Hoax letter writers
Encyclopedia
Henry Root
Henry Root is the creation of writer William DonaldsonWilliam Donaldson
Charles William Donaldson was an English satirist, writer, playboy and, under the pseudonym of Henry Root, author of The Henry Root Letters.-Life and career:...
who wrote to numerous public figures with unusual or outlandish questions and requests. The letters were published as The Henry Root Letters and The Further Letters of Henry Root and a compilation volume, The Complete Henry Root Letters.
The Henry Root character inspired the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
mini-series, Root Into Europe
Root Into Europe
Root Into Europe was an ITV comedy-drama written by William Donaldson and Mark Chapman, which ran for 5 episodes between May 17 and June 14 1992...
, starring George Cole.
Francis Wagstaffe
Francis Wagstaffe is the creation of the Reverend Toby Forward, BEdBachelor of Education
A Bachelor of Education is an undergraduate academic degree which qualifies the graduate as a teacher in schools.-North America:...
, MA
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
, and the Reverend David Johnson, BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
(Cantab
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
), sometime President of the Cambridge Union
Cambridge Union Society
The Cambridge Union Society, commonly referred to as simply "the Cambridge Union" or "the Union," is a debating society in Cambridge, England and is the largest society at the University of Cambridge. Since its founding in 1815, the Union has developed a worldwide reputation as a noted symbol of...
, now Chaplain to the Oxford Union
Oxford Union
The Oxford Union Society, commonly referred to simply as the Oxford Union, is a debating society in the city of Oxford, Britain, whose membership is drawn primarily but not exclusively from the University of Oxford...
.
Wagstaffe wrote to prominent people, mostly Anglican bishops, but also others including Michael Green
Michael Green (theologian)
Edward Michael Bankes Green is a British theologian, Anglican priest, Christian apologist and author of more than 50 Christian books.- Early life, education and ministry :...
, Conrad Swan
Conrad Swan
Sir Conrad Marshall John Fisher Swan, was a long-serving officer of arms at the College of Arms in London. Having been first appointed to work at the College in 1962, he rose to the office of Garter Principal King of Arms in 1992, a position he held until 1995...
, Ted Hughes
Ted Hughes
Edward James Hughes OM , more commonly known as Ted Hughes, was an English poet and children's writer. Critics routinely rank him as one of the best poets of his generation. Hughes was British Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death.Hughes was married to American poet Sylvia Plath, from 1956 until...
, Roy Jenkins
Roy Jenkins
Roy Harris Jenkins, Baron Jenkins of Hillhead OM, PC was a British politician.The son of a Welsh coal miner who later became a union official and Labour MP, Roy Jenkins served with distinction in World War II. Elected to Parliament as a Labour member in 1948, he served in several major posts in...
, Roger Freeman
Roger Freeman, Baron Freeman
Roger Norman Freeman, Baron Freeman, PC , is a British politician. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster in the Cabinet of Prime Minister John Major from 1995 to 1997...
, Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
, Rocco Forte
Rocco Forte
Sir Rocco Forte is a British hotelier born in Bournemouth.After Downside School he went on to read modern languages at Pembroke College, Oxford, where he won a blue for fencing...
, Stella Rimington
Stella Rimington
Dame Stella Rimington, DCB is a British author, who was the Director General of MI5 from 1992 to 1996. She was the first female DG of MI5, and the first DG whose name was publicised on appointment...
, and Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg
Melvyn Bragg, Baron Bragg FRSL FRTS FBA, FRS FRSA is an English broadcaster and author best known for his work with the BBC and for presenting the The South Bank Show...
as well as organisations including the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, the British Broadcasting Corporation, British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
, Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds is a wax museum in London with branches in a number of major cities. It was founded by wax sculptor Marie Tussaud and was formerly known as "Madame Tussaud's", but the apostrophe is no longer used...
, the Victoria and Albert Museum
Victoria and Albert Museum
The Victoria and Albert Museum , set in the Brompton district of The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England, is the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 4.5 million objects...
, and the Russian Embassy.
In the earlier letters he poses as a purveyor of Cumberland sausage
Cumberland sausage
Cumberland sausage is a form of sausage that originated in the ancient county of Cumberland, England, now part of Cumbria. They are traditionally very long , and sold rolled in a flat, circular coil but within western Cumbria they are more often served in long curved lengths...
s and former prep school
Preparatory school (UK)
In English language usage in the former British Empire, the present-day Commonwealth, a preparatory school is an independent school preparing children up to the age of eleven or thirteen for entry into fee-paying, secondary independent schools, some of which are known as public schools...
proprietor who is seeking guidance on the Christian faith, and in the later letters he poses as His Grace the Most Reverend the Archbishop of the Old Northern Catholick Church of the East Riding Mar Francis II Metropolitan and Primate, Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Saint John of Beverly (1st Class).
Published as Toby Forward and David Johnson, eds, The Spiritual Quest of Francis Wagstaffe (Leominster
Leominster
Leominster is a market town in Herefordshire, England, located approximately north of the city of Hereford and south of Ludlow, at...
: Gracewing, 1994). The publication supported St Peter's Young Homeless Support Centre in Highfields
Highfields, Leicestershire
Highfields is an inner city area of Leicester, England. As the name suggests, it is one of the highest areas in the city, on high ground southeast of the city centre. To the west the area is bounded by the Midland Main Line, to the south by London Road, and to the east by East Park Road...
, Leicester
Leicester
Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...
.
Others
Other prank mail and reviewers include:- John Hargrave of Zug.comZug.comZug is a comedy website that was founded in 1995 by Sir John Hargrave and Genevieve Martineau.-History:Beginning as a webzine, the site featured weekly comedy articles from Sir John Hargrave and a host of collaborators...
, who sent a letter to all US senators, posing as a child and asking them for their favorite joke. - Bill Geerhart, author of the book Little Billy's Letters (Morrow, 2010)
- Ed BrothEd BrothEd Broth is the author of Stories From A Moron: Real Stories Rejected by Real Magazines, published in January, 2005 by St. Martin's Press. The book consists of numerous prank letters Broth mailed to magazines and their responses. An example is his submission of an essay titled "I Love Dogs" to I...
- also possibly the creation of comedian Jerry SeinfeldJerry SeinfeldJerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,... - Robin Cooper who wrote The Timewaster Letters - the creation of Robert PopperRobert PopperRobert Popper is a BAFTA winning comedy producer, writer and actor, best known as co-creator of the mock BBC documentary Look Around You, in which he also plays the part of Jack Morgan...
. - Ted L. NancyTed L. NancyTed L. Nancy is the pseudonym used by the comedian Barry Marder, author of a number of prank letters which have been published in a series of bestselling books under the titles Letters from a Nut, More Letters from a Nut, Extra Nutty!: Even More Letters from a Nut, and the new book All New Letters...
- possibly the creation of comedian Jerry SeinfeldJerry SeinfeldJerome Allen "Jerry" Seinfeld is an American stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and television and film producer, known for playing a semi-fictional version of himself in the situation comedy Seinfeld , which he co-created and co-wrote with Larry David, and, in the show's final two seasons,... - W. Morgan PettyW. Morgan PettyW. Morgan Petty is the creation of Brian Bethell. W. Morgan Petty would write crank letters to numerous organizations expressing typical concerns for mid-1980s Britain like nuclear war and the common market. Collections of his letters include:...
- the nom de plume of Brian Bethell. - H. Rochester SneathH. Rochester SneathH. Rochester Sneath MA L-ès-L was the nonexistent headmaster of the also nonexistent Selhurst School who wrote many bizarre letters to public figures in 1948. Selhurst supposedly had 175 male students....
- the fictional headmaster of the fictional British public school Selhurst, created by Humphry BerkeleyHumphry BerkeleyHumphry John Berkeley was a British politician noted for his many changes of parties and his efforts to effect homosexual law reform, and both oppose, and then seem to abet, grand apartheid.... - the fictitious Lazlo TothLazlo TothLazlo Toth may refer to:*Laszlo Toth, Hungarian-born geologist who attacked Michelangelo's Pietà with a hammer in 1972*Lazlo Toth, pen name under which comedian Don Novello wrote a series of letters to public figures and corporations; the name is derived from that of the Pietà vandal*László Fejes...
- the creation of actor/writer Don NovelloDon NovelloDon Novello is an American writer, film director, producer, actor, singer, and comedian. Novello is best known for his work on NBC's Saturday Night Live, from 1977 until 1980, and then 1985 until 1986, often as the character "Father Guido Sarducci". Novello has appeared as "Sarducci" on many...
, who played Father Guido SarducciFather Guido SarducciFather Guido Sarducci is a fictional character made famous by American comedian Don Novello. Sarducci, a chain-smoking priest with tinted eyeglasses, works in the United States as gossip columnist and rock critic for the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano .-Background:Novello...
on Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. - Edna Welthorpe was a prudish middle-aged housewife who was strongly opposed to her creator Joe OrtonJoe OrtonJohn Kingsley Orton was an English playwright.In a short but prolific career lasting from 1964 until his death, he shocked, outraged and amused audiences with his scandalous black comedies...
's plays. - James Spence, author of Silly Beggar: The World's Stupidest Begging LettersSilly BeggarSilly Beggar is a book of letters written by Scottish author James Spence. It was published on May 14, 2009 by Aurora Metro. The book is a collection of comedy begging Letters sent to companies, plus their replies and images of items the author received....
, wrote absurd comedy emails requesting free items from companies. - Bob ServantBob ServantNeil Forsyth is a Scottish journalist, writer and author best known for creating the character of Bob Servant.- Early life :...
who swapped emails with Internet Spammers in the book Delete This At Your Peril - the creation of Neil Forsyth
See also
- Diary of a NobodyDiary of a NobodyThe Diary of a Nobody, an English comic novel written by George Grossmith and his brother Weedon Grossmith with illustrations by Weedon, first appeared in the magazine Punch in 1888 – 89, and was first printed in book form in 1892...
- a fictional diary written by George GrossmithGeorge GrossmithGeorge Grossmith was an English comedian, writer, composer, actor, and singer. His performing career spanned more than four decades... - The Timewaster Diaries - a fictional diary, again written by Robin Cooper (Robert PopperRobert PopperRobert Popper is a BAFTA winning comedy producer, writer and actor, best known as co-creator of the mock BBC documentary Look Around You, in which he also plays the part of Jack Morgan...
) - Silence DogoodSilence DogoodSilence Dogood was a false persona used by Benjamin Franklin to get his work published.-History:As a teenager, Franklin worked as an apprentice in his older brother James' printing shop in Boston, where The New-England Courant was printed....