John Sullivan (writer)

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John Sullivan (writer)

John Sullivan OBE

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom....
(born 23 December 1946 in Balham, London

Balham, London

Balham is a neighbourhood in South London, England.The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. It was held by Geoffrey Orlateile....
, England

England

British sitcom

A British sitcom is a situation comedy produced in the United Kingdom. Like sitcoms in most other countries, they tend to be based around a family, workplace or other institution where a group of contrasting characters are brought together each episode....
s including the immensely popular Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses is a United Kingdom television situation comedy, created and written by John Sullivan , and made and broadcast by the BBC....
as well as Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith

Citizen Smith was a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan , who went on later to write Only Fools and Horses....
, Dear John
Dear John (UK TV series)

Dear John is a British sitcom, written by John Sullivan . Fourteen episodes and one "special" were broadcast in 1986-7.This sitcom's title referred to letters sent by girls to their boyfriends breaking off the relationship, known as Dear John letter....
, Just Good Friends
Just Good Friends

Just Good Friends is a United Kingdom British sitcom written by 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....
, Roger Roger
Roger Roger

Roger Roger was a British TV comedy-drama, which was piloted in 1996 and ran for three subsequent series' on BBC1 in 1998, 1999 and 2003, respectively....
, and The Green Green Grass
The Green Green Grass

The Green Green Grass is a United Kingdom British sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan , made by Shazam Productions and broadcast by the BBC....
. In addition, he also wrote the comedy drama series Micawber for ITV and still co-writes many comedies including Heartburn Hotel
Heartburn Hotel

Heartburn Hotel was a United Kingdom sitcom which ran for two series, with thirteen episodes, on BBC television in 1998 - 2000, each series was 6 episodes long and one special was aired in December 1998....
. Sullivan composed the theme tune of Only Fools and Horses, Just Good Friends, Dear John' and The Green Green Grass.

Sullivan Sullivan grew up in Balham
Balham, London

Balham is a neighbourhood in South London, England.The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. It was held by Geoffrey Orlateile....
, South London
South London

South London is the southern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes....
, and left school at 15 with no qualifications.

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Encyclopedia

John Sullivan OBE
Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a United Kingdom order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom....
(born 23 December 1946 in Balham, London
Balham, London

Balham is a neighbourhood in South London, England.The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. It was held by Geoffrey Orlateile....
, England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
), is the writer of several British sitcom
British sitcom

A British sitcom is a situation comedy produced in the United Kingdom. Like sitcoms in most other countries, they tend to be based around a family, workplace or other institution where a group of contrasting characters are brought together each episode....
s including the immensely popular Only Fools and Horses
Only Fools and Horses

Only Fools and Horses is a United Kingdom television situation comedy, created and written by John Sullivan , and made and broadcast by the BBC....
as well as Citizen Smith
Citizen Smith

Citizen Smith was a British television sitcom. The show was written by John Sullivan , who went on later to write Only Fools and Horses....
, Dear John
Dear John (UK TV series)

Dear John is a British sitcom, written by John Sullivan . Fourteen episodes and one "special" were broadcast in 1986-7.This sitcom's title referred to letters sent by girls to their boyfriends breaking off the relationship, known as Dear John letter....
, Just Good Friends
Just Good Friends

Just Good Friends is a United Kingdom British sitcom written by 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....
, Roger Roger
Roger Roger

Roger Roger was a British TV comedy-drama, which was piloted in 1996 and ran for three subsequent series' on BBC1 in 1998, 1999 and 2003, respectively....
, and The Green Green Grass
The Green Green Grass

The Green Green Grass is a United Kingdom British sitcom, created and initially written by John Sullivan , made by Shazam Productions and broadcast by the BBC....
. In addition, he also wrote the comedy drama series Micawber for ITV and still co-writes many comedies including Heartburn Hotel
Heartburn Hotel

Heartburn Hotel was a United Kingdom sitcom which ran for two series, with thirteen episodes, on BBC television in 1998 - 2000, each series was 6 episodes long and one special was aired in December 1998....
. Sullivan composed the theme tune of Only Fools and Horses, Just Good Friends, Dear John' and The Green Green Grass.

Biography
John Sullivan Sullivan grew up in Balham
Balham, London

Balham is a neighbourhood in South London, England.The settlement appears in the Domesday Book as Belgeham. It was held by Geoffrey Orlateile....
, South London
South London

South London is the southern part of London, England. The area it covers is defined differently for a range of purposes....
, and left school at 15 with no qualifications. His father was a plumber
Plumber

The word plumber dates from the Roman Empire. In Roman times, some roofs were made of lead, or in Latin . Lead roofs were waterproof, and the workers on such roofs were what are now called "plumbers"....
and his mother occasionally worked as a charlady
Charlady

A charlady or sometimes charwoman was an English house cleaner. The term has the same roots as "chore woman," one hired to do odd chores around the house....
. It was in Balham where he observed the sort of market trader that would later appear in Only Fools and Horses. Sullivan's first paid employment was as a messenger boy for Reuters
Reuters

Reuters Group Limited is a United_Kingdom-based, Canadian controlled news agency and former financial market data provider that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters....
.

Sullivan got a lot of his material for Only Fools and Horses scripts from his real-life experiences i.e. the chandelier falling, his father's poker sessions, his niece working in the police force, and his grandfather falling down holes to claim money.

He now lives in the city of Brighton and Hove.

On 2 September 2008 John Sullivan was awarded an Honorary Fellowship at Goldsmiths, University of London.

External links

- The Times
The Times

The Times is a daily national newspaper published in the United Kingdom since 1785 when it was known as The Daily Universal Register.The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of News International....
, 21 August 2005, Sullivan talks about his Only Fools and Horses spin-off series, The Green Green Grass.
- John Sullivan's picture on the bbc website