Ray Galton OBE (born 17 July 1930), and Alan Simpson OBE (born 27 November 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. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire 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 are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... July 17 is the 198th day (199th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 167 days remaining. ... Year 1930 (MCMXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link is to a full 1930 calendar). ... November 27 is the 331st day (332nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 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 (abbreviated as TB for Tubercle Bacillus) is a common and deadly infectious disease that is caused by mycobacteria, primarily Mycobacterium tuberculosis. ... Sanatório Heliantia A sanatorium refers to a medical facility for long-term illness, typically cholera or tuberculosis. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... 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. ... Year 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 (link will display the full calendar) 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 an Irish writer, artist, musician, humanitarian, comedian, and poet. ... Shepherds Bush is a district of West London in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, situated 4. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Robert Stigwood (born April 16, 1934 in Adelaide, Australia) is an Australian-born entertainment entrepreneur. ... 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 and the Swedish series Albert och Herbert. The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world in terms of audience numbers, employing 26,000 staff in the United Kingdom alone and with a budget of more than GB£4 billion... 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). ... For the Stargate SG-1 episode, see 1969 (Stargate SG-1). ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Sanford and Son is an American television sitcom, the U.S. 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 1960 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. ... Harry H. Corbett OBE (born Rangoon, Burma - now Yangon, Myanmar - February 28th, 1925; died Hastings, Sussex, England, March 21st, 1982) was a distinguished British actor. ... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... The film The Rebel (1961) is a satirical comedy starring the British comedian Tony Hancock, and written by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. ... Gabriel Chevallier (1895, Lyon–1969, Cannes) was a French writer. ... 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ...

While both writers continued to work solidly after Steptoe and Son ceased broadcasting, including several projects with Frankie Howerd, they had no further high-profile successes. Yorkshire Television commissioned a six-part Comedy Playhouse series, broadcast in 1977, 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. ... Yorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for Yorkshire, England, and the surrounding areas. ... For the album by Ash, see 1977 (album). ... 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. ... Johnny Speight (June 2, 1920 - July 5, 1998), was a TV scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms. ...

In 1996 and 1997, comedian Paul Merton revived several Hancock's Half Hour and other Galton and Simpson scripts for ITV to a mixed reception. Also in 1997, Ray Galton's Get Well Soon, based on his and Simpson's early sanatorium experiences, was broadcast by the BBC. 1996 (MCMXCVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, and was designated the International Year for the Eradication of Poverty. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Paul Merton (born Paul Martin 9 July 1957[1]) is an English actor, deadpan comedian and writer, who is best known as a panellist on the BBC TV show Have I Got News for You and Radio 4s Just a Minute, as well as Channel 4s Whose Line... It has been suggested that Channel 3 (UK) be merged into this article or section. ... 1997 (MCMXCVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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). John Antrobus is a playwright and tv and radio script writer, born in Woolwich in London on 2 July 1933. ...

Both Galton and Simpson were awarded OBEs in the 2000 Honours list for their contribution to British television. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire 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 are Knight Grand Cross or Dame Grand Cross (GBE) Knight Commander... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals personal bravery, achievement or service to the United Kingdom. ...

The successful Scandinavian television series Fleksnes Fataliteter was based on stories written by Galton and Simpson. Fleksnes Fataliteter, commonly known only as Fleksnes, was a Norwegian television comedy series produced between 1972 and 1988, and based on scripts for a British show called Hancocks Half Hour by Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. ...

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. ... Harry H. Corbett OBE (born Rangoon, Burma - now Yangon, Myanmar - February 28th, 1925; died Hastings, Sussex, England, March 21st, 1982) was a distinguished British actor. ... Wilfrid Brambell (March 22, 1912 - January 18, 1985) was an Irish film and television actor, born in Dublin, best known for his roles in the British television series Steptoe and Son and The Beatles film A Hard Days Night. ... Steptoe and Son is a 1972 British comedy drama film and a spin-off from the popular British television comedy series of the same name about a pair of rag and bone men. ... Steptoe and Son Ride Again is the 1973 sequel to the 1972 film Steptoe and Son. ... Steptoe and Son in Murder at Oil Drum Lane is a play written by Ray Galton and John Antrobus that brought the Steptoe and Son saga to an end. ... This is an episode list of the British sitcom Steptoe and Son. ... Sanford and Son is an American television sitcom, the U.S. remake of the British sitcom Steptoe and Son. ...

External links

• Ray Galton and Alan Simpson - Official Website