Dennis Main Wilson
Encyclopedia
Dennis Main Wilson was a British
producer of radio and television programmes, mainly for the BBC.
s first two series. Owing to his fondness for alcohol, the Goons nicknamed him 'Dennis Main Drain'. Subsequently he produced the first four series of Hancock's Half Hour
on radio before leaving to train in television. Till Death Us Do Part, also for the BBC, is his best remembered television work.
Main Wilson has been described by Screenonline
as "arguably the most important and influential of all comedy producers/directors in British radio and television."
Other shows he produced include Sykes and a with Eric Sykes
and Hattie Jacques
, Here's Harry with Harry Worth
, It's Marty starring Marty Feldman
and The Rag Trade
(which he also directed). He had less success with Private Eye TV
, an attempt to turn the magazine Private Eye
into a television programme.
In 1976, a scene-shifter at the BBC handed him a script he had written. Main Wilson turned it into Citizen Smith
. The scene-shifter was John Sullivan
, who wrote Just Good Friends
, Dear John
and Only Fools and Horses
. Main Wilson gave TV breaks to Stephen Fry
, Hugh Laurie
, Griff Rhys Jones
and Emma Thompson
.
He died of lung cancer
at the age of 72.
His son is Andrew Main Wilson, chief operating officer of the Institute of Directors
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
producer of radio and television programmes, mainly for the BBC.
Biography
After wartime work for the German Service of the BBC, he worked in comedy. He was producer of the The Goon ShowThe Goon Show
The Goon Show was a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme...
s first two series. Owing to his fondness for alcohol, the Goons nicknamed him 'Dennis Main Drain'. Subsequently he produced the first four series of Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour
Hancock's Half Hour was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy, series of the 1950s and 60s written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James; the radio version also co-starred, at various times, Moira Lister, Andrée Melly, Hattie Jacques, Bill Kerr...
on radio before leaving to train in television. Till Death Us Do Part, also for the BBC, is his best remembered television work.
Main Wilson has been described by Screenonline
Screenonline
Screenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...
as "arguably the most important and influential of all comedy producers/directors in British radio and television."
Other shows he produced include Sykes and a with Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes
Eric Sykes, CBE is an English radio, television and film writer, actor and director whose performing career has spanned more than 50 years. He frequently wrote for and/or performed with many other leading comedy performers and writers of the period, including Tony Hancock, Spike Milligan, Peter...
and Hattie Jacques
Hattie Jacques
Josephine Edwina Jaques was an English comedy actress, known as Hattie Jacques.Starting her career in the 1940s, Jacques first gained attention through her radio appearances with Tommy Handley on ITMA and later with Tony Hancock on Hancock's Half Hour...
, Here's Harry with Harry Worth
Harry Worth
Harry Worth was an English comedy actor and comedian...
, It's Marty starring Marty Feldman
Marty Feldman
Martin Alan "Marty" Feldman was an English comedy writer, comedian and actor who starred in a series of British television comedy shows, including At Last the 1948 Show, and Marty, which won two BAFTA awards and was the first Saturn Award winner for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Young...
and The Rag Trade
The Rag Trade
The Rag Trade was a British television sitcom broadcast by the BBC between 1961 and 1963 and by LWT between 1977 and 1978.The scripts were by Ronald Wolfe and Ronald Chesney, who later wrote Wild, Wild Women, a period variation of The Rag Trade....
(which he also directed). He had less success with Private Eye TV
Private Eye TV
Private Eye TV was an unsuccessful attempt to turn the satirical magazine Private Eye into a television programme.In celebration of the magazine's tenth anniversary, the best of its output was compiled by Barry Took and read out by the magazine's staff and assorted comedy stars such as John Bird,...
, an attempt to turn the magazine Private Eye
Private Eye
Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical and current affairs magazine, edited by Ian Hislop.Since its first publication in 1961, Private Eye has been a prominent critic and lampooner of public figures and entities that it deemed guilty of any of the sins of incompetence, inefficiency,...
into a television programme.
In 1976, a scene-shifter at the BBC handed him a script he had written. Main Wilson turned it into Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith is a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan, who later wrote Only Fools and Horses. The pilot was transmitted on 12 April 1977 in the Comedy Special series of one-off plays, and the series proper ran from 3 November 1977 to 31 December 1980.Citizen Smith...
. The scene-shifter was John Sullivan
John Sullivan (writer)
John Richard Thomas Sullivan OBE was an English television scriptwriter responsible for several popular British sitcoms, including Only Fools and Horses, Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends....
, who wrote Just Good Friends
Just Good Friends
Just Good Friends was a British sitcom written by the late John Sullivan. It starred Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as former lovers Vincent Pinner and Penny Warrender, who meet in a pub five years after he jilted her at the altar....
, Dear John
Dear John (UK TV series)
Dear John is a British sitcom, written by John Sullivan. Two series and a "special" were broadcast between 1986 and 1987.This sitcom's title referred to letters sent by girls to their boyfriends breaking off the relationship, known as "Dear John" letters. In the opening episode, John discovers his...
and Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses is a British sitcom, created and written by John Sullivan. Seven series were originally broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom between 1981 and 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials until 2003...
. Main Wilson gave TV breaks to Stephen Fry
Stephen Fry
Stephen John Fry is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter and film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club. He first came to attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also...
, Hugh Laurie
Hugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
, Griff Rhys Jones
Griff Rhys Jones
Griffith "Griff" Rhys Jones is a Welsh comedian, writer, actor, television presenter and personality. Jones came to national attention in the early 1980s for his work in the BBC television comedy sketch shows Not the Nine O'Clock News and Alas Smith and Jones along with his comedy partner Mel Smith...
and Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson
Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...
.
He died of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
at the age of 72.
His son is Andrew Main Wilson, chief operating officer of the Institute of Directors
Institute of Directors
The Institute of Directors is a UK-based organisation, established in 1903 and incorporated by royal charter in 1906 to support, represent and set standards for company directors...
.
External links
- Screenonline on Dennis Main Wilson
- BBC Comedy Guide on Dennis Main Wilson
- Daily Telegraph obituary
- 1991 Bectu interview Part 1, Part 2, part 3, part 4