Jimmy O'Connor (author)

Jimmy O'Connor (author)

Infobox Writer
name = Jimmy O'Connor


imagesize =
caption =
pseudonym =
birthname = James O'Connor
birthdate = Birth date|1918|5|20
birthplace = Paddington, England
deathdate = death date and age|2001|9|29|1918|5|20
deathplace =
occupation = Author
nationality = English
period =
genre =
subject =
movement =
notableworks =
spouse =
partner =
children =
influences =
influenced =
awards =

Jimmy O'Connor (May 20, 1918 - September 29, 2001) was a playwright for "The Wednesday Play" and "Play for Today" television series on the BBC.

Early life

He was born James O'Connor in Paddington, West London, England in 1918. His father, James O'Connor, was a merchant marine and fish monger from Ireland; his mother a prostitute. Growing up in the slums of West London, O'Connor became schooled in the trade of petty theft.

Doing the "honorable thing" he married Mary Agnes Davey, two years his senior, in the spring of 1936. She was Church of England, while he was Irish Catholic. Their son, James William O'Connor, was born September 19, 1936. Mary O'Connor divorced her husband in 1946 after he attempted to have their son removed from her care and raised Catholic.

With the beginning of World War II, O'Connor enlisted and served with the British Expeditionary Forces in France. He was one of the few survivors of the sinking of the ship "RMS Lancastria" on June 17, 1941, and shared a life raft with Cunard Line Captain Harry Grattidge. After an honorable discharge, he went back to theft and was sentenced to six months in prison in late 1941.

When O'Connor was released in 1952, his son, not eager for a reunion went to sea, eventually served a few years on The Queen Mary under Captain Harry Grattidge, the very same man with whom O'Connor survived Lancastria. Grattidge later wrote about both O'Connor and his son (under the pseudonym "Terry")

Murder Conviction

In January 1942, O'Connor was arrested for the murder of George Ambridge on April 14, 1941. In spite of questionable testimony, and poor forensic evidence (O'Connor was in the possession of a pocket watch police claimed belonged to the murdered man), he was found guilty and sentenced to death. Only two days before he was to hang, O'Connor was given a reprieve. While in Dartmoor Prison, O'Connor entered into a correspondence course through Ruskin College.

When O'Connor was released from prison in 1952, he became a reporter for the "Empire News". Still trying to clear his name with a full pardon, O'Connor met and fell in love with barrister Nemone Lethbridge, who had joined his cause for complete exoneration. They were secretly married in 1959. When their marriage was made public in 1962, with the stigma of O'Connor still being out "At Her Majesty's Pleasure", Lethbridge was forced out of chambers and left unable to practice law.

In 1968, O'Connor and Lethbridge petitioned the courts for a pardon based on new information concerning the pocket watch and the confession to O'Connor by the real killer. Although the evidence against O'Connor was in grave doubt, in 1970 the courts denied O'Connor a full pardon. O'Connor and Lethbridge's first son, Ragnar O'Connor, was born in 1970. O'Connor was still bitter about the denial of his pardon and drank most his money away, causing Lethbridge to leave him in 1971 and return to London seeking a restraining order. The couple reconciled long enough to have a second son, Milo O'Connor, in 1973, but shortly thereafter they divorced.

In 1994, O'Connor was given access to a small selection of files from his 1942 trial. One memo suggested that the actual killer was the same man O'Connor claimed had confessed in 1968. Shortly after the discovery, O'Connor suffered a series of strokes and was placed in a Catholic charity nursing home by Lethbridge, just a few blocks from her home in Stoke Newington.

Career

O'Connor became a noted and successful tele-playwright with his scripts for "The Wednesday Play" BBC television series. Released in 1965, "Tap on the Shoulder", "Three Clear Sundays", and "The Profile of a Gentleman" drew from O'Connor's experiences in prison and the people he grew up with in the West End. He won critical acclaim for "The Coming Out Party" in 1967. With his earnings as an author, as well as a few well-received tele-pays by Lethbridge, the couple bought a villa on the isle of Mykonos, spending time with the likes of Aristotle and Jackie Onassis.

O'Connor continued to write for television and regained some acclaim with the 1973 "Play for Today" episode "On Her Majesty's Pleasure" which brought critical attention to a young actor by the name of Bob Hoskins. In 1976, O'Connor's autobiography "The Eleventh Commandment" became a best-seller. O'Connor continued to drink heavily, resulting in the loss of his Mykonos home, and returned to London.

On September 29, 2001, Jimmy O'Connor died after another series of strokes at the age of 83.

References

*cite book |title=Captain of the Queens: The Autobiography of Captain Harry Grattidge, Former Commodore of the Cunard Line |last=Collier |first=Richard |year=1956 |publisher=Dutton
*cite book |title=The Eleventh Commandment |last=O'Connor |first=Jimmy |year=1976 |publisher=Penguin |location=London |isbn=978-0905353005 |pages=191
*cite web |url=http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1358481/Jimmy-O'Connor.html |title=Jimmy O'Connor |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Telegraph.co.uk |date=2001-11-22
*cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1057756/ |title=Jimmy O'Connor (I) |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Internet Movie Database
*cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4269015,00.html |title=Jimmy O'Connor |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Guardian Unlimited |date=2001-10-03
*cite web |url=http://tv.cream.org/lookin/playfortoday/playtoday2.htm |title=Play for Today (1970-74) BBC |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=TV Cream
*cite web |url=http://www.startrader.co.uk/wed_play/wed_ep_02.htm |title=The Wednesday Play - Season 2 |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Startrader.co.uk |publisher=Engale Marketing
*cite web |url=http://www.startrader.co.uk/wed_play/wed_ep_03.htm |title=The Wednesday Play - Season 3 |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Startrader.co.uk |publisher=Engale Marketing
*cite web |url=http://www.startrader.co.uk/wed_play/wed_ep_04.htm |title=The Wednesday Play - Season 4 |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Startrader.co.uk |publisher=Engale Marketing
*cite web |url=http://www.startrader.co.uk/wed_play/wed_ep_07.htm |title=The Wednesday Play - Season 7 |accessdate=2008-07-27 |work=Startrader.co.uk |publisher=Engale Marketing

Persondata
NAME=O'Connor, Jimmy
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=O'Connor, James
SHORT DESCRIPTION=English author
DATE OF BIRTH=May 20, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH=Paddington, England
DATE OF DEATH=September 29, 2001
PLACE OF DEATH=


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • James O'Connor — may refer to:* James O Connor (academic), American sociologist and economist * James O Connor (archbishop) (1823–1891), American Roman Catholic bishop in Omaha, Nebraska * James O Connor (drummer), American drummer with the band Godhead * James O …   Wikipedia

  • Jimmy McAleer — Infobox MLB retired name=Jimmy McAleer width=220 position=Center Fielder Manager Executive bats=Right throws=Right birth date = birth date|mf=yes|1864|7|10|mf=y death date = death date and age|mf=yes|1931|4|29|1864|7|10|mf=y debutdate=April 24… …   Wikipedia

  • Georgia Author of the Year Awards 2004 — 40th Annual Georgia Author of the Year Award Official Nominations List (awarded in 2004 for books published in calendar year 2003)*Executive Director/Co Founder Geri Taran *Chairman Vally M. Sharpe*Lifetime Achievement Award: Dr. Bettie M.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Cork people — Cork is the second city and largest county of the Republic of Ireland, and has produced several noted artists, entertainers, politicians and business people.List of Cork people Historical and/or political figures * John Anderson Businessman * Sir …   Wikipedia

  • 1967 in Ireland — Events*9 January Demonstrations by the National Farmers Association cause major chaos as farm machinery blocks many roads. *4 April The Fianna Fáil Party makes a presentation to former Taoiseach Seán Lemass. *18 April The Minister for Education,… …   Wikipedia

  • performing arts — arts or skills that require public performance, as acting, singing, or dancing. [1945 50] * * * ▪ 2009 Introduction Music Classical.       The last vestiges of the Cold War seemed to thaw for a moment on Feb. 26, 2008, when the unfamiliar strains …   Universalium

  • List of Irish people — This is a list of famous Irish people.It covers * People who were born on the island of Ireland and/or who have lived there for most of their lives. * People who, though not necessarily ever having been born or lived in Ireland, have been raised… …   Wikipedia

  • literature — /lit euhr euh cheuhr, choor , li treuh /, n. 1. writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. 2.… …   Universalium

  • List of members of the Irish Republican Army — This is a list of members of the Irish Republican Army. Easter Rising Irish War of Independence: 1916 1922 A*Frank Aiken (1898 1983), a founding member of Fianna Fáil; commanded the Fourth Northern Division of the Irish Republican Army (IRA)… …   Wikipedia

  • Palestine Peace Not Apartheid — Infobox Book name = Palestine Peace Not Apartheid image caption = Cover showing the author, left, and protesters at the Israeli West Bank barrier, right author = Jimmy Carter cover artist = Michael Accordino country = United States language =… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”