Stephen Potter (1 February 1900 - December 1969) was a British author best known for his mock self-help books, and film and television derivatives from them, though he wrote much more widely, including scholarly books on English literature, and worked producing and writing for the BBC. February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1900 (MCM) was an exceptional common year starting on Monday. ... Look up December in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... The term English literature refers to literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; Joseph Conrad was Polish, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Edgar Allan Poe was American, Salman Rushdie is Indian. ... A radio producer oversees the making of a radio show. ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ...

Potter attended Westminster School from age 13 to 18, then served from 1918 to 1919 in the Coldstream Guards, known for the ceremonial roles that some of their units play in London and Windsor. Motto: Dat Deus Incrementum The Royal College of St. ... The Coldstream Guards is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division. ... This article is about the British city. ... Windsor (IPA: usually , but also ) is a suburban town and tourist destination in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, South East England. ...

Foundations of his literary career

Following his military service, he studied English Language and Literature at Merton College of Oxford, and in 1923 became secretary to a noted playwright, Henry Arthur Jones. In 1926 he began teaching English Literature at Birkbeck College of the University of London. Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... A playwright, also known as a dramatist, is someone who writes dramatic literature or drama. ... Henry Arthur Jones (28 September 1851-1929) was an English dramatist. ... 1926 (MCMXXVI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Birkbeck Birkbeck (sometimes still called Birkbeck College) is a College of the University of London. ... Senate House, designed by Charles Holden, home to the universitys central administrative offices and its library The University of London is a federation of colleges and institutes which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ...

In his teaching years, he began publishing, starting with a novel, The Young Man, in 1929. The next year, he published D.H.Lawrence: a First Study, the first book-length work on that author. In 1934 and 1935, three books that he wrote or edited, relating to Coleridge, were published. Daniel Defoes Robinson Crusoe; title page of 1719 newspaper edition A novel (from French nouvelle, new) is an extended fictional narrative in prose. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... D. H. Lawrence David Herbert Lawrence (11 September 1885 - 2 March 1930) was one of the most important, certainly one of the most controversial, English writers of the 20th century, who wrote novels, short stories, poems, plays, essays, travel books, and letters. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... This page is about the nineteenth century English poet. ...

The next year brought both his first writing for radio, on the BBC, and his departure from his university position. In 1937, he harshly criticized British university teaching of English, in The Muse in Chains. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television). ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In 1938, Potter joined the Savile Club, known for its "artistic" and especially literary members, who have included, for example, Hardy, Kipling, and Yeats. As of 2004, the club's Web site begins its second entry under "Social Events" by saying of "Savile Snooker": A History of the Savile Club Suffocating beneath the traditions of Victorian Clubland, a group of like-minded spirits decided to form their own club in 1868. ... Thomas Hardy, OM (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was a novelist, short story writer, and poet of the naturalist movement, who delineated characters struggling against their passions and circumstances. ... Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling (December 30, 1865 – January 18, 1936) was a British author and poet, born in India. ... W.B. Yeats in Dublin on 24 January 1908. ... 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Snooker table For the dog-agility Snooker class, see dog agility. ...

a unique version of the more staid game was popularized by the late Stephen Potter.

He started 1939 by beginning full-time writing and producing for the BBC, continuing through the end of the war and writing and/or producing at least 250 programs. 1939 (MCMXXXIX) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead:17 million Civilian dead:33 million Total dead:50 million Military dead:8 million Civilian dead:4 million Total dead:12 million World War II...

Satire and more

In June 1943, Potter began producing a series of BBC "How" programmes that he wrote in collaboration with Joyce Grenfell. The content (starting with "How to Talk to Children") was satirical, and ran for 29 episodes. 1943 (MCMXLIII) is a common year starting on Friday. ... Joyce Grenfell, born February 10, 1910 - died November 30, 1979, was a British film and television actress, comedienne, and singer-songwriter. ...

With the war's end, Potter took on a number of concurrent literary tasks. These included drama critic for the New Statesman and Nation, book reviewer for the News Chronicle, and also more BBC work: the first programme on the BBC Third Programme, in 1946, was "How to Listen", again in collaboration with Joyce Grenfell. The New Statesman is a left-of-centre political weekly published in London. ... The News Chronicle was a British Liberal newspaper which closed in 1960, being absorbed into the right-wing Daily Mail. ... The BBC Third Programme was the third national radio network broadcast by the BBC, has since become Radio 3, but was originally known (at least within the BBC) as C. The other two were the Home Service (mainly speech based) and the Light Programme, dedicated to light music, usually cover... 1946 (MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ...

He published Gamesmanship, the first of his books that purport to teach "ploys" for manipulating one's associates, especially making them feel inferior and thereby gaining the status of being "one-up" on them.

In 1949 he left the BBC and ended his existing journalistic commitments, and became editor of a weekly, The Leader. 1949 (MCMXLIX) is a common year starting on Saturday. ...

1950 brought publication of Lifemanship, and 1952 One-Upmanship. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

His Potter on America in 1956 described observations of that country made while travelling between lectures there. 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The original series of "one-up" books closed with the publication of Supermanship in 1958. 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The 1960 film School for Scoundrels (not to be confused with the play The School for Scandal) recapitulates many of the "one-up" ideas, and extends them to "Woomanship", meaning the art of manipulative seduction of women by men. List of 1960s movies This list includes popular, acclaimed, and otherwise significant (for whatever reason) films of all countries from 1960 to 1969. ... School for Scoundrels is a British comedy film starring Terry-Thomas and others. ... The School for Scandal, a play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, is a comedy of manners. ...

One-Upmanship, was a British television series based on Potter's work. It was written and adapted by Barry Took for the BBC for a Christmas special, initially, in 1974. Starring Richard Briers, Peter Jones (who also played a supporting role in School for Scoundrels), and Frederick Jaeger, it was subsequently broadened into three series that were broadcast between 1976 and 1978. Details of the broadcasts can be found on this BBC comedy Web site. Barry Took (June 19, 1928 - March 31, 2002) was a British comedian, writer and television presenter. ... 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1974 calendar). ... 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. ... Peter Jones in an episode of Rumpole of the Bailey Peter Jones (June 12, 1920 – April 10, 2000) was an English actor, born at Wem in Shropshire. ... School for Scoundrels is a British comedy film starring Terry-Thomas and others. ... 1976 (MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1976 calendar). ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1978 calendar). ...

Close of his oeuvre

His last works went in new directions:

• in 1959, a corporate history of H.J. Heinz under the title The Magic Number, and his autobiography of his first 20 years, Steps to Immaturity.
• in 1965 a children's book (when the last of his sons was about 9 years old) entitled Squawky,
• in 1973 (after his death in 1969), Pedigree, completed by Laurens Sargent from his notes, on word origins from the natural world.

His diaries, acquired by the University of Texas after his death, were a major source for Stephen Potter at the BBC, (ISBN 0-954-66530-9) by his second son, Julian Potter. It is about the Features department of the BBC, in the 1940s (when Stephen Potter worked there, and is published in the U.K. by Orford Books, Orford, Suffolk. 1959 (MCMLIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... H. J. Heinz Company NYSE: HNZ, commonly known as just Heinz, famous for both its 57 Varieties slogan and its commerical jingle Beanz Meanz Heinz, was founded in 1869 by Henry John Heinz in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. ... 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1965 calendar). ... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1973 calendar). ...

Personal life

He married Mary Attenborough (the artist Mary Potter)in 1927, and they settled in Chiswick. Their two sons, Andrew and Julian, were born over the next 5 years. After a series of work-mandated moves during the war, he returned in London; in 1951 they relocated to Aldeburgh in Suffolk. In 1955, after nearly 30 years of marriage, they divorced, and he remarried, to Heather Jenner; the second Mrs. Potter was the founder of the Marriage Bureau. Their only child, Luke, was born the next year. Potter's death came in 1969. Chiswick [pronounced CHIZ-ick] is an extensive district of West London, located within the eastern extremity of the London Borough of Hounslow and 5. ... Map sources for Aldeburgh at grid reference TM4656 Aldeburgh is a town in Suffolk, East Anglia, England; it is located on the Alde river at 52° North, 1° East 1. ... Suffolk (pronounced SUF-fk) is a large traditional and administrative county in the East Anglia region of eastern England. ...

His Bibliography

(As of 2004, some of his works are out of print, but most have new editions. Audio versions, read by Stephen Fry, are available in the U.K.) This year (2005) Lifemanship was re-published by Moyer Bell. 2004 is a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Stephen Fry on the cover of his autobiography (US Edition) Stephen John Fry (born 24 August, 1957) is an English comedian, author, actor and filmmaker. ... Motto: Dieu et mon droit (Royal motto; French for God and my right) 3 Anthem: God Save the Queen4 Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English de facto 5 Government Queen Prime Minister Constitutional monarchy Elizabeth II Tony Blair Establishment 18016 Area  - Total    - Water (%)   244,820 km² (80th...

• The Theory and Practice of Gamesmanship: Or the Art of Winning Games Without Actually Cheating
• Lifemanship: With a Summary of Recent Researches in Gamesmanship. Illustrated by Frank Wilson. 1950. (Alternative subtitle: Or, the Art of Getting Away With It Without Being an Absolute Plonk.)
• One-Upmanship: Being Some Account of the Activities and Teachings of the Lifemanship Correspondence College of One-Upness and Games Lifemastery
• Sense of Humour. 1954.
• Potter on America. 1956.
• Steps to Immaturity: An Autobiography. 1959.
• Supermanship, or, How to Continue to Stay Top without Actually Falling Apart. Illustrated by Frank Wilson. 1958.
• Three-Upmanship. 1962.
• Anti-Woo: The Lifeman's Improved Primer for Non-Lovers. Illustrated by Frank Wilson. 1965.
• The Complete Golf Gamesmanship. Illustrated by Frank Wilson. 1968. (Also titled Golfmanship.)
• The Complete Upmanship: Including, Gamesmanship, Lifemanship, One-Upmanship, Supermanship

Books on Potter

• Stephen Potter: Inventor of Gamesmanship, by Alan Jenkins
• A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld, by Francis Bridger
• Stephen Potter at the BBC: 'Features' in War and Peace, by Julian Potter

External links

• His IMDb listing
• Detailed bibliography