John Esmonde (born 1937) and Bob Larbey (born 1934) were a successful British television comedy scriptwriting duo from the 1960s to the 1990s, creating popular situation comedies such as Please Sir! and The Good Life. 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... Comedy is the use of humor in the form of theater, where it simply referred to a play with a happy ending, in contrast to a tragedy. ... The 1960s decade refers to the years from 1960 to 1969, inclusive. ... The 1990s decade refers to the years from 1990 to 1999, inclusive. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Please Sir! was a London Weekend Television situation comedy featuring John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty, and Richard Davies (actor)|. The series ran between 1968 and 1972. ... The Good Life on the cover of Radio Times magazine. ...

Early years

Bob Larbey was born in south London in 1934 and made his writing debut for BBC radio, before contributing a film adaptation — Mrs Silly, starring Maggie Smith. Larbey met his future writing partner in grammar school. For other uses, see London (disambiguation) and Defining London (below). ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is largest the publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... Maggie Smith in the title role of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Dame Margaret Natalie Smith DBE (born 28 December 1934), better known as Dame Maggie Smith, is a two-time Academy Award-winning English film, stage, and television actress. ... A grammar school is a type of school found in some English-speaking countries. ...

John Esmonde served a couple of years in the Royal Air Force in Air Ambulance before realising his budding writing partnership with Larbey may prove more fruitful. They began to have sketches accepted on shows such as I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again and The Dick Emery Show. The Royal Air Force (often abbreviated to RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... Im Sorry, Ill Read That Again was a long-running radio comedy programme that originally grew out of the Cambridge University revue Cambridge Circus. ...

Works of Esmonde and Larbey

Their first sitcom as a writing team came in 1966 with Room At The Bottom for the BBC. This followed the exploits of a group of maintenance men working for Saracens Manufacturing Company. Starting out as a pilot in the BBC's Comedy Playhouse programme, it lasted for one series the next year, starring Kenneth Connor, Deryck Guyler and Francis Matthews. 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is largest the publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... Kenneth Connor, MBE (6 June 1916 – 28 November 1993) was a British comedy film and TV actor, best known for the Carry On films. ... Deryck Guyler (April 29, 1914 - October 7, 1999) was a versatile British actor, equally at home with comedy and classical/character roles, but best known for his portrayal of officious short-tempered middle-aged men in sitcoms such as Please, Sir and Sykes. ... Francis Matthews is a British film, TV and stage actor born 10 September 1927. ...

In 1968 Esmonde and Larbey created one of their most popular comedies with Please Sir!, which starred John Alderton as a naive teacher thrown in at the deep end in a tough south London school. Part of the inspiration for this series was Bob and John's education in London schools. Although not acknowledged, the 1975 American sitcom Welcome Back, Kotter drew plenty of inspiration from this. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... John Alderton (born November 27, 1940), is a popular British actor. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... Welcome Back, Kotter is an American television sitcom that originally aired on the ABC network from 1975 to 1979. ...

Due to the success of the antics of Form 5C in Please, Sir, Esmonde and Larbey wrote a spin-off — The Fenn Street Gang — which followed the students as they tried to make their way in the harsh world outside school. This starred David Barry, Peter Cleall and Carol Hawkins. Making his debut in series 2, George Baker made such an impression as a wide-boy villain that the prequel Bowler was launched in 1973. This lasted for one series and co-starred Fred Beauman, Renny Lister and Gretchen Franklin. Carol Hawkins (born 31 January 1949) is a British actress. ... George Baker (born 1 April 1931) is a English actor, who was born in Varna, Bulgaria. ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ... Gretchen Franklin as Ethel Skinner in EastEnders Gretchen Franklin (July 7, 1911 – July 11, 2005) was an English actress. ...

In the early to mid 1970s, Esmonde and Larbey produced several lesser-known comedies, sometimes lasting no longer than a pilot. These include ITV's Cosmo And Thingy, set in prehistoric times featuring a cast of cavemen and cavewomen, and Football Crazy (also for ITV) which was a children's sitcom about the football team Wormwood Rovers. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, inclusive. ... Current ITV logo. ... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ...

In 1975 Bob and John created their best-known sitcom — The Good Life, starring Richard Briers, Felicity Kendal, Paul Eddington and Penelope Keith. Set in Surbiton, Surrey it concerns itself with Tom and Barbara Good's (Briers and Kendal) attempts to be self-sufficient after they decide to leave the rat race. Behind the middle-of-the-road and genteel middle class surroundings lies a sharp social commentary and well-crafted characters. It ran on the BBC until 1978, although it is still repeated often. 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ... The Good Life on the cover of Radio Times magazine. ... Richard Briers CBE (born on January 14, 1934 in Raynes Park, London), is an English actor whose career encompasses the theatre, television, film and radio. ... Felicity Kendal in The Good Life. ... Paul Eddington playing Jim Hacker in Yes, Prime Minister. ... Penelope Keith, OBE, (born April 2, 1940) is an English actress, best known for her appearances in the BBC television situation comedies To the Manor Born and The Good Life (American title: Good Neighbors). ... Surbiton is a suburban area of London situated in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames. ... Surrey is a county in southern England, part of the South East England region and one of the Home Counties. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is largest the publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

Also in 1975 was Get Some In! for ITV, a national service comedy set in 1955. It starred the likes of Robert Lindsay, David Janson, Tony Selby and Gerard Ryder. Get Some In! was a British television series about life in RAF National Service broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television. ... Current ITV logo. ... National service describes a form of military service in which all citizens (or all male citizens) of one particular nation can participate, either voluntarily or (more often) non-voluntarily. ... Robert Lindsay (real name Robert Lindsay Stevenson, born December 13, 1949) is a British actor. ... David Janson (born 30 March 1950 in London) is an English actor who replaced Richard Gibson as the Gestapo officer Herr Otto Flick in the BBC sitcom Allo Allo! in its final 1992 series. ... Tony Selby (born 26 February 1938 in Lambeth, London) is a British actor. ...

Esmonde and Larbey teamed up with Richard Briers again for BBC's 1977 comedy The Other One, a sitcom about a man who is a liar who attempts to hide his insecurities through charade. Two years later they returned to football with ITV's Feet First starring Jonathan Barlow as Terry Prince, a local footballer given the chance to hit the big time. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is largest the publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... Current ITV logo. ...

Less successful than The Good Life was their 1980 sitcom for ITV Just Liz starring Sandra Payne. This was followed by 1982's Don't Rock The Boat which starred Nigel Davenport. 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Current ITV logo. ... 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... |Nigel Davenport (born 1928) is a British actor. ...

After the short-lived Now And Then (1983, ITV) they returned to form with Ever Decreasing Circles, which reunited the writers with Briers. Briers starred as Martin Bryce, an irritating know-it-all with an obsessive personality who likes to interfere in the lives of all those around him. The series also featured Penelope Wilton and Peter Egan. Current ITV logo. ... Ever Decreasing Circles was a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 for four series from 1984 to 1987. ... Penelope Wilton (born June 3, 1946 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK) is a British actress. ... Actor best known for playing smooth neighbour Paul Ryman in 1980s sitcom Ever Decreasing Circles. He had other starring roles in John Le Carré dramatisation A Perfect Spy and another BBC sitcom Joint Account. ...

Another hit for Esmonde and Larbey was 1986's Brush Strokes, featuring Karl Howman and Gary Waldhorn as a house decorator and his boss. The BBC sitcom Double First only lasted one series in 1988, but marked a different approach. It starred Michael Williams. 1986 (MCMLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Karl Howman (born December 13, 1952 in Woolwich, London, England) is an British actor. ... 1988 (MCMLXXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Michael Leonard Williams (July 9, 1935 – January 11, 2001) was a well-loved British actor. ...

Their last significant sitcom as a pair was 1992's Mulberry starring Karl Howman again as an apprentice Grim Reaper who has to guide Geraldine McEwan to the next world as easily as possible. However, Larbey contributed to the long-running BBC series As Time Goes By, starring Judi Dench and Geoffrey Palmer, which was last shown in 2005. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... Mulberry was a fantasy situation comedy airing on BBC One in the early 1990s. ... Karl Howman (born December 13, 1952 in Woolwich, London, England) is an British actor. ... Death, personified is an anthropomorphic figure or a fictional character who has existed in mythology and popular culture since the earliest days of storytelling. ... Geraldine McEwan as Miss Marple Geraldine McEwan (b. ... Judi Dench as Jean Pargetter Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel Hardcastle As Time Goes By is a British comedy TV series that aired from 1992 to 2002; it used the song As Time Goes By as its theme. ... Dame Judi Dench as the widowed Queen Victoria in Dame Judith Olivia Dench CH DBE (born 9 December 1934), better known as Dame Judi Dench, is an Oscar-winning English stage, film and television actor. ... Geoffrey Palmer, OBE (born in London, England on June 4, 1927) is a British comedy actor, noted mostly for his extensive career in situation comedies. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

TV credits

Collaborations

• The Dick Emery Show (1956)
• Room At The Bottom (1966)
• Please Sir! (1968)
• The Fenn Street Gang (1971)
• Cosmo And Thingy (1972)
• Bowler (1973)
• Football Crazy (1974)
• Get Some In! (1975)
• The Good Life (1975)
• The Other One (1977)
• Three Piece Suite (1977)
• Feet First (1979)
• Just Liz (1980)
• Don't Rock The Boat (1982)
• Now And Then (1983)
• Ever Decreasing Circles (1984)
• Brush Strokes (1986)
• Double First (1988)
• Hope It Rains (1991)
• Mulberry (1992)
• Down To Earth (1995)

Please Sir! was a London Weekend Television situation comedy featuring John Alderton, Deryck Guyler, Joan Sanderson, Noel Howlett, Erik Chitty, and Richard Davies (actor)|. The series ran between 1968 and 1972. ... Get Some In! was a British television series about life in RAF National Service broadcast between 1975 and 1978 by Thames Television. ... The Good Life on the cover of Radio Times magazine. ... Ever Decreasing Circles was a British sitcom which ran on BBC1 for four series from 1984 to 1987. ... Brush Strokes was an Esmonde and Larbey sitcom set in south London and depicting the (mostly) amorous adventures of a good-looking, wisecracking house painter, Jacko (Karl Howman). ... Mulberry was a fantasy situation comedy airing on BBC One in the early 1990s. ...

Larbey without Esmonde

• A Fine Romance (1981)
• The Curious Case Of Santa Claus (1982)
• On The Up (1990)
• My Good Friend (1995)
• As Time Goes By (1992)

A Fine Romance was a British sitcom starring husband-and-wife team Judi Dench and Michael Williams. ... On The Up was a British television drama, written by Bob Larbey. ... Judi Dench as Jean Pargetter Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel Hardcastle As Time Goes By is a British comedy TV series that aired from 1992 to 2002; it used the song As Time Goes By as its theme. ...

External links

• John Esmonde at IMDb — list of writing credits.
• Bob Larbey at IMDb — list of writing credits.
• BBC Guide to Comedy — information and pictures on all the shows mentioned on this page.