Bill Naughton

William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton (Ballyhaunis, 12 June 1910 - Ballasalla, 9 January 1992) was an Irish-born British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.

Early life

Born in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, Ireland, he moved to Bolton, Lancashire, England in 1914 as a child. There he attended Saint Peter and Paul's School, worked as a weaver, coal-bagger and lorry-driver before he started writing.

Writing career

Although best remembered for his play, Alfie, mostly because of the British film starring Michael Caine in the eponymous role, Naughton was a prolific writer of plays, novels, short stories and children's books. His preferred environment was working class society, which is reflected in much of his written work.

In addition to Alfie, at least two of his other plays have been made into feature films. These are Spring and Port Wine, which had James Mason starring in the role of Rafe Crompton, and The Family Way, which starred John Mills. His work also includes the novel One Small Boy (1957), and the collection of short stories The Goalkeeper's Revenge: And Other Stories (1961). His 1977 children's novel My Pal Spadger is an account of his childhood in 1920s Bolton.

Many of his plays were performed at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton town centre. A 85-seat adaptable studio theatre within the Octagon is named after him.

Awards

During his lifetime, he received the following awards:

• Screenwriters Guide Award (1967 and 1968)
• Italia Prize for Radio Play (1974)
• Children's Rights Workshop Other Award (1978)
• Portico Literary Prize (1987)
• The Hon. Fellowship, Bolton Institute of Higher Education (1988).

Death

Naughton died in 1992, in Ballasalla on the Isle of Man. A "Bill Naughton Short Story Competition", administered by The Kenny/Naughton Autumn School, was named in Naughton's honour.^[1]

Bibliography

Plays

• My Flesh, My Blood (1957)
• Alfie (1963) (adapted for 1966 film Alfie)
• All in Good Time (1963) (adapted for 1966 film The Family Way)
• He Was Gone When We Got There (1966)
• All In Good Time (1965)
• June Evening (1966)
• Spring and Port Wine (1967)
• Lighthearted Intercourse (1971)
• Keep It in the Family (1967)
• Annie And Fanny (1967)
• Derby Day (1994)

Novels

• Roof Over Your Head (1945)
• One Small Boy (1957)
• Alfie (1966)
• Alfie Darling (1970)
• My Pal Spadger (1977)

Collections

• The Goalkeeper's Revenge (1967)
• Late Night on Watling Street (1970)
• The Bees Have Stopped Working: And Other Stories (1976)
• Spit Nolan (1988)
• Ricky, Karim and Spit Nolan: Adventure Short Stories (2003) (with Jenny Alexander, Pratima Mitchell)

Short stories

• Seventeen Oranges

References

1. ^ The Bill Naughton Short Story Competition, 2008, http://www.aghamoreireland.com/kennynaughton/shortstory.htm, retrieved 2 June 2010 

External links

• Bolton Museum and Archive Service - Bill Naughton
• Bill Naughton at the Internet Movie Database
• Radio plays at ukonline

Persondata
Name	Naughton, Bill
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	12 June 1910
Place of birth
Date of death	9 January 1992
Place of death