R. D. Wingfield
| R. D. Wingfield | |
|---|---|
| Born |
6 June 1928 Hackney, London, England |
| Died | 31 July 2007 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | author, playwright |
| Genre | Crime fiction |
Rodney David Wingfield (6 June 1928 – 31 July 2007) was an English author and radio dramatist. He is best remembered for creating the character of Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who was later played by Sir David Jason in A Touch of Frost.
Rodney David Wingfield was born in Hackney, east London in 1928. He was educated at the Coopers' Company School and during the Second World War was evacuated to Frome, Somerset. Wingfield was exempted from National Service due to poor eyesight and had various office jobs in the East End before joining the Petrofina oil company. His first radio play, Compensating Error was accepted by the BBC in 1968 and two more were then commissioned, at which point Wingfield resigned from his job. His radio plays are discussed at ukonline. Wingfield's radio plays are always clever, with crisp often acerbic dialogue, having well-defined characters and action that intrigues. After hooking the listener he often leads them astray with his trademark tricks, twists and surprises.
In 1972, Macmillan Publishers invited him to write a book, and he wrote Frost at Christmas. This was rejected and not published until the early 1980s in Canada. Wingfield had originally planned to kill Frost in the first book, but he was persuaded instead to leave it as an open ending. Following this, two more Frost books were written: A Touch of Frost and Night Frost. In 1977 Frost appeared in a radio play called Three Days of Frost, in which Frost was played by Leslie Sands, a friend of Wingfield's. The books were first published in the United Kingdom in early 1989, and in 1992 Frost first appeared on television in A Touch of Frost, played by David Jason. Wingfield was never enthusiastic about the TV adaptation of his detective, once saying he had nothing against David Jason but "he just isn't my Frost".
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