Iain Blair
Encyclopedia
Iain Blair was a Scottish actor and author who, using the pen name
Emma Blair wrote a series of romantic novels.
and spent the first few years of his life there. His father died shortly after his birth, and following the death of his mother, when Blair was aged eleven, he moved to the United States to live with an aunt. He wanted to return to Scotland, however, and got a part time job at age fifteen to save up for his fare home. After graduating a year later from West Division High School in Milwaukee he returned to Glasgow to begin work with an insurance company. But he quickly became bored with the job and he moved to Australia at seventeen where he worked as a proof reader on the Sydney Bulletin newspaper, and as a life guard at Sydney
's South Steyne Beach.
After a year in Australia he returned to his native Glasgow once again, where he worked as a feature writer on the Sunday Post. But following a visit to the cinema to see Burt Lancaster
in The Flame and the Arrow
he resolved to become an actor. He won a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and after graduating from there secured work with the Royal Shakespeare Company
. During a 20 year career in acting he appeared in many acclaimed television dramas. Among his television acting credits are roles in The Borderers
, the police series The Sweeney
and Juliet Bravo
, The Brontes of Haworth, Rock Follies, The Saint
and the sitcom Citizen Smith
. In addition to these roles, he recorded an educational video in which he portrays an "oil man" who cons David Jason
's Del Boy
with a dodgy deal.
His acting career came to an end after an exchange with Steven Spielberg
when he went to audition for a part in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark
. He once recalled a difficult journey to the studio followed by a lengthy wait: "Eventually a rather small man came into the room. 'I'm Steven Spielberg. Can you come back tomorrow?' he announced, not expecting a negative. 'No, I fucking can't,' I replied in traditional Glasgow fashion. And that was the end of my acting career."
Blair began writing while a stage actor, doing so in his spare time. Initially he wrote plays for theatre and television, but later began to write novels. He started out as a thriller writer, but after being unsuccessful with this genre, switched to writing romantic fiction. Upon submitting the first of these stories, titled Where No Man Cries, to his publishers in 1982, it was suggested the book would sell better if the author was a woman. Consequently he adopted the pseudonym Emma Blair. Speaking about his change of name, he once joked: "The publishers decided on a sex change and so that was that. Emma I became and Emma I stayed." His wife, Jane Blanchard, has said of the Emma Blair nom de plume: "Emma was not the quiet, retiring type but a 6ft 3in Glaswegian called Iain Blair who enjoyed a pint and a smoke."
When No Man Cries, a story set in Glasgow during the inter war years, features a central character who overcomes social and financial hardships and ultimately finds the woman he loves. The book was an immediate success and generated good sales. Blair followed it with a series of other Emma Blair stories, many of them set in Scotland. Writing of Blair, The Scotsman
's Alasdair Steven said: "Many of his books were of that genre: strongly romantic but very realistic. Blair had a fine ability to reflect social conditions within the body of his writing while the romantic element provides the main thrust to the story. He was a fine wordsmith and an exceptional story-teller...As he indeed demonstrated in two of his most acclaimed books. Flower of Scotland was about a family of whisky distillers in Perthshire as the First World War is about to break out. The family face many problems and as the war ends, they return to Scotland much changed."
During a writing career spanning three decades he wrote some 30 novels, but his true identity remained a secret until 1998 when his novel Flower of Scotland was nominated for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award, something which required him to admit to being the author of the books. He was one of Britain's most popular authors and his books the most borrowed from British libraries. He was forced to give up writing in 2007 after being diagnosed with diabetes. He died as a result of the condition at his home in Torquay, Devon, on 3 July 2011.
in Devon
. Blair is survived by two sons from a previous marriage.
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
Emma Blair wrote a series of romantic novels.
Life and career
Blair was born in GlasgowGlasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and spent the first few years of his life there. His father died shortly after his birth, and following the death of his mother, when Blair was aged eleven, he moved to the United States to live with an aunt. He wanted to return to Scotland, however, and got a part time job at age fifteen to save up for his fare home. After graduating a year later from West Division High School in Milwaukee he returned to Glasgow to begin work with an insurance company. But he quickly became bored with the job and he moved to Australia at seventeen where he worked as a proof reader on the Sydney Bulletin newspaper, and as a life guard at Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
's South Steyne Beach.
After a year in Australia he returned to his native Glasgow once again, where he worked as a feature writer on the Sunday Post. But following a visit to the cinema to see Burt Lancaster
Burt Lancaster
Burton Stephen "Burt" Lancaster was an American film actor noted for his athletic physique and distinctive smile...
in The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow
The Flame and the Arrow is a 1950 American adventure film made by Warner Bros. and starring Burt Lancaster, Virginia Mayo and Nick Cravat. It was directed by Jacques Tourneur and produced by Harold Hecht and Frank Ross from a screenplay by Waldo Salt. The music score was by Max Steiner and the...
he resolved to become an actor. He won a place at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and after graduating from there secured work with the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. During a 20 year career in acting he appeared in many acclaimed television dramas. Among his television acting credits are roles in The Borderers
The Borderers
The Borderers is a British television series produced by the BBC between 1968 and 1970.- Setting :A historical drama series, The Borderers was set during the 16th century and chronicled the lives of the Ker family, who lived in the Scottish Middle March on the frontier between England and Scotland...
, the police series The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
and Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo
Juliet Bravo is a British television series, which ran on BBC1 between 1980 and 1985. The theme of the series concerned a female police inspector who took over control of a police station in the fictional town of Hartley in Lancashire.-Programme name:...
, The Brontes of Haworth, Rock Follies, The Saint
The Saint (TV series)
The Saint was an ITC mystery spy thriller television series that aired in the UK on ITV between 1962 and 1969. It centred on the Leslie Charteris literary character, Simon Templar, a Robin Hood-like adventurer with a penchant for disguise. The character may be nicknamed The Saint because the...
and the sitcom 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...
. In addition to these roles, he recorded an educational video in which he portrays an "oil man" who cons David Jason
David Jason
Sir David John White, OBE , better known by his stage name David Jason, is an English BAFTA award-winning actor. He is best known as the main character Derek "Del Boy" Trotter on the BBC sit-com Only Fools and Horses from 1981, the voice of Mr Toad in The Wind In The Willows and as detective Jack...
's Del Boy
Del Boy
Derek Edward Trotter, better known as "Del Boy", is the fictional lead character in the popular BBC sitcom Only Fools and Horses and one of the main characters of its prequel, Rock & Chips...
with a dodgy deal.
His acting career came to an end after an exchange with Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
when he went to audition for a part in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
. He once recalled a difficult journey to the studio followed by a lengthy wait: "Eventually a rather small man came into the room. 'I'm Steven Spielberg. Can you come back tomorrow?' he announced, not expecting a negative. 'No, I fucking can't,' I replied in traditional Glasgow fashion. And that was the end of my acting career."
Blair began writing while a stage actor, doing so in his spare time. Initially he wrote plays for theatre and television, but later began to write novels. He started out as a thriller writer, but after being unsuccessful with this genre, switched to writing romantic fiction. Upon submitting the first of these stories, titled Where No Man Cries, to his publishers in 1982, it was suggested the book would sell better if the author was a woman. Consequently he adopted the pseudonym Emma Blair. Speaking about his change of name, he once joked: "The publishers decided on a sex change and so that was that. Emma I became and Emma I stayed." His wife, Jane Blanchard, has said of the Emma Blair nom de plume: "Emma was not the quiet, retiring type but a 6ft 3in Glaswegian called Iain Blair who enjoyed a pint and a smoke."
When No Man Cries, a story set in Glasgow during the inter war years, features a central character who overcomes social and financial hardships and ultimately finds the woman he loves. The book was an immediate success and generated good sales. Blair followed it with a series of other Emma Blair stories, many of them set in Scotland. Writing of Blair, The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
's Alasdair Steven said: "Many of his books were of that genre: strongly romantic but very realistic. Blair had a fine ability to reflect social conditions within the body of his writing while the romantic element provides the main thrust to the story. He was a fine wordsmith and an exceptional story-teller...As he indeed demonstrated in two of his most acclaimed books. Flower of Scotland was about a family of whisky distillers in Perthshire as the First World War is about to break out. The family face many problems and as the war ends, they return to Scotland much changed."
During a writing career spanning three decades he wrote some 30 novels, but his true identity remained a secret until 1998 when his novel Flower of Scotland was nominated for the Romantic Novel of the Year Award, something which required him to admit to being the author of the books. He was one of Britain's most popular authors and his books the most borrowed from British libraries. He was forced to give up writing in 2007 after being diagnosed with diabetes. He died as a result of the condition at his home in Torquay, Devon, on 3 July 2011.
Personal life
Blair was married to the television producer and author Jane Blanchard. The couple lived in TorquayTorquay
Torquay is a town in the unitary authority area of Torbay and ceremonial county of Devon, England. It lies south of Exeter along the A380 on the north of Torbay, north-east of Plymouth and adjoins the neighbouring town of Paignton on the west of the bay. Torquay’s population of 63,998 during the...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Blair is survived by two sons from a previous marriage.