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Al Hunter Ashton

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Al Hunter Ashton
Hunter playing an army drill instructor in "Back to School Mr. Bean" (1994)
Born
Alan Hunter

(1957-06-26)26 June 1957
Died27 April 2007(2007-04-27) (aged 49)
SpouseSue Gibson (divorced)
Children3

Al Hunter Ashton (26 June 1957 – 27 April 2007), born Alan Hunter,[1][2] was a British actor and script writer.

Life

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Hunter was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, and came from a working-class background. Born Alan Hunter (he later changed his name by deed poll to Al Hunter), he wrote scripts for his own amusement from the age of 15; he worked in his spare time as a stand-up comedian in clubs for £15 a night but became a stripper on discovering that he could earn the same amount for shedding his clothes every evening. "My stripping routine was actually funnier than my stand-up one," he said.[2][3]

He acted under the name "Al Ashton", choosing this to ensure he appeared high up in any alphabetical credits. He wrote under the name "Al Hunter". Later he combined the two, acting and writing under the name "Al Hunter Ashton".[1] He also wrote under the alias Alun Nipper.[4]

Work

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His first professional acting work was with a Theatre in Education company in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and he was subsequently cast in Willy Russell plays such as Breezeblock Park (at the Liverpool Playhouse) and Blood Brothers (at the Derby Playhouse). Russell also later commissioned him to write the BBC Schools television play Teaching Matthew (in which Hunter also had a small role as a policeman, 1985), a satire on Russell's own Educating Rita.[1]

Hunter worked very closely with the Stage 22 School of Arts Network in the UK and upon his death, children from the school made their own version of the Queen hit Only the Good Die Young which was dedicated to him and his three young children.

List of acting roles (incomplete)

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List of writing credits (incomplete)

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  • Alison BBC TV screenplay
  • EastEnders. BBC TV soap. Regular contributor since 1987. Writer/storyliner.
  • The Bill. (Series 4 episode 17 Runaround)
  • Holby City. Lead core writer, storyliner, producer.
  • Pieces of a Silver Lining. BBC Afternoon Theatre with Martin Jameson
  • Safe. Bafta winner. Best Single Drama. see External links below
  • Teaching Matthew BBC TV script writer and actor
  • The Broker's Man. Creator and writer. (with Tim O'Mara).
  • The Firm. Screen Two. Writer (as Al Hunter)
  • Alive and Kicking. Film shown in series 3 of BBC drama anthology 'Screen One'.

Death

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On 27 April 2007 Al Hunter Ashton died of heart failure in his home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.[1][5] Episode eight of series five of the New Tricks TV series, titled "Mad Dogs", was dedicated to his memory.

Awards

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  • Safe (1993), a harrowing tale of homelessness. Won the 1994 Bafta TV Award as Best Single Drama. Al Ashton, writer.

Filmography

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Year Title Role Notes
1982 Remembrance John
1986 Agent on Ice Thug
1988 A Fish Called Wanda Warder
1998 Ever After Cargomaster
1999 Treasure Island George Merry
2000 Gladiator Rome Trainer #1
2000 The Wedding Tackle Taxi Driver
2001 From Hell Stonecutter
2001 Mr In-Between Fat Dave
2008 Incendiary Male Survivor
2008 Sisterhood Reggie (final film role)
[edit]
  • "Al Hunter Ashton Homepage". Archived from the original on 21 August 2007. Retrieved 14 May 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  • Safe (1993) at Screenonline
  • Safe (1993) at IMDb
  • "BBC Comedy Roles". Archived from the original on 9 April 2005. Retrieved 15 May 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) BBC Comedy Guide
  • Al Hunter Ashton at IMDb

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c d Martin Jameson (11 May 2007). "Obituary: Al Hunter Ashton". The Guardian.
  2. ^ a b Patrick Newley (1 June 2007). "Obituary: Al Hunter Ashton". The Stage.
  3. ^ "none". The Independent. 7 May 2007.
  4. ^ "Al Ashton". en.notrecinema.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019. alias : Alun NIPPER, Al HUNTER ASHTON, Al HUNTER-ASHTON,
  5. ^ Graham Young (10 May 2007). "Blazing a trail at Big Al's funeral". Birmingham Mail.