Leonard Cyril Deighton (born 18 February 1929,
MaryleboneMarylebone is an affluent, inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel
The IPCRESS FileThe IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J...
, which was made into a
filmThe Ipcress File is a British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, Nigel Green, Gordon Jackson and Sue Lloyd. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton's novel, The IPCRESS File. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA...
starring
Michael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English film actor. Caine has appeared in more than 100 films, and is one of only two actors to have been nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade since the 1960s Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr.; 14 March 1933) is an...
.
Deighton was born in
MaryleboneMarylebone is an affluent, inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster...
, London, in 1929. His father was a
chauffeurA chauffeur is an individual who operates any self-propelled vehicle for a profession. While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle such as a horse-drawn carriage, luxury sedan, motor coach, or especially a limousine;...
and mechanic, and his mother was a part-time cook. At the time they lived in
Gloucester Place Mews near
Baker StreetBaker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It forms part of the A41. It is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at 221B Baker Street, an address that does not actually exist. The street is named after...
.
Deighton's interest in spy stories may have been partially inspired by the arrest of
Anna WolkoffAnna Nikolayevna Wolkova , sometimes known as Anna de Wolkoff, was a Russian White emigre and a spy for Nazi Germany during World War II. She is best known for having recruited Tyler Kent, a cipher clerk at the U.S...
, which he witnessed as an 11-year-old boy.
Leonard Cyril Deighton (born 18 February 1929,
MaryleboneMarylebone is an affluent, inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster...
,
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
) is a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
military historian, cookery writer, and novelist. He is perhaps most famous for his spy novel
The IPCRESS FileThe IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J...
, which was made into a
filmThe Ipcress File is a British espionage film directed by Sidney J. Furie and starring Michael Caine, Guy Doleman, Nigel Green, Gordon Jackson and Sue Lloyd. The screenplay by Bill Canaway and James Doran was based on Len Deighton's novel, The IPCRESS File. It has won critical acclaim and a BAFTA...
starring
Michael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English film actor. Caine has appeared in more than 100 films, and is one of only two actors to have been nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade since the 1960s Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr.; 14 March 1933) is an...
.
Early years
Deighton was born in
MaryleboneMarylebone is an affluent, inner-city area of central London, located within the City of Westminster...
, London, in 1929. His father was a
chauffeurA chauffeur is an individual who operates any self-propelled vehicle for a profession. While the term may refer to anybody who drives for a living, it usually implies a driver of an elegant passenger vehicle such as a horse-drawn carriage, luxury sedan, motor coach, or especially a limousine;...
and mechanic, and his mother was a part-time cook. At the time they lived in
Gloucester Place Mews near
Baker StreetBaker Street is a street in the Marylebone district of the City of Westminster in London. It forms part of the A41. It is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at 221B Baker Street, an address that does not actually exist. The street is named after...
.
Deighton's interest in spy stories may have been partially inspired by the arrest of
Anna WolkoffAnna Nikolayevna Wolkova , sometimes known as Anna de Wolkoff, was a Russian White emigre and a spy for Nazi Germany during World War II. She is best known for having recruited Tyler Kent, a cipher clerk at the U.S...
, which he witnessed as an 11-year-old boy. Wolkoff was a British citizen of Russian descent who was a
NaziNazism, known officially in German as National Socialism , is the totalitarian ideology and practices of the Nazi Party or National Socialist German Workers’ Party under Adolf Hitler, and the policies adopted by the dictatorial government of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945.Nazism is often considered...
spy. She was detained on 20 May 1940, and convicted of violating the Official Secrets Act for attempting to pass secret documents to the Nazis.
Career
After leaving school, Deighton worked as a railway clerk before performing his
National ServiceNational service is a common name for mandatory or voluntary government service programs . National service was common in the 20th century, and many young people spent one or more years in such programs...
, which he spent as a photographer for the
Royal Air ForceThe Royal Air Force is the United Kingdom's air force, the oldest independent air force in the world. Formed on 1 April 1918, the RAF has taken a significant role in British military history ever since, playing a large part in World War II and in more recent conflicts.The RAF operates almost 1,109...
's
Special Investigation BranchThe Special Investigation Branch is the name given to the detective branches of all four British military police arms: the Royal Navy Regulating Branch, Royal Marines Police, Royal Military Police and Royal Air Force Police. It is most closely associated with the Royal Military Police, which has...
. After discharge from the RAF, he studied at St Martin's School of Art in
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
in 1949, and in 1952 won a
scholarshipA scholarship is an award of access to an institution, or a financial aid award for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to the
Royal College of ArtThe Royal College of Art is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of MA, MPhil and PhD...
, graduating in 1955. While he was at the RCA he became a "lifelong friend" of fellow designer
Raymond HawkeyRaymond Hawkey born 1930 in Portsmouth is an English graphic designer and author based in London.-Professional Education:Hawkey achieved a National Diploma in Design at the Plymouth School of Art and was awarded a scholarship in 1950 to study at the Royal College of Art where he became a notable...
, who later designed covers for his early books. Deighton then worked as an
airline stewardFlight attendants or cabin crew are members of an aircrew employed by airlines primarily to ensure the safety but also the comfort of passengers aboard commercial flights as well as on select business jet aircraft.-History:The role of a flight attendant ultimately derives from that of similar...
with
BOACBoac can refer to:* Boac, a municipality in the Southern Philippines* BOAC the former British state-owned airline* Boac, an American rapper...
. Before he began his writing career he worked as an illustrator in
New YorkNew York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and, in 1960, as an art director in a
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
advertising agencyAn advertising agency or ad agency is a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients. An ad agency is independent from the client and provides an outside point of view to the effort of selling the client's products or services...
. He is credited with creating the first British cover for
Kerouac'sJack Kerouac was an American author, poet and painter. Alongside William S. Burroughs and Allen Ginsberg, he is considered a pioneer of the Beat Generation....
On the RoadOn the Road is a novel by American writer Jack Kerouac, written in April 1951, and published by Viking Press in 1957. It is a largely autobiographical work that was based on the spontaneous road trips of Kerouac and his friends across mid-century America. It is often considered a defining work of...
. He has since used his drawing skills to illustrate a number of his own
military historyMilitary history is a humanities discipline within the scope of general historical recording of armed conflict in the history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, their cultures, economies and changing intra and international relationships....
books.
Following the success of his first novels, Deighton became
The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
s cookery writer and produced illustrated cookbooks. He also wrote travel guides and became travel editor of PlayboyPlayboy is an American men's magazine, founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with a presence in nearly every medium. Playboy is one of the world's best...
, before becoming a film producer. After producing a film adaption of his 1968 novel Only When I LarfOnly When I Larf is a late 1960s British comic thriller describing the activities of a team of three fictional confidence tricksters led by Silas Lowther , his girlfriend Liz Mason and wannabe apprentice and Liz-worshipper Bob...
, Deighton and photographer Brian DuffyBrian Duffy is a celebrated British photographer and film producer, best remembered for his fashion photography of the 1960s and 1970s and his creation of the iconic "Aladdin Sane" image for David Bowie.-Early life:...
bought the film rights to Joan LittlewoodJoan Maud Littlewood was a British theatre director, noted for her work in developing the left-wing Theatre Workshop...
and Theatre WorkshopTheatre Workshop is a theatre group noted for their director, Joan Littlewood. Many actors of the 1950s and 1960s received their training and first exposure with the company...
's stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War!Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical that Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963. It is based on The Donkeys by military historian Alan Clark, with some scenes adapted from The Good Soldier Švejk by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek; it was also inspired by Charles Chilton's BBC...
. He had his name removed from the credits of
the filmOh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! that Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963. The title is derived from the music hall song Oh! It's a Lovely War, which is one of the major numbers in the productions. In 1969 Richard...
, however, which was a move that he later described as "stupid and infantile". That was his last involvement with the cinema.
Deighton left Britain in 1969. He briefly resided in
BlackrockBlackrock is a suburban town and district located south of the city of Dublin, in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County, Ireland, northwest of Dún Laoghaire....
, Co.
LouthLouth is the name of several locations around the world:* County Louth, Ireland**the village of Louth in County Louth** County Louth , Ireland** Louth , Ireland...
in Ireland and drove an Aston Martin DB5. He has not returned to Britain apart from some personal visits and very few media appearances, his last one since 1985 being a 2006 interview which formed part of a "Len Deighton Night" on
BBC FourBBC Four is a BBC television channel available to digital television viewers in the UK. The part successor to BBC Knowledge. BBC Four launched on 2 March 2002....
. He now resides in southern California.
Novels
Several of his novels have been adapted as
filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
s. His first four novels featured an anonymous anti-hero, named "
Harry PalmerHarry Palmer is the name of the fictional secret agent protagonist of a number of films based on the main character from the spy novels written by Len Deighton...
" in the films, and portrayed by
Michael CaineSir Michael Caine, CBE is an English film actor. Caine has appeared in more than 100 films, and is one of only two actors to have been nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade since the 1960s Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, Jr.; 14 March 1933) is an...
. The first trilogy of his
Bernard SamsonBernard Samson is a fictional character created by Len Deighton. Samson is a middle-aged and somewhat jaded intelligence officer working for the Secret Intelligence Service — usually referred to as "the Department" in the novels. He is a central character in three trilogies written by Deighton,...
novel series was made into a 12-part television series by
Granada TelevisionGranada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England and the Isle of Man.It is the only one of the original four ITA franchisees from 1954 that survived as a franchise holder into the twenty-first century. Broadcasting began on 3 May 1956, with the company originally...
in 1988, shown only once, and withdrawn on instructions from Mr Deighton. Quentin Tarantino has expressed interest in filming the trilogy.
http://www.darkhorizons.com/news08/080204b.php He wrote the
screenplayA screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. A play for television is known as a teleplay.- Format and style :...
and was an uncredited producer
of the
1969 filmOh! What a Lovely War is a musical film based on the stage musical Oh, What a Lovely War! that Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963. The title is derived from the music hall song Oh! It's a Lovely War, which is one of the major numbers in the productions. In 1969 Richard...
of the stage musical
Oh, What a Lovely War!Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical that Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop created in 1963. It is based on The Donkeys by military historian Alan Clark, with some scenes adapted from The Good Soldier Švejk by Czech humorist Jaroslav Hašek; it was also inspired by Charles Chilton's BBC...
. His 1970 World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
historical novel BomberBomber is a novel written by Len Deighton and published in the UK in 1970. It is the fictionalised account of the events of 31 June [sic], 1943 in which an RAF bombing raid on the Ruhr area of western Germany goes wrong...
about an RAF Bomber CommandRAF Bomber Command was the organisation that controlled the RAF's bomber forces from 1936 to 1968. During World War II, the command destroyed a significant proportion of Nazi Germany's industries and many German cities, and in the 1960s was at the peak of its postwar power with the V bombers and a...
raid over GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
often is considered his masterpiece.
He reportedly began an unfinished VietnamVietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
novel, a portion of which appeared as the story First Base
in his short story collection Declarations of War
.
Cookery books
Deighton also published a series of cookery books and wrote and drew a weekly strip cartoon-style illustrated cooking guide in London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
's The ObserverThe Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In about the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a left-liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-History:The...
newspaper – Len Deighton's Cookstrip
. At least one of the strips is pinned up in Deighton's spy hero's kitchen in the 1965 film of his novel The IPCRESS FileThe IPCRESS File was the first spy novel by Len Deighton, published in 1962.It was made into a film in 1965 produced by Harry Saltzman and directed by Sidney J...
.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059319/trivia
To exploit the success of Deighton's first four "Unnamed Hero" novels, he wrote Len Deighton's London Dossier
(1967), a guide book to Swinging Sixties London with a "secret agent" theme — contributions from other writers are described as "surveillance reports".
History books
Deighton's 1977 "Fighter: The True Story of the Battle of BritainFighter: The True Story of the Battle of Britain is a Second World War military history book by English author Len Deighton. First published in 1977, Fighter was Deighton's first history book, having made his name as a writer of spy fiction. Deighton was encouraged to write the book by his...
" was said by
Albert SpeerAlbert Speer was a German architect who was, for part of World War II, Minister of Armaments and War Production for the Third Reich. Speer was Adolf Hitler's chief architect before assuming ministerial office...
(once Hitler's Minister of Armaments) to be "an excellent, most thorough examination. I read page after page with fascination". The piece was furnished with a comment by
A. J. P. TaylorAlan John Percival Taylor, FBA was a renowned English historian of the 20th century.-Early life and career:...
simply saying: "Brilliant analysis...".
Deighton is currently writing a history of aero engines and also a history of the fountain pen.
Further literature
- Sauerberg, Lars Ole (1984) Secret Agents in Fiction: Ian Fleming, John le Carré, and Len Deighton
- Milward-Oliver, Edward (1985) Len Deighton: An Annotated Bibliography 1954-85
- Milward-Oliver, Edward (1987) The Len Deighton Companion
External links