Clifford Thurlow
Encyclopedia
Clifford Thurlow trained as a journalist after failing to get a place at Cambridge and wrote his first book at age 23. He has been described by Penny Wark of The Times
as "one of the UK's best ghostwriters
."
Thurlow studied Buddhism in India and worked with the Dalai Lama
as one of a team translating Tibetan sacred texts into English. He traded gemstones in South East Asia and ran a travelling dolphin show in Spain before moving to Hollywood where he penned Carol White
's autobiography Carol Comes Home.
Thurlow is noted for creating novelised-style true life memoirs. Recent books are Fatwa: Living With A Death Threat (Hodder & Stoughton
2005), which describes the flight of Jacky Trevane
across the desert with two children to escape an abusive husband; Today I'm Alice (Sidgwick & Jackson
, 2009) the story of Multiple Personality Disorder survivor Alice Jamieson, a Sunday Times Top Ten best-seller; and two books set in Iraq with former infantry captain James Ashcroft, Escape From Baghdad (Virgin 2009), the rescue of Ashcroft's former Iraqi interpreter and his family from Shia Death Squads; and Making A Killing (Virgin 2006) – on which Andy Martin
wrote in The Daily Telegraph
: "Ashcroft must have formed a good working alliance with ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow, because this diary of death and destruction radiates not just personality but that illusive, lyrical honesty the existentialists used to call authenticity."
Thurlow’s screenplay The Whiskey Robber, written with writer-director György Dobray, went into production in 2011. Based on the true life adventures of ice hockey player Attila Ambrus
, the notorious bank robber famed for drinking a few glasses of Scotch before each heist, the film stars Luke Goss
, Jonas Armstrong
and Andrea Osvárt
. The film is produced by Kornél Sipos and Bill Chamberlain
with music by Mike Moran
.
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
as "one of the UK's best ghostwriters
Ghostwriter
A ghostwriter is a professional writer who is paid to write books, articles, stories, reports, or other texts that are officially credited to another person. Celebrities, executives, and political leaders often hire ghostwriters to draft or edit autobiographies, magazine articles, or other written...
."
Thurlow studied Buddhism in India and worked with the Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
as one of a team translating Tibetan sacred texts into English. He traded gemstones in South East Asia and ran a travelling dolphin show in Spain before moving to Hollywood where he penned Carol White
Carol White
Carol White was a British actress.She achieved notability for her performances in the television play Cathy Come Home and the films Poor Cow and I'll Never Forget What's'isname , but alcoholism and drug abuse damaged her career, and from the early 1970s she worked infrequently.-Life and...
's autobiography Carol Comes Home.
Thurlow is noted for creating novelised-style true life memoirs. Recent books are Fatwa: Living With A Death Threat (Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton
Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint of Hachette.-History:The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged fourteen, with Messrs Jackson and Walford, the official publisher for the Congregational Union...
2005), which describes the flight of Jacky Trevane
Jacky Trevane
Jacky Trevane is the pseudonym of Jennifer Anne, a British woman who ran away from her Egyptian husband in 1992. With the help of ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow she published the book Fatwa: Living with a Death Threat, describing her version of her life with her Egyptian Muslim husband Maged...
across the desert with two children to escape an abusive husband; Today I'm Alice (Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson
Sidgwick & Jackson is an imprint of publishing company Pan Macmillan. It was founded in Britain in 1908. Notable early Sidgwick and Jackson authors include poet Rupert Brooke and novelist E.M. Forster...
, 2009) the story of Multiple Personality Disorder survivor Alice Jamieson, a Sunday Times Top Ten best-seller; and two books set in Iraq with former infantry captain James Ashcroft, Escape From Baghdad (Virgin 2009), the rescue of Ashcroft's former Iraqi interpreter and his family from Shia Death Squads; and Making A Killing (Virgin 2006) – on which Andy Martin
Andy Martin (author)
Andy Martin is a British author and academic. He is a regular contributor to BBC radio programmes and sometimes writes for "The Stone" and "Opinionator" columns in The New York Times . He has also written articles for the web broadcasting service SBS Broadcasting Group...
wrote in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
: "Ashcroft must have formed a good working alliance with ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow, because this diary of death and destruction radiates not just personality but that illusive, lyrical honesty the existentialists used to call authenticity."
Thurlow’s screenplay The Whiskey Robber, written with writer-director György Dobray, went into production in 2011. Based on the true life adventures of ice hockey player Attila Ambrus
Attila Ambrus
Attila Ambrus is notorious for committing a string of robberies in Hungary. He was born in a Székely Hungarian family in Fitod, a small village in eastern Transylvania, Romania, right outside Miercurea Ciuc....
, the notorious bank robber famed for drinking a few glasses of Scotch before each heist, the film stars Luke Goss
Luke Goss
Luke Damon Goss is an English singer and actor. Since 1994, he has been married to backing singer Shirley Lewis, , and has one stepdaughter, Carli. In January 2007, he and wife Shirley moved permanently to Los Angeles, but still maintain a residence in London...
, Jonas Armstrong
Jonas Armstrong
Jonas Armstrong is an Irish-actor, raised in Lytham St Annes, Lancashire, best known for his appearances on television in the United Kingdom, where he played the title role in the BBC One drama series Robin Hood.-Career:...
and Andrea Osvárt
Andrea Osvárt
Andrea Klára Osvárt is a Hungarian actress and former fashion model. She was born in Budapest and grew up in Tamási, a small town in the south of Hungary. Her parents divorced when she was five. Her father is a veterinarian. Osvárt attended N.2...
. The film is produced by Kornél Sipos and Bill Chamberlain
Bill Chamberlain
William Martin Chamberlain is a retired American professional basketball player in the ABA and the NBA.He played for the Memphis Tams and Kentucky Colonels of the ABA and the Phoenix Suns of the NBA....
with music by Mike Moran
Mike Moran
Michael Moran is a keyboard musician, songwriter and record producer.-Biography:Moran studied at the Royal College of Music in London prior to becoming a session musician and composer / arranger, including music for films such as Time Bandits and The Missionary...
.
Books
- 2009 – Escape From Baghdad, James Ashcroft rescues his Iraqi interpreter from death squads in Iraq
- 2009 – Today I'm Alice, the story of multiple personality disorderDissociative identity disorderDissociative identity disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis and describes a condition in which a person displays multiple distinct identities , each with its own pattern of perceiving and interacting with the environment....
sufferer Alice Jamieson - 2006 – Making A Killing, the story of Captain James Ashcroft
- 2005 – Making Short Films: The Complete Guide From Script to Screen
- 2004 – Fatwa: Living With A Death Threat, the story of Jacky TrevaneJacky TrevaneJacky Trevane is the pseudonym of Jennifer Anne, a British woman who ran away from her Egyptian husband in 1992. With the help of ghostwriter Clifford Thurlow she published the book Fatwa: Living with a Death Threat, describing her version of her life with her Egyptian Muslim husband Maged...
- 2003 – The Carol WhiteCarol WhiteCarol White was a British actress.She achieved notability for her performances in the television play Cathy Come Home and the films Poor Cow and I'll Never Forget What's'isname , but alcoholism and drug abuse damaged her career, and from the early 1970s she worked infrequently.-Life and...
Story - 2001 – All Things Considered
- 2000 – Sex, Surrealism, Dali and Me, the story of Carlos Lozano
- 1992 – Brief Spring: A Journey Through Eastern Europe
- 1987 – Never Before Noon, the story of Afdera FondaAfdera FranchettiBaroness Afdera Franchetti is an Italian Baroness, descended from an old Jewish Venice family which intermarried with the Rothschild family and who eventually converted to Roman Catholicism...