Jimmy O'Connor (author)
Encyclopedia
Jimmy O'Connor was a playwright for The Wednesday Play
and Play for Today
television series on the BBC
.
, west London
, England in 1918. His father, James O'Connor, was a merchant marine and fish monger from Ireland
; his mother a part-time prostitute. Growing up in the slums of West London, O'Connor learned the trade of petty theft.
Doing the "honorable thing" he married Mary Agnes Davey, four years his senior, in the spring of 1936. She was Church of England
, while he was Irish Catholic
. Their son, James William O'Connor, was born on 19 September 1936. Mary O'Connor divorced her husband in 1946 after he attempted to have their son removed from her care and raised Catholic.
With the beginning of World War II
, O'Connor enlisted and served with the British Expeditionary Forces in France
. He was one of the few survivors of the sinking of the ship RMS Lancastria
on 17 June 1941, and shared a life raft with Cunard Line
Captain Harry Grattidge. After an honorable discharge, he went back to theft and was sentenced to six months in prison in late 1941.
When O'Connor was released in 1952, his son, not eager for a reunion went to sea, eventually served a few years on The Queen Mary under Capt. Grattidge. Grattidge later wrote about both O'Connor and his son (under the pseudonym "Terry").
Nemone Lethbridge, who had joined his cause for complete exoneration. They were secretly married in 1959. When their marriage was made public in 1962, with the stigma of O'Connor still being out "At Her Majesty's Pleasure
", Lethbridge was forced out of chambers
and left unable to practice law.
In 1968, O'Connor and Lethbridge petitioned the courts for a pardon based on new information concerning the pocket watch and the confession to O'Connor by the real killer. Although the evidence against O'Connor was in grave doubt, in 1970 the courts denied O'Connor a full pardon. With his earnings as an author, as well as a few well-received tele-plays by Lethbridge, the couple bought a villa on the isle of Mykonos
, spending time with the likes of Aristotle
and Jackie Onassis.
O'Connor and Lethbridge's first son, Ragnar O'Connor, was born in 1970. O'Connor was still bitter about the denial of his pardon and drank most his money away, causing Lethbridge to leave him in 1971 and return to London seeking a restraining order. The couple reconciled long enough to have a second son, Milo O'Connor, in 1973, but shortly thereafter they divorced. O'Connor continued to drink heavily, resulting in the loss of his Mykonos home, and returned to London.
In 1994, O'Connor was given access to a small selection of files from his 1942 trial. One memo suggested that the actual killer was the same man O'Connor claimed had confessed in 1968. Shortly after the discovery, O'Connor suffered a series of strokes and was placed in a Catholic charity nursing home by Lethbridge, just a few blocks from her home in Stoke Newington
.
On 29 September 2001, Jimmy O'Connor died after another series of strokes at the age of 83.
In 2007 (six years after O'Connor's death) Lethbridge (having now been re-instated to chambers) was allowed to bring O'Connor's case once again before the courts. After careful consideration, the courts decided that O'Connor's conviction was wrongful.
BBC
television series. Released in 1965, Tap on the Shoulder, Three Clear Sundays, and The Profile of a Gentleman drew from O'Connor's experiences in prison and the people he grew up with in the West End. He won critical acclaim for The Coming Out Party in 1967.
O'Connor continued to write for television and regained some acclaim with the 1973 Play for Today
episode "On Her Majesty's Pleasure" which brought critical attention to a young actor by the name of Bob Hoskins
. In 1976, O'Connor's autobiography The Eleventh Commandment became a best-seller.
The Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
and Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
television series on the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Early life
He was born James O'Connor in PaddingtonPaddington
Paddington is a district within the City of Westminster, in central London, England. Formerly a metropolitan borough, it was integrated with Westminster and Greater London in 1965...
, west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England in 1918. His father, James O'Connor, was a merchant marine and fish monger from Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
; his mother a part-time prostitute. Growing up in the slums of West London, O'Connor learned the trade of petty theft.
Doing the "honorable thing" he married Mary Agnes Davey, four years his senior, in the spring of 1936. She was Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
, while he was Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
. Their son, James William O'Connor, was born on 19 September 1936. Mary O'Connor divorced her husband in 1946 after he attempted to have their son removed from her care and raised Catholic.
With the beginning of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, O'Connor enlisted and served with the British Expeditionary Forces in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was one of the few survivors of the sinking of the ship RMS Lancastria
RMS Lancastria
The RMS Lancastria was a British Cunard liner sunk on 17 June 1940 during World War II with the loss of an estimated 4,000 plus lives. It is the worst single loss of life in British maritime history and the bloodiest single engagement for UK forces , in the whole conflict and claimed more lives...
on 17 June 1941, and shared a life raft with Cunard Line
Cunard Line
Cunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
Captain Harry Grattidge. After an honorable discharge, he went back to theft and was sentenced to six months in prison in late 1941.
When O'Connor was released in 1952, his son, not eager for a reunion went to sea, eventually served a few years on The Queen Mary under Capt. Grattidge. Grattidge later wrote about both O'Connor and his son (under the pseudonym "Terry").
Murder conviction
In January 1942, O'Connor was arrested for the murder of George Ambridge on 14 April 1941. In spite of questionable testimony and poor forensic evidence (O'Connor was in the possession of a pocket watch police claimed belonged to the murdered man), he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Two days before he was to hang which would have been on his birthday O'Connor was given a reprieve. While in Dartmoor Prison, O'Connor entered into a correspondence course through Ruskin College.Later life
When O'Connor was released from prison in 1952, he became a reporter for the Empire News. Still trying to clear his name with a full pardon, O'Connor met and fell in love with barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
Nemone Lethbridge, who had joined his cause for complete exoneration. They were secretly married in 1959. When their marriage was made public in 1962, with the stigma of O'Connor still being out "At Her Majesty's Pleasure
At Her Majesty's pleasure
At Her Majesty's pleasure is a legal term of art derived from all legitimate authority for government stemming from the Crown. Originating from the United Kingdom, it is now used throughout the Commonwealth realms...
", Lethbridge was forced out of chambers
Chambers
Chambers may refer to:Places*In Canada:**Chambers Township, Ontario*In the United States:**Chambers County, Alabama**Chambers, Arizona, an unincorporated community in Apache County**Chambers, Nebraska**Chambers Township, Holt County, Nebraska...
and left unable to practice law.
In 1968, O'Connor and Lethbridge petitioned the courts for a pardon based on new information concerning the pocket watch and the confession to O'Connor by the real killer. Although the evidence against O'Connor was in grave doubt, in 1970 the courts denied O'Connor a full pardon. With his earnings as an author, as well as a few well-received tele-plays by Lethbridge, the couple bought a villa on the isle of Mykonos
Mykonos
Mykonos is a Greek island, part of the Cyclades, lying between Tinos, Syros, Paros and Naxos. The island spans an area of and rises to an elevation of at its highest point. There are 9,320 inhabitants most of whom live in the largest town, Mykonos, which lies on the west coast. The town is also...
, spending time with the likes of Aristotle
Aristotle Onassis
Aristotle Sokratis Onassis , commonly called Ari or Aristo Onassis, was a prominent Greek shipping magnate.- Early life :Onassis was born in Karatass, a suburb of Smyrna to Socrates and Penelope Onassis...
and Jackie Onassis.
O'Connor and Lethbridge's first son, Ragnar O'Connor, was born in 1970. O'Connor was still bitter about the denial of his pardon and drank most his money away, causing Lethbridge to leave him in 1971 and return to London seeking a restraining order. The couple reconciled long enough to have a second son, Milo O'Connor, in 1973, but shortly thereafter they divorced. O'Connor continued to drink heavily, resulting in the loss of his Mykonos home, and returned to London.
In 1994, O'Connor was given access to a small selection of files from his 1942 trial. One memo suggested that the actual killer was the same man O'Connor claimed had confessed in 1968. Shortly after the discovery, O'Connor suffered a series of strokes and was placed in a Catholic charity nursing home by Lethbridge, just a few blocks from her home in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
.
On 29 September 2001, Jimmy O'Connor died after another series of strokes at the age of 83.
In 2007 (six years after O'Connor's death) Lethbridge (having now been re-instated to chambers) was allowed to bring O'Connor's case once again before the courts. After careful consideration, the courts decided that O'Connor's conviction was wrongful.
Career
O'Connor became a noted and successful tele-playwright with his scripts for The Wednesday PlayThe Wednesday Play
The Wednesday Play was an anthology series of British television plays which ran on BBC1 from October 1964 to May 1970. Every week's play was usually written for television, although adaptations from other sources also featured...
BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series. Released in 1965, Tap on the Shoulder, Three Clear Sundays, and The Profile of a Gentleman drew from O'Connor's experiences in prison and the people he grew up with in the West End. He won critical acclaim for The Coming Out Party in 1967.
O'Connor continued to write for television and regained some acclaim with the 1973 Play for Today
Play for Today
Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted...
episode "On Her Majesty's Pleasure" which brought critical attention to a young actor by the name of Bob Hoskins
Bob Hoskins
Robert William "Bob" Hoskins, Jr. is an English actor known for playing Cockney rough diamonds, psychopaths and gangsters, in films such as The Long Good Friday , and Mona Lisa , and lighter roles in family films such as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Hook .- Early life :Hoskins was born in Bury St...
. In 1976, O'Connor's autobiography The Eleventh Commandment became a best-seller.