John Sullivan, the writer of one of the greatest British sitcoms, died yesterday at the age of 64.
John - who has been described as the greatest British post-war comedy scriptwriter - wrote classic BBC comedy series Only Fools and Horses, which aired from 1981 to 2003 and which was regularly voted the best British sitcom of all time by the British public.
The series, set in Peckham, south London, starred Sir David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter who sold all sorts of dodgy gear - some low-quality and some illegal - such as Russian Army camcorders, luminous yellow paint (which they painted the interior of a Chinese restaurant with) and sex dolls filled with an explosive gas - whose catchphrases included "This time next year we'll be millionaires!", "Who dares wins" and "Lovely jubbly."
The brothers also owned an unregistered company, Trotters Independent Traders (TIT), traded primarily on the black market and generally neither paid taxes nor claim money from the state; as Del says in the series's first episode in 1981, "The government don't give us nothing, so we don't give the government nothing". They also owned a yellow three-wheeled van with the company's name written on the side and the words "New York, Paris, Peckham."
Del Boy originally shared a high rise flat - Nelson Mandela House - with his younger brother Rodney, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst, and his grandfather, played by Lennard Pearce. When granddad died in 1984 (because Lennard himself died), granddad's younger brother, Del and Rodney's Uncle Albert, played by WWII veteran Buster Merryfield, moved in. Later on in the series, Del's partner Raquel also moved into the flat.
John, who was born and brought up in south London, died yesterday in a private hospital in Surrey after having viral pneumonia for six weeks. Amongst the other TV series he wrote were Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends.
He had also written a prequel to Only Fools and Horses, called Rock & Chips, the next episode of which is to be shown on Thursday. There were to be more episodes but it will now be the last.
Nicholas Lyndhurst, 50, who played Rodney in Only Fools and Horses, said he was "shocked" and "deeply saddened" and described his friend as "without doubt" Britain's finest TV writer.
He said: "He was a shy and self-effacing man, but had a huge passion for his work and was looking forward to writing more Rock & Chips, I hope the last episode makes him proud."
Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, said he was "devastated" at the loss of his friend.
He said: "We have lost our country's greatest comedy writer but he leaves us a great legacy, the gift of laughter. My thoughts at this time are with his lovely family."
Stephen Fry, who played Melchett in another great British comedy series, Blackadder, said he was "terribly saddened" by the news and described him on Twitter as "one of the great comedy writers of our time".
Only Fools and Horses originally ran from 1981 to 1996 - when the Trotters finally became millionaires - but the British public missed it so much they demanded its return, and it came back in 2001 until 2003.
Only Fools and Horses writer John Sullivan OBE dies
BBC News
23rd April 2011
JOHN SULLIVAN: 23rd December 1946 - 23rd April 2011
John Sullivan, who wrote one of the best-loved British sitcoms, Only Fools and Horses, has died at the age of 64.
He had been in intensive care for six weeks at a hospital in Surrey, battling viral pneumonia.
He also wrote Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends, and the third and final episode of his latest work Rock & Chips will be shown on BBC One on Thursday.
Wheeler dealer: John Sullivan poses in front of the Trotter boys' famous three-wheeler
Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, said he was "devastated" at the loss of his friend.
He said: "We have lost our country's greatest comedy writer but he leaves us a great legacy, the gift of laughter. My thoughts at this time are with his lovely family."
Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Del's brother Rodney, said he was "shocked" and "deeply saddened" and described his friend as "without doubt" Britain's finest TV writer.
He said: "He was a shy and self-effacing man, but had a huge passion for his work and was looking forward to writing more Rock & Chips, I hope the last episode makes him proud."
BBC director general Mark Thompson said: "John had a unique gift for turning everyday life and characters we all know into unforgettable comedy."
The son of a plumber, he is survived by his wife Sharon and two sons, a daughter and two grandchildren.
'Heartfelt comedy'
Gareth Gwenlan, a producer of Only Fools and Horses, said his widow was "obviously devastated" and had her family around her.
The Corporation's head of comedy Mark Freeland added: "No-one understood what made us laugh and cry better than John Sullivan.
"He was the Dickens of our generation. Simply the best, most natural, most heartfelt comedy writer of our time."
Only Fools and Horses, which ran from 1981 to 2003, was regularly voted the greatest British sitcom
He added: "Everything he wrote was basically about his life and the absurdities he faced, and the great characters he met.
"And they just struck a resonance with everyone in the nation - you don't get an audience of over 23 million people if you're not doing something right, and chiming bells with a huge amount of people."
BBC creative director Alan Yentob said there was a beauty to his scripts and the Trotter family would provide enjoyment, tears and laughter for generations to come.
Stephen Fry said he was "terribly saddened" by the news and described him on Twitter as "one of the great comedy writers of our time".
Only Fools and Horses - starring David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst as south London brothers Del and Rodney Trotter forever trying to make a quick fortune - was regularly voted Britain's favourite sitcom.
Only Fools and Horses actors Nicholas Lyndhurst (above), 50, and Sir David Jason, 71, have both spoken of their sadness at their friend's death.
It ran for 10 years between 1981 and 1991, with several Christmas specials in the years that followed.
The 1996 special Time On Our Hands, which was billed as the final episode and saw Del Boy come good on his ambition to make himself and Rodney millionaires, was watched by more than 24 million people, a record for a sitcom in the UK.
The demand for follow-ups saw Sullivan eventually relent and return to the story of the Trotters from 2001 for occasional Christmas specials until 2003
He also wrote a spin-off - The Green Green Grass, featuring Only Fools characters Boycie and Marlene - and a prequel, Rock & Chips, which documented Del Boy's early life.
Another show written by Sullivan, Just Good Friends, proved popular in the 1980s. It starred Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as former lovers who meet up again five years after he jilted her.
John Sullivan, who was born in Balham, south London, in 1946, and always said his secret was that he wrote about what he knew, got his first job at the BBC as a scenery hand aged 16.
During his spare time he wrote sketches and got his first break when he submitted a script to well-known comedy producer Dennis Main Wilson, who loved it.
He was commissioned to write more episodes, given three months' paid leave, and ended up with Citizen Smith - a comedy starring Robert Lindsay as the young communist "Wolfie" Smith.
He once described Rodney from Only Fools and Horses as a "teeny bit me" because he was also a bit of a "naive dreamer" as a teenager.
And he said Del Boy was an amalgam of many characters he came across while working in the second-hand car trade in the 1970s.
He was appointed an OBE in 2005 for services to drama.
news.bbc.co.uk
John - who has been described as the greatest British post-war comedy scriptwriter - wrote classic BBC comedy series Only Fools and Horses, which aired from 1981 to 2003 and which was regularly voted the best British sitcom of all time by the British public.
The series, set in Peckham, south London, starred Sir David Jason as ambitious market trader Derek "Del Boy" Trotter who sold all sorts of dodgy gear - some low-quality and some illegal - such as Russian Army camcorders, luminous yellow paint (which they painted the interior of a Chinese restaurant with) and sex dolls filled with an explosive gas - whose catchphrases included "This time next year we'll be millionaires!", "Who dares wins" and "Lovely jubbly."
The brothers also owned an unregistered company, Trotters Independent Traders (TIT), traded primarily on the black market and generally neither paid taxes nor claim money from the state; as Del says in the series's first episode in 1981, "The government don't give us nothing, so we don't give the government nothing". They also owned a yellow three-wheeled van with the company's name written on the side and the words "New York, Paris, Peckham."
Del Boy originally shared a high rise flat - Nelson Mandela House - with his younger brother Rodney, played by Nicholas Lyndhurst, and his grandfather, played by Lennard Pearce. When granddad died in 1984 (because Lennard himself died), granddad's younger brother, Del and Rodney's Uncle Albert, played by WWII veteran Buster Merryfield, moved in. Later on in the series, Del's partner Raquel also moved into the flat.
John, who was born and brought up in south London, died yesterday in a private hospital in Surrey after having viral pneumonia for six weeks. Amongst the other TV series he wrote were Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends.
He had also written a prequel to Only Fools and Horses, called Rock & Chips, the next episode of which is to be shown on Thursday. There were to be more episodes but it will now be the last.
Nicholas Lyndhurst, 50, who played Rodney in Only Fools and Horses, said he was "shocked" and "deeply saddened" and described his friend as "without doubt" Britain's finest TV writer.
He said: "He was a shy and self-effacing man, but had a huge passion for his work and was looking forward to writing more Rock & Chips, I hope the last episode makes him proud."
Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, said he was "devastated" at the loss of his friend.
He said: "We have lost our country's greatest comedy writer but he leaves us a great legacy, the gift of laughter. My thoughts at this time are with his lovely family."
Stephen Fry, who played Melchett in another great British comedy series, Blackadder, said he was "terribly saddened" by the news and described him on Twitter as "one of the great comedy writers of our time".
Only Fools and Horses originally ran from 1981 to 1996 - when the Trotters finally became millionaires - but the British public missed it so much they demanded its return, and it came back in 2001 until 2003.
Only Fools and Horses writer John Sullivan OBE dies
BBC News
23rd April 2011
JOHN SULLIVAN: 23rd December 1946 - 23rd April 2011
John Sullivan, who wrote one of the best-loved British sitcoms, Only Fools and Horses, has died at the age of 64.
He had been in intensive care for six weeks at a hospital in Surrey, battling viral pneumonia.
He also wrote Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends, and the third and final episode of his latest work Rock & Chips will be shown on BBC One on Thursday.
Wheeler dealer: John Sullivan poses in front of the Trotter boys' famous three-wheeler
Sir David Jason, who played Del Boy in Only Fools and Horses, said he was "devastated" at the loss of his friend.
He said: "We have lost our country's greatest comedy writer but he leaves us a great legacy, the gift of laughter. My thoughts at this time are with his lovely family."
Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played Del's brother Rodney, said he was "shocked" and "deeply saddened" and described his friend as "without doubt" Britain's finest TV writer.
He said: "He was a shy and self-effacing man, but had a huge passion for his work and was looking forward to writing more Rock & Chips, I hope the last episode makes him proud."
BBC director general Mark Thompson said: "John had a unique gift for turning everyday life and characters we all know into unforgettable comedy."
The son of a plumber, he is survived by his wife Sharon and two sons, a daughter and two grandchildren.
'Heartfelt comedy'
Gareth Gwenlan, a producer of Only Fools and Horses, said his widow was "obviously devastated" and had her family around her.
The Corporation's head of comedy Mark Freeland added: "No-one understood what made us laugh and cry better than John Sullivan.
"He was the Dickens of our generation. Simply the best, most natural, most heartfelt comedy writer of our time."
Only Fools and Horses, which ran from 1981 to 2003, was regularly voted the greatest British sitcom
He added: "Everything he wrote was basically about his life and the absurdities he faced, and the great characters he met.
"And they just struck a resonance with everyone in the nation - you don't get an audience of over 23 million people if you're not doing something right, and chiming bells with a huge amount of people."
BBC creative director Alan Yentob said there was a beauty to his scripts and the Trotter family would provide enjoyment, tears and laughter for generations to come.
Stephen Fry said he was "terribly saddened" by the news and described him on Twitter as "one of the great comedy writers of our time".
Only Fools and Horses - starring David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst as south London brothers Del and Rodney Trotter forever trying to make a quick fortune - was regularly voted Britain's favourite sitcom.
Only Fools and Horses actors Nicholas Lyndhurst (above), 50, and Sir David Jason, 71, have both spoken of their sadness at their friend's death.
It ran for 10 years between 1981 and 1991, with several Christmas specials in the years that followed.
The 1996 special Time On Our Hands, which was billed as the final episode and saw Del Boy come good on his ambition to make himself and Rodney millionaires, was watched by more than 24 million people, a record for a sitcom in the UK.
The demand for follow-ups saw Sullivan eventually relent and return to the story of the Trotters from 2001 for occasional Christmas specials until 2003
He also wrote a spin-off - The Green Green Grass, featuring Only Fools characters Boycie and Marlene - and a prequel, Rock & Chips, which documented Del Boy's early life.
Another show written by Sullivan, Just Good Friends, proved popular in the 1980s. It starred Paul Nicholas and Jan Francis as former lovers who meet up again five years after he jilted her.
John Sullivan, who was born in Balham, south London, in 1946, and always said his secret was that he wrote about what he knew, got his first job at the BBC as a scenery hand aged 16.
During his spare time he wrote sketches and got his first break when he submitted a script to well-known comedy producer Dennis Main Wilson, who loved it.
He was commissioned to write more episodes, given three months' paid leave, and ended up with Citizen Smith - a comedy starring Robert Lindsay as the young communist "Wolfie" Smith.
He once described Rodney from Only Fools and Horses as a "teeny bit me" because he was also a bit of a "naive dreamer" as a teenager.
And he said Del Boy was an amalgam of many characters he came across while working in the second-hand car trade in the 1970s.
He was appointed an OBE in 2005 for services to drama.
news.bbc.co.uk
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