Rosenthal, Jack Morris, 1931 - 2004
Dates
- Existence: 1931 - 2004
Biography
Jack Morris Rosenthal, CBE, was born 8 September 1931 in Manchester to a Jewish family. Both his parents, Sam and Leah, were employed in a raincoat factory. After attending Colne Grammar School he read English Language and Literature at the University of Sheffield, graduating in 1953.
Following National Service in the Royal Navy, where he learned to translate Russian, he worked for a time in the promotion department of Granada Television, one of the recently formed ITV companies, before leaving to work in advertising. He renewed the connection with Granada in 1961 when he was commissioned to write episode no. 30 for the popular soap opera Coronation Street, then at the start of what was to become the long-running and highly successful series. Up to 1969 Rosenthal contributed 129 episodes to the series, and he went on to produce the series for a time.
His growing success as a writer for television, the medium for which he is best known, and a widening interest in both comedy and the experience of the individual within the wider social environment were evidenced by early contributions to the BBC satirical programme That Was The Week That Was (TW3) in 1963, a series closely associated with a period of rapidly changing social and political attitudes. He began to develop comedy series such as The Dustbinmen (1969-70), The Lovers (1970-71) and Sadie, It's Cold Outside (1975).
Rosenthal's work has won many awards and honours, amongst which have been: The Lovers (Writers' Guild Best Series Comedy Series Award, 1971), Another Sunday and Sweet F.A. (TV Critics' Circle Best Play of the Year Award, 1971), The Evacuees (International Emmy Best Play Award, British Academy Best Play Award and other awards, 1975), Bar Mitzvah Boy (British Academy Best Play Award and Broadcasting Press Guild Best Play Award, 1976), and Spend, Spend, Spend (British Academy Best Play Award and Royal Television Society's Writer's Award, 1977). Yentl was awarded the New York Critics' Golden Globe (1984). In 1994 he was created Commander of the British Empire. Academic honours include: MA, University of Salford (1994), and D.Litt., University of Manchester (1995) and University of Sheffield (1998). He was Maisie Glass Professor Associate in Theatre, University of Sheffield, 1997-1998.
In 1973 Jack Rosenthal married Maureen Lipman, the actress and writer, who has appeared in several of his productions. They have two children. Jack Rosenthal died on 29 May 2004.