Galton and Simpson
| Ray Galton | |
|---|---|
| Born | Raymond Percy Galton 17 July 1930 Paddington, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, television writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Radio, television, film |
| Alan Simpson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Alan Francis Simpson 27 November 1929 Brixton, London, England, UK |
| Occupation | Screenwriter, television writer |
| Language | English |
| Nationality | British |
| Citizenship | United Kingdom |
| Genre | Radio, television, film |
Ray Galton OBE (born 17 July 1930), and Alan Simpson OBE (born 27 November 1929), are British scriptwriters. They met in 1948 whilst recuperating from tuberculosis at the Milford sanatorium, near Godalming in Surrey. They based the sitcom Get Well Soon on their shared experiences at the facility. They are best known for their work with comedian Tony Hancock on radio and television between 1954 and 1961, and their long-running television situation comedy, Steptoe and Son, eight series of which were aired between 1962 and 1974.
The partnership's break in comedy writing came with the Derek Roy vehicle Happy Go Lucky, although this was not a success. The Hancock connection began with their involvement with later radio variety series, and from November 1954 continued with Hancock's Half Hour on radio; a series featuring their scripts for Hancock ran on television between 1956 and 1961. In October that year Hancock ended his professional relationship with the writers, and with Beryl Vertue who worked with the writers' at their agency Associated London Scripts. This writers' co-operative had been founded by Eric Sykes and Spike Milligan, with others involved, including Hancock for a time.
After their association with Hancock had ended, they wrote a series of Comedy Playhouse (1961–62), ten one-off half-hour plays for the BBC. One play in the series, The Offer, was well received, and from this emerged Steptoe and Son (1962–74), about two rag and bone men, 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 & Herbert.
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