Kurt at 20:00, 23 January 2023

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	{{Short description\|English scriptwriter (1933–2022)}}		{{Short description\|English scriptwriter (1933–2022)}}
	~~{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}~~
	{{Infobox writer		{{Infobox writer
	\| name = Eric Chappell		\| name = Eric Chappell

Kurt: /* External links */

2022-11-30T13:58:27Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 08:58, 30 November 2022
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	* [http://www.leonardrossiter.com/risingdamp/ECPage.html Detailed biography at official Rising Damp web site]		* [http://www.leonardrossiter.com/risingdamp/ECPage.html Detailed biography at official Rising Damp web site]
	* {{IMDb name\|id=0152602\|name=Eric Chappell}}		* {{IMDb name\|id=0152602\|name=Eric Chappell}}
	* [http://wearecult.rocks/i-deserve-more-than-this-the-work-of-eric-chappell "I Deserve More Than This: The Work of Eric Chappell"], 27 March 2019 by Anna Cale		* [http://wearecult.rocks/i-deserve-more-than-this-the-work-of-eric-chappell "I Deserve More Than This: The Work of Eric Chappell"], 27 March 2019 by Anna Cale
	* {{discogs artist\|Eric Chappell (2)}}		* {{discogs artist\|Eric Chappell (2)}}

	{{EricChappell}}		{{EricChappell}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Eric}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Eric}}

Kurt at 20:53, 21 September 2022

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	{{Short description\|English scriptwriter (1933–2022)}}		{{Short description\|English scriptwriter (1933–2022)}}
	~~{{sources\|date=November 2017}}~~
	{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}		{{Use dmy dates\|date=April 2022}}
	{{Infobox writer		{{Infobox writer

Kurt at 20:46, 21 September 2022

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	{{Infobox writer		{{Infobox writer
	\| name = Eric Chappell		\| name = Eric Chappell
	\| image =		\| image = Eric Chappell.jpg
	\| birth_name = Eric George Chappell		\| birth_name = Eric George Chappell
	\| birth_date = 25 September 1933		\| birth_date = 25 September 1933

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-07-27T16:42:08Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 11:42, 27 July 2022
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en>Red Director: Changing short description from "English scriptwriter" to "English scriptwriter (1933–2022)"

2022-07-03T21:22:42Z

Changing short description from "English scriptwriter" to "English scriptwriter (1933–2022)"

New page

{{Short description|English scriptwriter (1933–2022)}}
{{sources|date=November 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Eric Chappell
| image =
| birth_name = Eric George Chappell
| birth_date = 25 September 1933
| birth_place = [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]], England
| death_date = 21 April 2022 (aged 88)
| death_place = Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
| occupation = [[Screenwriter|Scriptwriter]]
| period = 1973–2008
| genre = [[Television]]
| notableworks = ''[[The Squirrels (TV series)|The Squirrels]]'' (1974–1977) ''[[Rising Damp]]'' (1974–1978) ''[[Only When I Laugh (TV series)|Only When I Laugh]]'' (1979–1982) ''Misfits'' (1981) ''[[The Bounder]]'' (1982–1983) ''[[Duty Free (TV series)|Duty Free]]'' (1984–1986) ''[[Home to Roost]]'' (1985–1990) ''[[Singles (TV series)|Singles]]'' (1984–1991) ''Natural Causes'' (1988) ''[[Haggard (TV series)|Haggard]]'' (1990–1992) ''[[Fiddlers Three (TV series)|Fiddlers Three]]'' (1991)
| spouse =
| partner =
}}

'''Eric George Chappell''' (25 September 1933 – 21 April 2022)<ref>[https://www.comedy.co.uk/people/news/6824/rip-eric-chappell/ Rising Damp writer Eric Chappell dies aged 88]</ref> was an English television comedy writer and playwright and who wrote or co-wrote some of the UK's biggest sitcom hits over a more than quarter-century career, first gaining significant notice in the 1970s.

==Early life==
Chappell was born in [[Grantham]], [[Lincolnshire]], and educated at Grantham boys’ central school.<ref name="Coveney">{{cite news|last=Coveney|first=Michael|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/apr/25/eric-chappell-obituary|title=Eric Chappell obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|date=25 April 2022|access-date=25 April 2022}}</ref> He worked as an auditor for the [[East Midlands Electricity|East Midlands Electricity Board]] for 22 years beginning in 1951, only becoming a full-time writer in 1973.<ref name="Tgraphobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2022/04/24/eric-chappell-creator-classic-sitcom-rising-damp-host-top-rated/|title=Eric Chappell, creator of the classic sitcom Rising Damp and a host of other top-rated ITV comedies – obituary|newspaper=The Telegraph|date=24 April 2022|access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref> He had written several novels which were rejected by publishers, before deciding to become a playwright.<ref name="Timesobit">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/eric-chappell-obituary-lrrdhqb3j|title=Eric Chappell obituary|newspaper=The Times|date=25 April 2022|access-date=25 April 2022|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Career==
Chappell wrote the play ''The Banana Box'', which was given a staged reading at the [[Hampstead Theatre Club]] in 1970. A production at the [[Phoenix Theatre, Leicester|Phoenix Theatre]] in Leicester in 1971, with [[Wilfrid Brambell]] in the role of the  landlord, and was later produced in the West End in 1973, with [[Leonard Rossiter]] now in the role.<ref name="Tgraphobit" /> This play later became the basis for sitcom ''[[Rising Damp]]'', which aired on [[ITV (TV Network)|ITV]] from 1974 to 1978 and won the 1978 [[British Academy Television Award|BAFTA]] for [[British Academy Television Award for Best Scripted Comedy|Best Situation Comedy]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Television: Situation Comedy in 1978|url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1978/television/situation-comedy|website=Bafta.org|accessdate=11 January 2021}}</ref> ''The Banana Box'' had a brief run at the Hudson Guild Theater in New York in 1979.<ref>{{cite web|last=Gussow|first=Mel|title=Stage: The Banana Box, On Apartment-Sharing|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/02/archives/stage-the-banana-box-on-apartmentsharing-british-odd-couple.html|date=October 2, 1979|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=January 11, 2021}}</ref> A film version of ''[[Rising Damp (film)|Rising Damp]]'' was released in 1980 and won several [[Evening Standard British Film Awards|''Evening Standard'' British Film Awards]], although he admitted the screenplay was based on television scripts.<ref name="BFIS">{{cite news|last=Hewett|first=Richard|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/1367178/index.html|title=Chappell, Eric (1933-)|website=BFI Screenonline|date=2003–14|access-date=24 April 2022}}</ref>

Chappell's earliest sitcom was ''[[The Squirrels (TV series)|The Squirrels]]'' (1974–77), an office comedy which ran for three series. Chappell wrote only half of the scripts for the series, these were later remade as ''[[Fiddlers Three (TV series)|Fiddlers Three]]'' (1991).<ref name="BFIS" /> His other series included ''[[Only When I Laugh (TV series)|Only When I Laugh]]'', ''[[The Bounder]]'', ''[[Duty Free (TV series)|Duty Free]],'' ''[[Singles (TV series)|Singles]]'', ''[[Haggard (TV series)|Haggard]]'', and ''[[Home to Roost]]''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9f43224f |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325170000/http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b9f43224f |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 March 2014|title=Eric Chappell|website=BFI Explore|date= |accessdate=25 March 2014}}</ref>

Chappell married Muriel Elizabeth Taylor in 1959; the couple had two children.<ref name="Tgraphobit" />

==Work==

===Television===
*''[[The Squirrels (TV series)|The Squirrels]]''
*''[[Rising Damp]]''
*''[[Only When I Laugh (TV series)|Only When I Laugh]]''
*''Misfits''
*''[[The Bounder]]''
*''[[Duty Free (TV series)|Duty Free]]'' (with Jean Warr)
*''[[Home to Roost]]''
*''[[Singles (TV series)|Singles]]'' (with Jean Warr)
*''Natural Causes''
*''[[Haggard (TV series)|Haggard]]''
*''[[Fiddlers Three (TV series)|Fiddlers Three]]''

===Plays===
*''The Banana Box'' (basis for ''Rising Damp'')
*''Dead Reckoning''
*''Double Vision''
*''False Pretences''
*''Father's Day'' (spin-off of ''Home to Roost'', 2011)<ref name="Coveney" />
*''Fiddlers Three''
*''Ground Rules''
*''Haggard'' (with Michael Green)
*''Haunted''
*''Haywire''
*''Heatstroke'' (aka ''Snakes and Ladders'')
*''It Can Damage Your Health'' (basis of ''Only When I Laugh'')
*''Last of the Duty Free''
*''Mixed Feelings''
*''Natural Causes''
*''Passing Strangers''
*''Side Effects''
*''Sitting Tenants''
*''Something's Burning''
*''Summer End''
*''The Night in Question''
*''Theft''
*''Up and Coming''
*''We're Strangers Here''
*''Wife after Death''

===Film===
*''[[Rising Damp (film)|Rising Damp]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.ericchappell.co.uk/index.html Eric Chappell Productions website]
* [http://www.leonardrossiter.com/risingdamp/ECPage.html Detailed biography at official Rising Damp web site]
* {{IMDb name|id=0152602|name=Eric Chappell}}
* [http://wearecult.rocks/i-deserve-more-than-this-the-work-of-eric-chappell "I Deserve More Than This: The Work of Eric Chappell"], 27 March 2019 by Anna Cale
* {{discogs artist|Eric Chappell (2)}}

{{EricChappell}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chappell, Eric}}
[[Category:1933 births]]
[[Category:2022 deaths]]
[[Category:English comedy writers]]
[[Category:English television writers]]
[[Category:People from Grantham]]

Eric Chappell - Revision history

Kurt at 20:00, 23 January 2023

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt at 20:53, 21 September 2022

Kurt at 20:46, 21 September 2022

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>Red Director: Changing short description from "English scriptwriter" to "English scriptwriter (1933–2022)"