor who appeared in supporting roles in such films as '' The African Queen'', ''Tom Jones'', and '' Dr. Strangelove''. Biography He was the fourth and youngest son ...

; Morley's son Hugo was one of

's many godchildren. Morley grew up in

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many o ...

in Berkshire, and in Hollywood and New York, where his father was working. His father placed an advertisement in ''The Times'', seeking a suitable school for his son: "Father with horrible memories of own schooldays at Wellington is searching for a school for his son, where the food matters as much as the education and the standards are those of a good three-star seaside hotel."Jonathan Sale
"PASSED/FAILED: Sheridan Morley" (interview)
''The Independent'', 21 May 1997. The successful reply came from Sizewell Hall in Suffolk, a coeducational preparatory school. This was owned and run in laissez-faire style by a Dutch Quaker, Harry Tuyn, although the story told in Morley's obituaries that subjects such as maths and Latin were not taught at Sizewell Hall on the grounds that they were too boring is untrue. Morley was well taught there in the full range of subjects. After the school closed in 1955, he followed the Tuyns to

Château-d'Œx Château-d'Œx () is a municipality in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is in the district of Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut. History Château-d'Œx is first mentioned in 1115 as ''Oit'', ''Oyz'', ''Oix'' and ''Oyez''. Prehistoric settlements Dur ...

, Switzerland, as a private pupil.Stanley Reynold
Obituary: Sheridan Morley
''The Guardian'', 19 February 2007 Having attended a crammer in Kensington High Street, Morley went on to read modern languages at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

, from 1960, and became involved in student drama alongside

Michael York Michael York OBE (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television and stage actor. After performing on-stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''R ...

, David Wood, Sam Walters, and Oliver Ford Davies. He graduated with third-class honours, and then spent a year teaching drama at the

University of Hawaii A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

. Benedict Nightingale
"Sheridan Morley, British Theater Critic and Biographer, Dies at 65"
''The New York Times'', 19 February 2007.

Career

Sheridan Morley worked as a late-night newscaster for

ITN Independent Television News (ITN) is a UK-based television production company. It is made up of two divisions: Broadcast News and ITN Productions. ITN is based in London, with bureaux and offices in Beijing, Brussels, Jerusalem, Johannesburg, N ...

from 1965, before moving to the BBC to present '' Late Night Line-Up'' for

BBC 2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream ...

from 1967 to 1971, alongside

Joan Bakewell Joan Dawson Bakewell, Baroness Bakewell, (''née'' Rowlands; born 16 April 1933), is an English journalist, television presenter and Labour Party peer. Baroness Bakewell is president of Birkbeck, University of London; she is also an author ...

and Tony Bilbow. He also presented ''Film Night'' for BBC 2 in 1971 and 1972. He presented ''

Kaleidoscope A kaleidoscope () is an optical instrument with two or more reflecting surfaces (or mirrors) tilted to each other at an angle, so that one or more (parts of) objects on one end of these mirrors are shown as a regular symmetrical pattern when v ...

'' for

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of Talk radio, spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history fro ...

, and an innovatory arts programme for

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content ...

from 1990 to 2004. He had begun ''The Radio Two Arts Programme'' in April 1990. At first it consisted of three two-hour programmes a week: on Friday nights a regional show, on Sunday nights an arts documentary covering a single subject, and on Saturday nights the show which was to become the flagship of the series, a magazine programme tackling eight different subjects in every show, interspersed with at least eight related musical recordings. He then moved to a new programme format of ''Melodies For You'' in 2004, again on BBC Radio 2. He broadcast his last ''Melodies'' programme in November 2006, three months before his death in February 2007. He also made frequent appearances as the guest in the Dictionary Corner for the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

game show ''

Countdown A countdown is a sequence of backward counting to indicate the time remaining before an event is scheduled to occur. NASA commonly employs the terms "L-minus" and "T-minus" during the preparation for and anticipation of a rocket launch, and eve ...

.'' Morley's best-known work was his biography of

, ''A Talent to Amuse'', first published in 1969. Coward gave his full blessing, providing Morley with a list of his friends, and another of his enemies, telling him to start with the second first – which would make for a better book. Morley joined ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ...

'' as deputy features editor in 1973, and then joined ''

Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

'' in 1975 as its drama critic and arts editor, remaining with the magazine until 1989. In the late 1980s, he became a regular arts diarist for ''The Times'' and was its TV critic from 1989 to 1990. He then worked as drama critic for ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''Th ...

'' from 1990; he was replaced in 2001 by

Toby Young Toby Daniel Moorsom Young (born 17 October 1963) is a British social commentator. He is the founder and director of the Free Speech Union, an associate editor of '' The Spectator'', and a former associate editor at '' Quillette.'' A graduate ...

. Then, after a short period at the ''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members o ...

'', where he gave way to

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and ''Great Continental Railway Journ ...

, he joined the '' Daily Express'' in 2004, where he remained until 2007. Meanwhile, he was also a drama critic for the '' International Herald Tribune'' from 1979 to 2005, and film critic for the ''

Sunday Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet ...

'' from 1992 to 1995. In 1990, he was Arts Journalist of the Year, and was also nominated for a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. His play '' Noël and Gertie'', about Noël Coward and

Gertrude Lawrence Gertrude Lawrence (4 July 1898 – 6 September 1952) was an English actress, singer, dancer and musical comedy performer known for her stage appearances in the West End Theatre, West End of London and on Broadway theatre, Broadway in New York. ...

, opened in London in 1986, starring Simon Cadell and

, and ran for nine years. It was performed in the US with Harry Groener and

Twiggy Dame Lesley Lawson (''née'' Hornby; born 19 September 1949) is an English model, actress, and singer, widely known by the nickname Twiggy. She was a British cultural icon and a prominent teenaged model during the swinging '60s in London. ...

in the lead roles. He also wrote a show based on the songs of

Vivian Ellis Vivian John Herman Ellis, Order of the British Empire, CBE (29 October 1903 – 19 June 1996) was an English musical comedy composer best known for the song "Spread a Little Happiness" and the theme "Coronation Scot". Life and work Ellis was bo ...

, ''Spread a Little Happiness'', which played in 1992. Morley's last work as a theatre director was in 1999 with a revival of Noël Coward's '' A Song at Twilight'', first at The King's Head Theatre in

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, and then at the

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 986 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague an ...

in a West End run from October 1999 to March 2000, starring

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist. Early life Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel ...

, Kika Markham, Mathew Bose, and

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress and activist. Throughout her career spanning over seven decades, Redgrave has garnered numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Television Award, two ...

Legacy

Morley's life was posthumously celebrated on 22 May 2007 with a gala afternoon performance at the Gielgud Theatre, organised by his widow Ruth Leon, with contributions and performances by friends and colleagues, including Liz Robertson, Edward Fox, Jenny Seagrove,

Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "t ...

, Patricia Hodge, Michael Law and Annabel Leventon. Morley's archive is held by

Kingston University , mottoeng = "Through Learning We Progress" , established = – gained University Status – Kingston Technical Institute , type = Public , endowment = £2.3 m (2015) , ...

, London. The Sheridan Morley Prize for Theatre Biography, last won by Stephen Sondheim in 2012, was founded in his memory but ceased to function in 2014.

Personal life

Morley's first marriage was to Margaret Gudejko, whom he met in Hawaii, in 1965; the couple had three children together and divorced in 1990. Ruth Leon, the critic and television producer, became his second wife in 1995. Morley and Leon had known each other since 1960. She had gone to Oxford to meet a friend who was attending the university, and was introduced to Morley. The two maintained a platonic friendship from then on before, decades later, deciding to divorce their spouses and get married.John Nathan
"Interview: Ruth Leon"
''The Jewish Chronicle'', 14 July 2011. Morley suffered a stroke in November 2002, the effects of which were described in her 2011 book by his wife as exacerbating a

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of depression and periods of abnormally elevated mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevated mood is severe or associated with ...

– an observation challenged at the time by his three children, his two siblings and his many close friends and admirers."Book review: But What Comes After..."
''The Scotsman'', 24 June 2011. Ruth Leon's memoir of her husband, ''But What Comes After...'', was published in 2011.

Bibliography

Biographies

*''A Talent to Amuse: A Biography of

'', London: Heinemann, 1969. . Revised edition 1974; re-issued with a new Prologue, 1985. Later subtitled "The First Biography of Noël Coward". *''

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular playwrights in London in the early 1890s. He is ...

'' (1976) *''

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

'' (1977) *''

Sybil Thorndike Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike, Lady Casson (24 October 18829 June 1976) was an English actress whose stage career lasted from 1904 to 1969. Trained in her youth as a concert pianist, Thorndike turned to the stage when a medical problem with her ...

: A Life in the Theatre'' (1977) *''

: Biography'' (1979) *''

: A Bright Particular Star'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1981. *''

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

'', (1984) *''

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

'' (1985) *''Other Side of the Moon: The Life of

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other role ...

'' (1985) *''

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was a British-American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 1950s. ...

'' (1988) *''Odd Man Out: The Life of

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

'' (1989) *''

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, h ...

: My Father'', London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (1993). *''

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Hepburn (born Audrey Kathleen Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress and humanitarian. Recognised as both a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen ...

'' (1993) *''Shall We Dance: The Life of

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starring role in ''Kitty Foyle'' ...

'' (1995) *'' Gene Kelly'' (1996) *''

Dirk Bogarde Sir Dirk Bogarde (born Derek Jules Gaspard Ulric Niven van den Bogaerde; 28 March 1921 – 8 May 1999) was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as ''Doctor in the House'' (1954) for the Rank Orga ...

: Rank Outsider'' (1996) *''

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

'' (1998) *''Hey, Mr Producer'' (

) (1998, with Ruth Leon) *''

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in ''The ...

: Beyond The Rainbow'' (1999, with Ruth Leon) *''

: The Authorized Biography'', London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001.

Theatre retrospectives and collected reviews

*'' Theatre 71: Plays, Players, Playwrights, Opera, Ballet'', edited by Sheridan Morley (Hutchinson, 1971). *''

Theatre 72 Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

'', edited (Hutchinson, 1972). *''

Theatre 73 Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

'', edited (Hutchinson, 1973). *''

Theatre 74 Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

'', edited (Hutchinson, 1974). *'' Review Copies: Plays & Players in London 1970-74'' (Robson Books, 1974). *'' The Theatre Addict's Archive'' (Elm Tree Books, 1977). *'' Shooting Stars: Plays and Players,1975-1983'' (Quartet Books, 1983). *'' Spread A Little Happiness: The First Hundred Years of the British Musical'' (Thames & Hudson, 1987). *'' Our Theatres in the Eighties'' (John Curtis/Hodder & Stoughton, 1990). *'' A Century of Theatre'', with Ruth Leon (Oberon Books, 2000). *'' Spectator at the Theatre: A decade of First Nights 1990-1999'' (Oberon Books, 2002).

Other works

*''The Stephen Sondheim Songbook'' (Chappel/Elm Tree Books, 1979). *''The Brits in Hollywood: Tales from the Hollywood Raj'' (UK: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1983). , also published as ''Tales From The Hollywood Raj: The British, the Movies, and Tinseltown'' (New York: Viking, 1983). *''The

Diaries'' (with

Graham Payn Graham Payn (25 April 1918 – 4 November 2005) was a South African-born English actor and singer, also known for being the life partner of the playwright Noël Coward. Beginning as a boy soprano, Payn later made a career as a singer and a ...

; Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1982). *''

The Great Stage Stars ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

'' (Angus & Robertson, Australia and UK, 1986) . Dedicated: "For Margaret whose book this really is.'" *''

Theatrical Companion to Coward Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perfor ...

'' (second edition, with Barry Day, Oberon Books, 2000). *''Asking For Trouble'', memoirs. (Hodder & Stoughton, 2002). *''An Evening with Sheridan Morley and Michael Law'' with Judy Campbell (CD)

References

"Broadcaster and critic Sheridan Morley dies"
''

'', 16 February 2007
"Broadcaster Sheridan Morley dies"

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 17 February 2007
"'Insatiable curiosity' of Morley"
BBC News, 17 February 2007 *Stanley Reynolds

''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'', 19 February 2007
Obituary
''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'', 19 February 2007
Profile by Norman Phillips

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Morley, Sheridan 1941 births 2007 deaths Alumni of Merton College, Oxford BBC people BBC Radio 2 presenters Daily Express people English film critics English radio DJs English radio people British theatre critics English theatre directors English biographers People from Ascot, Berkshire The Times people The Spectator people Punch (magazine) people 20th-century biographers