Derek Marlowe
Encyclopedia
Derek William Mario Marlowe (21 May 1938–14 November 1996) was an English playwright, novelist, and screenwriter.
, Middlesex, and lived there and in Greenford
as a child. His father was Frederick William Marlowe (an electrician) and his mother Helene Alexandroupolos. He had early education at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
in Holland Park
.
In 1959 Marlowe went to Queen Mary College
of the University of London
to study English literature. He never finished his degree course, but the college had a particularly fine theatre (the former People's Palace in Mile End
Road) and Marlowe became part of a core theatre group there. In 1960 the college group formed a semi-professional theatre company, the 60 Theatre Group, and took their production of Tennessee Williams
' play Summer and Smoke
to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Marlowe in the leading role opposite Audrey "Dickie" Gaskell.
He married Susan Rose "Suki" Phipps, stepdaughter of Sir Fitzroy Maclean, in 1968; together they had a son, Ben, to add to Suki's two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage. He divorced in 1975 and moved to Los Angeles.
While working there, he contracted leukaemia, and died of a brain hemorrhage after a liver transplant. He was cremated in California, but his ashes were brought back to England by his sister, Alda. At the time of his death he was planning to return to England and complete a tenth novel, Black and White.
by Leonid Andreyev
, for the stage. The 60 Theatre Group first produced the play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1961, and later took it to a student theatre festival in Zadar
, Croatia
(then Yugoslavia
). It was produced in London as The Scarecrow in 1964, and won the Foyle award. In 1962 Marlowe adapted Maxim Gorki's book The Lower Depths
for the London stage.
He was the author of nine novels, notably A Dandy in Aspic (1966), Echoes of Celandine (1970) (re-published as The Disappearance), Somebody's Sister (1974) and The Rich Boy from Chicago (1979).
His first work for the screen was as co-author with Larry Kramer
of a semi-documentary about swinging London
called Reflections on Love (1966) and featuring some of the Beatles.
In 1968 he wrote the screenplay of his own novel A Dandy in Aspic
, directed by Anthony Mann
and starring Laurence Harvey
as the double agent ordered to assassinate his own alter ego.
He wrote two episodes of the BBC television series The Search for the Nile in 1971. Other screenplays included Jamaica Inn, Nancy Astor, A Married Man, The Two Mrs Grenvilles, and Grass Roots. His last work was a feature-length episode of Murder, She Wrote produced posthumously in 1997.
Life
Derek Marlowe was born in PerivalePerivale
Perivale is a small suburb in the London Borough of Ealing, west of Charing Cross, central London. Landmarks in the suburb include the A40, a large road that connects Central London with the M40 motorway, and the large Art Deco Hoover Building, as well as St Mary's Church , the River Brent and...
, Middlesex, and lived there and in Greenford
Greenford
Greenford is a large suburb in the London Borough of Ealing in west London, UK. It was historically an ancient parish in the former county of Middlesex. The most prominent landmarks in the suburb are the A40, a major dual-carriageway; Horsenden Hill, above sea level; the small Parish Church of...
as a child. His father was Frederick William Marlowe (an electrician) and his mother Helene Alexandroupolos. He had early education at Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School
The Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School is a Roman Catholic voluntary-aided comprehensive school in Holland Park, Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. And formerly one of several Selective Catholic Schools in England....
in Holland Park
Holland Park
Holland Park is a district and a public park in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, in west central London, England.Holland Park has a reputation as an affluent and fashionable area, known for attractive large Victorian townhouses, and high-class shopping and restaurants...
.
In 1959 Marlowe went to Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
of the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
to study English literature. He never finished his degree course, but the college had a particularly fine theatre (the former People's Palace in Mile End
Mile End
Mile End is an area within the East End of London, England, and part of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is located east-northeast of Charing Cross...
Road) and Marlowe became part of a core theatre group there. In 1960 the college group formed a semi-professional theatre company, the 60 Theatre Group, and took their production of Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
' play Summer and Smoke
Summer and Smoke
Summer and Smoke is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, originally titled Chart of Anatomy when Williams began work on it in 1945. In 1964, Williams revised the play as The Eccentricities of a Nightingale...
to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, with Marlowe in the leading role opposite Audrey "Dickie" Gaskell.
He married Susan Rose "Suki" Phipps, stepdaughter of Sir Fitzroy Maclean, in 1968; together they had a son, Ben, to add to Suki's two sons and two daughters from a previous marriage. He divorced in 1975 and moved to Los Angeles.
While working there, he contracted leukaemia, and died of a brain hemorrhage after a liver transplant. He was cremated in California, but his ashes were brought back to England by his sister, Alda. At the time of his death he was planning to return to England and complete a tenth novel, Black and White.
Work
In 1960 he adapted a story, The Seven Who Were HangedThe Seven Who Were Hanged
The Seven That Were Hanged is a 1909 novel by Russian author Leonid Andreyev. Herman Bernstein translated the novel from Russian to English.-Plot:...
by Leonid Andreyev
Leonid Andreyev
Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer. He is one of the most talented and prolific representatives of the Silver Age period in Russian history...
, for the stage. The 60 Theatre Group first produced the play at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1961, and later took it to a student theatre festival in Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
(then Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
). It was produced in London as The Scarecrow in 1964, and won the Foyle award. In 1962 Marlowe adapted Maxim Gorki's book The Lower Depths
The Lower Depths
The Lower Depths is perhaps Maxim Gorky's best-known play. It was written during the winter of 1901 and the spring of 1902. Subtitled "Scenes from Russian Life," it depicted a group of impoverished Russians living in a shelter near the Volga. Produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18,...
for the London stage.
He was the author of nine novels, notably A Dandy in Aspic (1966), Echoes of Celandine (1970) (re-published as The Disappearance), Somebody's Sister (1974) and The Rich Boy from Chicago (1979).
His first work for the screen was as co-author with Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer
Larry Kramer is an American playwright, author, public health advocate, and LGBT rights activist. He began his career rewriting scripts while working for Columbia Pictures, which led him to London where he worked with United Artists. There he wrote the screenplay for Women in Love in 1969, earning...
of a semi-documentary about swinging London
Swinging London
Swinging London is a catch-all term applied to the fashion and cultural scene that flourished in London, in the 1960s.It was a youth-oriented phenomenon that emphasised the new and modern. It was a period of optimism and hedonism, and a cultural revolution. One catalyst was the recovery of the...
called Reflections on Love (1966) and featuring some of the Beatles.
In 1968 he wrote the screenplay of his own novel A Dandy in Aspic
A Dandy in Aspic
A Dandy in Aspic is a 1968 British spy film, directed by Anthony Mann, based on the novel of the same name by Derek Marlowe and starring Laurence Harvey, Tom Courtenay and Mia Farrow....
, directed by Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann
Anthony Mann was an American actor and film director, most notably of film noirs and Westerns. As a director, he often collaborated with the cinematographer John Alton and with James Stewart in his Westerns.-Biography:...
and starring Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey
Laurence Harvey was a Lithuanian-born actor who achieved fame in British and American films.- Early life :Harvey maintained throughout his life that his birth name was Laruschka Mischa Skikne. However, his legal name was Zvi Mosheh Skikne. He was the youngest of three boys born to Ber "Boris" and...
as the double agent ordered to assassinate his own alter ego.
He wrote two episodes of the BBC television series The Search for the Nile in 1971. Other screenplays included Jamaica Inn, Nancy Astor, A Married Man, The Two Mrs Grenvilles, and Grass Roots. His last work was a feature-length episode of Murder, She Wrote produced posthumously in 1997.