Anthony Creighton
Encyclopedia
Anthony Creighton a British actor and writer, is best known as the co-author of the play Epitaph for George Dillon
with John Osborne
.
He served in the RAF during the war as a navigator on bomber aircraft. He was awarded the DFC
for gallantry for saving the crew of his Halifax bomber
over Hamburg. During the war he met Terence Rattigan
who was then a wireless operator and air gunner. They appeared together in entertainment for fellow servicemen at RAF ground stations. After the war he completed a course at RADA
and subsequently joined a company at Barnstaple
in Devon
. Shortly afterward he formed his own travelling company, the Sage Repertory Group, with £200 given to him by his mother and was joined by three other actors from Barnstaple. An advertisement in The Stage
in 1949 offering actors no salary but a share of the profits was answered by John Osborne
who joined the company in Ilfracombe
. His company took their plays from village to village but enjoyed little success, they presented a summer residency at the Victoria Theatre on Hayling Island
but this too was short-lived. Shortly after he collaborated on two plays with Osborne, the first Personal Enemy
fell foul of the censors at the time, the second was An Epitaph for George Dillon.
Although Creighton had little other dramatic success, he remained a close friend and confidant of Osborne, and was living with him on a houseboat in the Thames in 1954, the year Osborne wrote Look Back in Anger
. Creighton is believed to have been the model for Cliff in the play.
The friendship between Osborne and Creighton faded over time. In 1960 Creighton co-wrote another play with his American lover Bernard Miller, Tomorrow with Pictures which was produced at the Lyric Hammersmith
in 1961. It achieved little success and was to be Creighton's last produced play. Subsequently he taught drama at various London education establishments.
He met Osborne on one last occasion in 1994, at Osborne's country home, to discuss George Dillon royalty payments. Osborne was by then diagnosed as diabetic and a near shadow of his former self, he died shortly after the meeting. Creighton said of the melancholy visit that he would prefer to remember the impecuniously happier times of the 1950s, "I look back on Osborne with love".
In recent years, Creighton has attracted controversy for a different reasons. After Osborne's death in 1994, Creighton claimed in an interview with the critic Nicholas de Jongh
that he and Osborne had lived together as lovers. Osborne's surviving family were quick to refute any suggestion of homosexuality on Osborne's part. Creighton finally admitted in an interview with Osborne's biographer, John Heilpern
, that he had lied to de Jongh and no homosexual relationship had ever existed. Creighton's proximity to the Angry Young Men
of the 1950s and 1960s make his extensive collection of letters and diaries of considerable historical importance.
Epitaph for George Dillon
Epitaph for George Dillon is an early John Osborne play, one of two he wrote in collaboration with Anthony Creighton . It was written before Look Back in Anger, the play which made Osborne’s career, but opened a year after in Oxford in 1957 and moved to London’s Royal Court theatre, where Look...
with John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
.
He served in the RAF during the war as a navigator on bomber aircraft. He was awarded the DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a military decoration awarded to personnel of the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force and other services, and formerly to officers of other Commonwealth countries, for "an act or acts of valour, courage or devotion to duty whilst flying in active operations against...
for gallantry for saving the crew of his Halifax bomber
Handley Page Halifax
The Handley Page Halifax was one of the British front-line, four-engined heavy bombers of the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. A contemporary of the famous Avro Lancaster, the Halifax remained in service until the end of the war, performing a variety of duties in addition to bombing...
over Hamburg. During the war he met Terence Rattigan
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan CBE was one of England's most popular 20th-century dramatists. His plays are generally set in an upper-middle-class background...
who was then a wireless operator and air gunner. They appeared together in entertainment for fellow servicemen at RAF ground stations. After the war he completed a course at RADA
Rada
Rada is the term for "council" or "assembly"borrowed by Polish from the Low Franconian "Rad" and later passed into the Czech, Ukrainian, and Belarusian languages....
and subsequently joined a company at Barnstaple
Barnstaple
Barnstaple is a town and civil parish in the local government district of North Devon in the county of Devon, England, UK. It lies west southwest of Bristol, north of Plymouth and northwest of the county town of Exeter. The old spelling Barnstable is now obsolete.It is the main town of the...
in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Shortly afterward he formed his own travelling company, the Sage Repertory Group, with £200 given to him by his mother and was joined by three other actors from Barnstaple. An advertisement in The Stage
The Stage
The Stage is a weekly British newspaper founded in 1880, available nationally and published on Thursdays. Covering all areas of the entertainment industry but focused primarily on theatre, it contains news, reviews, opinion, features and other items of interest, mainly to those who work within the...
in 1949 offering actors no salary but a share of the profits was answered by John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
who joined the company in Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe
Ilfracombe is a seaside resort and civil parish on the North Devon coast, England with a small harbour, surrounded by cliffs.The parish stretches along the coast from 'The Coastguard Cottages' in Hele Bay toward the east and 4 miles along The Torrs to Lee Bay toward the west...
. His company took their plays from village to village but enjoyed little success, they presented a summer residency at the Victoria Theatre on Hayling Island
Hayling Island
-Leisure activities:Although largely residential, Hayling is also a holiday, windsurfing and sailing centre, the site where windsurfing was invented....
but this too was short-lived. Shortly after he collaborated on two plays with Osborne, the first Personal Enemy
Personal Enemy
Personal Enemy is a play by John Osborne and Anthony Creighton. It was written in 1954, prior to Osborne's 'big break' with Look Back in Anger at the Royal Court Theatre in 1956, and first performed in Harrogate in 1955...
fell foul of the censors at the time, the second was An Epitaph for George Dillon.
Although Creighton had little other dramatic success, he remained a close friend and confidant of Osborne, and was living with him on a houseboat in the Thames in 1954, the year Osborne wrote Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger
Look Back in Anger is a John Osborne play—made into films in 1959, 1980, and 1989 -- about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
. Creighton is believed to have been the model for Cliff in the play.
The friendship between Osborne and Creighton faded over time. In 1960 Creighton co-wrote another play with his American lover Bernard Miller, Tomorrow with Pictures which was produced at the Lyric Hammersmith
Lyric Hammersmith
The Lyric Theatre, also known as the Lyric Hammersmith, is a theatre on King Street, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, which takes pride in its original, "groundbreaking" productions....
in 1961. It achieved little success and was to be Creighton's last produced play. Subsequently he taught drama at various London education establishments.
He met Osborne on one last occasion in 1994, at Osborne's country home, to discuss George Dillon royalty payments. Osborne was by then diagnosed as diabetic and a near shadow of his former self, he died shortly after the meeting. Creighton said of the melancholy visit that he would prefer to remember the impecuniously happier times of the 1950s, "I look back on Osborne with love".
In recent years, Creighton has attracted controversy for a different reasons. After Osborne's death in 1994, Creighton claimed in an interview with the critic Nicholas de Jongh
Nicholas de Jongh
Nicholas de Jongh is a British theatre critic and playwright. He served as the senior drama critic of the Evening Standard from 1991 to 2009. Prior to that, he worked for the Guardian newspaper for almost 20 years...
that he and Osborne had lived together as lovers. Osborne's surviving family were quick to refute any suggestion of homosexuality on Osborne's part. Creighton finally admitted in an interview with Osborne's biographer, John Heilpern
John Heilpern
John Heilpern, a contributing editor to Vanity Fair and longtime drama critic for the New York Observer,Heilpern, the son of a bookmaker, was born in Manchester, England, and educated at Oxford University...
, that he had lied to de Jongh and no homosexual relationship had ever existed. Creighton's proximity to the Angry Young Men
Angry young men
The "angry young men" were a group of mostly working and middle class British playwrights and novelists who became prominent in the 1950s. The group's leading members included John Osborne and Kingsley Amis.The phrase was originally coined by the Royal Court Theatre's press officer to promote John...
of the 1950s and 1960s make his extensive collection of letters and diaries of considerable historical importance.