Ted Willis, Baron Willis

"Baron Willis" redirects here. For other uses, see Baron Willis (disambiguation).

For other people named Edward Willis, see Edward Willis (disambiguation).

Edward Henry Willis, Baron Willis (13 January 1914 - 22 December 1992), commonly known as Ted Willis, was a British television dramatist who was also politically active in support of the Labour Party.

Political life

Willis was elected Chairman of the Labour League of Youth as the candidate of the left in 1937. In 1941 he became Secretary General of the Young Communist League. He was a charismatic personality and an excellent public speaker. He often spoke at meetings in favour of opening a second front in order to help the Red Army which was bearing the brunt of the Nazi onslaught.

Career

His passion for drama first manifested in plays he wrote for the Unity Theatre, based in a former chapel near St Pancras, during the war. He was best known for writing the television series Dixon of Dock Green which ran for more than twenty years, and he also wrote nine films. He was Chairman of the Writers' Guild of Great Britain from 1958 to 1964. Willis created several British television series such as Virgin of the Secret Service, Hunter's Walk, The Adventures of Black Beauty, Copper's End, Sergeant Cork and Mrs Thursday.

Honours and awards

On 23 December 1963 he was awarded a life peerage with the title Baron Willis, of Chislehurst in the County of Kent, on a Labour Party nomination.

Films

• The Undefeated 1949
• A Boy, a Girl and a Bike 1949
• The Huggetts Abroad 1949
• The Blue Lamp (original treatment, 1950)
• Blueprint for Danger (UK)/The Wallet (US) 1952
• Top of the Form 1953
• Trouble in Store 1953
• The Large Rope (UK)/The Long Rope (US) 1953
• Burnt Evidence 1954
• Up to His Neck 1954
• One Good Turn 1955
• Woman in a Dressing Gown 1957 Golden Globe winner.

Personal life

Born in Stanley Road, West Green, North London, Ted Willis served in the Royal Fusiliers in World War II. He married the actress Audrey Hale in 1944 and they had a son and a daughter. He died of a heart attack at his home in Chislehurst, Kent in 1992, leaving his widow Audrey (who died in May 2009), daughter Sally, and son John Willis, a BBC director. His granddaughter is producer Beth Willis, he wrote his book "A Problem For Mother Christmas" Publisher: Victor Gollancz (April 1988) for Beth and her brother Tom, naming the main character Beth Hale (after Beth but using his wife's maiden name).

References

• Willis, Ted. Whatever Happened to Tom Mix ? The Story of One of My Lives. ISBN 0-304-93675-8
• Willis, Ted. Evening All: Fifty Years Over a Hot Typewriter. ISBN 0-333-54686-5
• Link:IMDB Film Database: Section on Ted Willis