Kenneth Tynan

Kenneth Tynan
Tynan in 1953; detail of photo by Elsbeth Juda © Elsbeth R. Juda, V&A Images
Born	Kenneth Peacock Tynan (1927-04-02)2 April 1927 Birmingham, England
Died	26 July 1980(1980-07-26) (aged 53) Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Cause of death	Pulmonary emphysema
Resting place	Holywell Cemetery
Nationality	English
Other names	Ken Tynan
Education	King Edward's School, Birmingham
Alma mater	Magdalen College, Oxford
Occupation	Theatre critic, writer
Years active	1952–1980
Spouse(s)	Elaine Dundy (m. 1951; div. 1964) Kathleen Halton (m. 1967–80)
Children	3

Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at The Observer (1954–58, 1960–63), he praised Osborne's Look Back in Anger (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of British theatrical talent. In 1963, Tynan was appointed as the new National Theatre Company's literary manager.

An opponent of theatre censorship, Tynan was considered by many to be the first person to say "fuck" on British television (although this is now disputed), which was controversial at the time. Later in his life, he settled in California, where he resumed his writing career.

Tynan was born in Birmingham to Letitia Rose Tynan and (as he was led to believe) "Peter Tynan" (see below). As a child, he stammered but possessed early on a high degree of articulate intelligence. By the age of six, he was already keeping a diary. At King Edward's School, Birmingham he was a brilliant student of whom one of his masters said, "He was the only boy I could never teach anything." He played the lead, Doctor Parpalaid, in an English translation of Jules Romains' farce Knock. While at school, Tynan began smoking, which became a lifelong habit.

Tynan was twelve at the outbreak of the Second World War. At thirteen, he was nearly killed when a landmine destroyed the houses on the other side of the Birmingham street where the Tynans lived, killing the inhabitants. He adopted a then outrageous set of opinions. During school debates, he advocated repealing laws against homosexuality and abortion. During a school debate on the motion, "This House Thinks the Present Generation Has Lost the Ability to Entertain Itself" Tynan gave a speech on the pleasures of masturbation. By the time the war ended, he had gained a scholarship to Oxford University.

At Magdalen College, Oxford, Tynan lived flamboyantly but was already beginning to suffer from the effects of his heavy smoking. He did not discover until much too late that he had been born with a rare lung condition, which significantly increased the damage done by smoking.