Dennis Potter

Biography: Born in the Forest of Dean, the son of an impoverished coal miner, Dennis Potter was 12 when his father moved him and the rest of his siblings to London to weather the terrible winter of 1947. When the rest of his family returned to their hometown, Potter remained. After attending Oxford, Potter became a journalist and after that began writing a series of successful teleplays. Many of these were later adapted into feature films such as his innovative profile of a struggling songwriter in Pennies From Heaven, which became a major Hollywood feature starring Steve Martin in 1981. Other noted films include the disturbing Brimstone and Treacle (1982) and The Singing Detective (1988). Potter also wrote the occasional screenplay including that of Gorky Park (1983). Potter's final film was the screenplay for Midnight Movie (1994), which he also produced. He died of cancer in July that year.