Laura Lamson
Encyclopedia
Laura Lamson was an American screenwriter
and university lecturer who was based in England throughout her career. Her most successful work was her adaptation of The Men's Room for the BBC
.
, Lamson spent much of her early life living around the Midwest area. The only daughter of William and Leona Kerstetter, Lamson grew up with her brother William Jr. and the family often moved as her father, a university professor, took jobs at various universities. They finally settled in Greencastle, Indiana
in 1962 when her father became president of DePauw University
. Lamson returned to Ohio to study English and psychology at Ohio Wesleyan University
. She spent a year studying in England where she met Christopher King and the couple married shortly afterwards in 1970 in Greencastle.
Lamson and King settled in England, where she began work in the media and he worked as a television director
. She worked in London
as a script reader for Columbia Pictures
in 1980. Soon after, she began focusing upon script writing and one of her first screenplay
s was a feature film adaptation of Elizabeth Smart
's poem By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
. Despite interest from various producers, the film was never made. However, the quality of the script opened doors for Lamson.
She and King divorced in 1986 and she brought up their two young sons, Matthew and Jamie, as a single parent. In the early nineties she found success with an adaptation of Ann Oakley
's 1989 book The Men's Room starring Harriet Walter
, detailing sexual impulses in the workplace. Leading actor Bill Nighy
, who played Mark Carleton, said the mini-series launched his career. The five-part series for the BBC
was well received by both the press and the public. The success of The Men's Room brought Lamson further work as a television writer. She continued to specialise in adaptations, writing the screenplays for Gillian Wright's The Rich Deceiver in 1995, Peter James
' The Alchemists in 1999 and Agatha Christie
's Sparkling Cyanide
in 2003. Additionally, in the mid 2000s Lamson moved into the field of television documentaries, writing Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
, Wren: the Man Who Built Britain and Michelangelo.
To supplement her work as a screenwriter, she taught at English universities, becoming a professor on the MA Screenwriting course at Leeds Metropolitan University
and the MA Creative Writing course at Birkbeck, University of London
. She became ill in 2007 and resolved to reconnect with her American homeland, setting off on a road trip with close friend Ashtar Alkhirsan. However, illness prevented her from completing the trip and she died the following year. She was survived by her two sons, her brother William Jr. and sister-in-law Valerie.
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and university lecturer who was based in England throughout her career. Her most successful work was her adaptation of The Men's Room for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
Biography
Born in Berea, OhioBerea, Ohio
- History :The first European settlers were originally from Connecticut. Berea fell within Connecticut's Western Reserve and was surveyed and divided into townships and ranges by one Gideon Granger, a gentleman who served as Postmaster General under President Thomas Jefferson...
, Lamson spent much of her early life living around the Midwest area. The only daughter of William and Leona Kerstetter, Lamson grew up with her brother William Jr. and the family often moved as her father, a university professor, took jobs at various universities. They finally settled in Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle, Indiana
Greencastle is a city in Greencastle Township, Putnam County, Indiana, United States, and the county seat of Putnam County. It was founded in 1821 by Scots-Irish American Ephraim Dukes on a land grant. He named the settlement for his hometown of Greencastle, Pennsylvania...
in 1962 when her father became president of DePauw University
DePauw University
DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, USA, is a private, national liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,400 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the Great Lakes Colleges Association...
. Lamson returned to Ohio to study English and psychology at Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University
Ohio Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1842 by Methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five — a consortium of Ohio liberal arts colleges...
. She spent a year studying in England where she met Christopher King and the couple married shortly afterwards in 1970 in Greencastle.
Lamson and King settled in England, where she began work in the media and he worked as a television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
. She worked in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
as a script reader for Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production and distribution company. Columbia Pictures now forms part of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. It is one of the leading film companies...
in 1980. Soon after, she began focusing upon script writing and one of her first screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s was a feature film adaptation of Elizabeth Smart
Elizabeth Smart (author)
Elizabeth Smart was a Canadian poet and novelist. Her book, By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept, detailed her romance with the poet George Barker...
's poem By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept
By Grand Central Station I Sat Down and Wept is a novel of prose poetry written by the Canadian author Elizabeth Smart and published in 1945. It is widely considered to be a classic of the genre....
. Despite interest from various producers, the film was never made. However, the quality of the script opened doors for Lamson.
She and King divorced in 1986 and she brought up their two young sons, Matthew and Jamie, as a single parent. In the early nineties she found success with an adaptation of Ann Oakley
Ann Oakley
Ann Oakley is a distinguished British sociologist, feminist, and writer. She is Professor and Founder-Director of the Social Science Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London and in 2005 partially retired from full-time academic work to concentrate on her writing and...
's 1989 book The Men's Room starring Harriet Walter
Harriet Walter
Dame Harriet Mary Walter, DBE is a British actress.-Personal life:She is the niece of renowned British actor Sir Christopher Lee, as the daughter of his elder sister Xandra Lee. On her father's side she is a great-great-great-granddaughter of John Walter, founder of The TimesShe was educated at...
, detailing sexual impulses in the workplace. Leading actor Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...
, who played Mark Carleton, said the mini-series launched his career. The five-part series for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
was well received by both the press and the public. The success of The Men's Room brought Lamson further work as a television writer. She continued to specialise in adaptations, writing the screenplays for Gillian Wright's The Rich Deceiver in 1995, Peter James
Peter James
Peter James is a British author and historian specialising in ancient history and archaeology of the Eastern Mediterranean region. He graduated in ancient history and archeology at the University of Birmingham and does postgraduate research at University College London.James has advanced several...
' The Alchemists in 1999 and Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
's Sparkling Cyanide
Sparkling Cyanide
Sparkling Cyanide is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title of Remembered Death and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the December of the same year under Christie's original title...
in 2003. Additionally, in the mid 2000s Lamson moved into the field of television documentaries, writing Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial
Nuremberg: Nazis on Trial, is a BBC documentary film series consisting of three one-hour films that re-enact the Nuremberg War Trials of Albert Speer, Hermann Göring and Rudolf Hess...
, Wren: the Man Who Built Britain and Michelangelo.
To supplement her work as a screenwriter, she taught at English universities, becoming a professor on the MA Screenwriting course at Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds Metropolitan University is a British University with three campuses. Two are situated in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England while the third is situated in Bhopal, India...
and the MA Creative Writing course at Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London
Birkbeck, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London. It offers many Master's and Bachelor's degree programmes that can be studied either part-time or full-time, though nearly all teaching is...
. She became ill in 2007 and resolved to reconnect with her American homeland, setting off on a road trip with close friend Ashtar Alkhirsan. However, illness prevented her from completing the trip and she died the following year. She was survived by her two sons, her brother William Jr. and sister-in-law Valerie.