Ray Galton OBE (born 1930), and Alan Simpson OBE (born 1929), are British scriptwriters who met in 1948 at a tuberculosis sanatorium in London. They are best known for writing Hancock's Half Hour for Tony Hancock on radio between 1954 and 1959, and on television between 1956 and 1960, and as Hancock in 1961. Their relationship with Hancock ended when he broke off his professional relationship with them in October 1961. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these... 1930 (MCMXXX) is a common year starting on Wednesday. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1948 calendar). ... Tuberculosis (commonly shortened to TB) is an infection caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which most commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect the central nervous system (meningitis), lymphatic system, circulatory system (Miliary tuberculosis), genitourinary system, bones and joints. ... Sanatório Heliantia A sanatorium refers to a medical facility for long-term illness, typically cholera or tuberculosis. ... This article is about the British city. ... Hancocks Half Hour was a famous BBC radio comedy series of the 1950s starring Tony Hancock. ... Biography published in 1978 (1983 paperback reprint shown) Anthony John Hancock, best known as Tony Hancock (May 12, 1924 – June 24, 1968) was a major figure in British television and radio comedy in the 1950s and 1960s. ... 1954 (MCMLIV) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

In 1955, Galton and Simpson, along with Eric Sykes, Johnny Speight and Spike Milligan formed the cooperative Associated London Scripts, originally based above a greengrocer's in Shepherd's Bush, West London. The company was later purchased by Robert Stigwood in 1967. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Eric Sykes in the Sykes TV series (DVD) The Plank (DVD cover) Eric Sykes, CBE (born May 4, 1923 in Oldham, Lancashire) is a British comedic writer and actor. ... Johnny Speight (June 2, 1920 - July 5, 1998), was a TV scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms. ... Terence Alan Milligan, KBE (16 April 1918–27 February 2002), known as Spike Milligan, was a writer, artist, musician, humanitarian and comedian. ... Shepherds Bush is a district in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham situated 4. ... This article is about the British city. ... Robert Stigwood (born April 16, 1934 in Adelaide, Australia) is a British music producer, primarily for film and stage. ... 1967 (MCMLXVII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar (the link is to a full 1967 calendar). ...

After Hancock, they produced a series of one-off plays for the BBC, out of which emerged Steptoe and Son (1962-65 and 1969-74), about two rag-and-bone men (junk merchants), father and son, who live together in a squalid house in West London. This was the basis for the American series Sanford and Son. Steptoe and Son is a British sitcom written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson about two rag and bone men living in Oil Drum Lane, a fictional street in Shepherds Bush, London. ... 1962 (MCMLXII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar). ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... This article is about the British city. ... Sanford and Son is a television sitcom, the American remake of the British sitcom Steptoe and Son. ...

Their comedy is characterised by a bleak and somewhat fatalistic tone. Steptoe and Son in particular is, at times, extremely black comedy, and close in tone to social realist drama. Both the character played by Tony Hancock in Hancock's Half Hour and Harold Steptoe (Harry H. Corbett) are pretentious, would-be intellectuals who find themselves trapped by the squalidness of their lives. This theme was expanded upon in their 1961 script for Tony Hancock's film The Rebel, about a civil servant who moves to Paris to become an artist. Gabriel Chevallier's novel Clochemerle (1934) was adapted by these writers as a BBC/West German co-production in 1972. Social Realism is a term used to describe visual and other realistic arts depicting working class activities as heroic. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... The film The Rebel (1961) is a satirical comedy starring the British comedian Tony Hancock, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1972 calendar). ...

After Steptoe and Son ceased broadcasting, although both writers continued to work solidly, including several projects with Frankie Howerd, they had no further high-profile successes. Yorkshire Television commissioned a six-part Comedy Playhouse series, broadcast in 1976, featuring leading actors of the time such as Leonard Rossiter and Arthur Lowe. Though the writers had been tempted over to commercial television by the former Hancock and Steptoe producer Duncan Wood, none of these shows led to another series. Simpson formally retired from scriptwriting in 1978, concentrating on his business interests, and Galton collaborated in several projects with Johnny Speight. Frankie Howerd Frankie Howerd OBE (born Francis Alex Howard in York, England, 6 March 1917 - not 1922 as he claimed; died in London, 19 April 1992) was a distinctive English comedian and comic actor. ... Current ITV Yorkshire logo Yorkshire Television logo 1987 Yorkshire Television Limited is the ITV contractor for Yorkshire, England, and the surrounding areas. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... Leonard Rossiter (born Liverpool, England, October 21st 1926 - died London, October 5th 1984) was a distinguished British actor, most widely known for his comedy roles in two British television series of the 1970s. ... Arthur Lowe (September 22, 1915—April 15, 1982) was a British actor. ... Duncan Wood,(b. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ... Johnny Speight (June 2, 1920 - July 5, 1998), was a TV scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms. ...

In 1996, comedian Paul Merton revived several Hancock's Half Hour scripts for ITV to a mixed reception, and the following year, Ray Galton's Get Well Soon, based on his and Simpson's early sanatorium experiences, was broadcast by the BBC. Paul Merton on the Room 101 set Paul Merton (born January 17, 1957) is a British actor, deadpan comedian and writer, who is best known as a panellist on Have I Got News For You and Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4 and as the host of Room 101. ... ITVs Logo 2006—present Independent Television (ITV) is the name given to the original network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up to provide competition to the BBC. In England and Wales, the channel has been rebranded to ITV1 by ITV plc, the owners of the broadcasting licences for...

In October 2005 Galton and John Antrobus premiered their play "Steptoe and Son - Murder at Oil Drum Lane" at the Theatre Royal, York. The play is set in the present day and relates the events that lead to Harold killing his father, and their eventual meeting thirty years later (Albert appearing as a ghost).

Both Galton and Simpson were awarded OBEs in the 2000 Honours list for their contribution to British television. Commanders Badge of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) is a British order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by King George V. The Order includes five classes in civil and military divisions; in decreasing order of seniority, these... This article is about the year 2000. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ...

External links

• Ray Galton and Alan Simpson - Official Website