Personal info
Known for
Writer
Gender
Male
Birthday
17 May
Location
England, United Kingdom
Edit pageDennis Potter
Biography
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English television dramatist, screenwriter, journalist and novelist, widely regarded as one of the most influential writers in British television. Born on May 17, 1935, in Berry Hill, Gloucestershire, England, he studied at New College, Oxford, graduating in 1959.
He initially worked as a journalist and television critic before entering television drama in 1965 with The Wednesday Play. His early works included Stand Up, Nigel Barton (1965), Vote Vote Vote for Nigel Barton (1965) and Brimstone and Treacle (1976).
He achieved widespread recognition with the television serials Pennies from Heaven (1978) and The Singing Detective (1986), both known for blending fantasy, reality and popular music. His other notable works include Blue Remembered Hills (1979), Dreamchild (1985), Blackeyes (1989) and Lipstick on Your Collar (1993).
Potter suffered from psoriatic arthropathy, a painful condition that influenced several of his works. He died of pancreatic cancer on June 7, 1994, at the age of 59, in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire, England. His final television dramas, Karaoke and Cold Lazarus, were broadcast posthumously in 1996.
