Jack House

Jack House (1906–1991) (John House) was a prolific and popular Scottish writer and broadcaster, with a significant attachment to the City of Glasgow.

He was born in Tollcross, then technically outside of the Glasgow city boundaries. This, together with the fact that neither of his parents was born in Scotland, would come as a surprise to those who knew him as "Mr Glasgow", so thoroughly did he identify himself with the culture and people of that city. He felt that Glasgow was a fairly autonomous "city state". That his father, also John, was a prosperous company secretary and Jack himself trained as an accountant would only add to the surprise, given Glasgow's "Red Clydeside" reputation.

The family rapidly moved to Dennistoun where Jack (and subsequently his four brothers and three sisters) attended Whitehill Secondary School. At his father's insistence he began training as an accountant. Accounting did not suit Jack's temperament, nor did it challenge his abilities, which lay towards writing, spinning yarns and acting.

In 1928, he got a job as a reporter on the Glasgow Evening Citizen, where he was involved in a number of sensational stories – including a tragic blaze at the Glen Cinema in Paisley in which 80 children had perished. He also attended an early demonstration of the new-fangled television by John Logie Baird. Meanwhile, he continued to act – mostly light parts (in the Scottish National Players as well as for BBC Radio). He worked also for the city's other papers the Evening News and the Evening Times, being the last of the city's three evening papers, and contributed to The Bulletin, Glasgow Herald and the Scottish Field.

During the second world war he attained the rank of Captain in the cinematographic unit, for which he wrote scripts (in the company of Peter Ustinov and David Niven).

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