Ranald Graham
Encyclopedia
Ranald Ian Mackenzie Graham (3 January 1941 - 29 August 2010) was a Scottish writer, director and producer, best known for his writing work on the British television series The Sweeney
, The Professionals
and Dempsey & Makepeace
.
, North Borneo
(now Sabah
) on 3 January 1941 to Scottish parents. Just over a year later, on 19 January 1942, the Japanese landed at Sandakan as part of the invasion of Borneo
that had commenced on 16 December 1941 when the Japanese took Miri
and Seria
in Sarawak
. For the first few months the European civilians were interned in various private houses in Sandakan; in May 1942 they were transferred to the prison camp on Berhala Island
in Sandakan Harbour. Here Graham, his older sister Sheena and their mother were separated from their father. After eight months, the women and children were sent from Berhala Island to Batu Lintang camp
in Kuching
, Sarawak
arriving at the camp after a nine-day long and difficult sea journey on 21 January 1943. Graham’s father arrived in Kuching some 6 weeks later. Batu Lintang was to be Graham’s home for the next 2 years and 9 months.
One of the female internees at Batu Lintang, Hilda Bates, recorded her thoughts about Graham in her account of her internment:
The camp was liberated on 11 September 1945, and after a period of recuperation on Labuan Island the Graham family returned to the UK. His parents eventually returned to Sandakan, but Graham remained in the UK, to be educated at Gordonstoun
and later at Trinity College, Dublin
, where he studied English and was a keen member of the drama society. He then undertook an MA in contemporary literature at Birmingham University
.
, Edinburgh
as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The play interwove the stories of two disasters: the Aberfan colliery disaster and the Tay Bridge disaster
, was performed mainly by children and received a rave notice in The Scotsman
. His second play An Expedition to Pick Mushrooms was staged in 1967, also at the Traverse Theatre.
In 1968 Graham became a researcher and writer for the television sports documentary series Sports Arena, which was presented by Michael Parkinson
.
In 1974 Graham wrote the screenplay for the horror film Shanks
, directed by "Hollywood B-movie veteran" William Castle
and starring Marcel Marceau
. It was "generally acknowledged as the weirdest project ever to emerge from a major studio" and was critically panned. The next year Graham co-wrote a television movie, Strange New World and started to make his career in crime dramas, writing for The Sweeney
. In all, he contributed six episodes between 1975-78: “Queen’s Pawn”, “Cover Story”, “Supersnout”, “Thou Shalt Not Kill” (all 1975), “Lady Luck” (1976) and “Nightmare” (1978).
Graham was chosen as the screenwriter of the first film spin-off of the series, Sweeney!
, which was released in 1977. The film’s producer Ted Childs
commented: “I felt that he had a cinematic understanding that not all television writers had ... It needed to have a larger than life quality, which Ranald was able to bring to it."
Graham went on to write for The Professionals
, contributing five episodes between 1978 and 1982: "Blind Run" and "Fall Girl" (both 1978), "Wild Justice" (1980), "Operation Susie" and "Lawson's Last Stand" (both 1982).
In 1980 Graham revisited the horror genre, writing an episode of Hammer House of Horror
, "The Two Faces of Evil".
This work was followed by the screenplay for Breakout, a film for the Children's Film and Television Foundation
in 1983, and three episodes for the Australian version of The Professionals, Special Squad
: "The Golden Run" and "Child of Fortune" (both 1984) and "Wild Man" (1985).
In 1985 London Weekend Television
asked Graham to create the television crime drama series Dempsey & Makepeace
. He scripted the opening episode and wrote a further six episodes over its three series run: "Armed and Extremely Dangerous", "Silver Dollar", "Tequila Sunrise", "The Bogeyman" (all 1985), "The Burning Part 1", "The Burning Part 2" and "Guardian Angel" (all 1986). He also acted as series consultant, and for the third series, as producer. Scorpio, a projected series about an international anti-terrorist squad that was "announced in a blaze of glory" in 1986, was never made.
In 1990 Graham produced Yellowthread Street
, a big budget police series set and filmed in Hong Kong
and made by Yorkshire Television
. Graham's last television work was an appearance as himself in a television documentary about the depiction of police in television dramas, Top of the Cops.
’s Opium in 1970 at the Dublin Theatre Festival
and the Hampstead Theatre
. In 1998 he co-directed Claude Harz’s Maggie and Delaney with Penny Cherns at London's Rosemary Branch Theatre
.
, advising on the boxing scenes, and in 2005 he co-wrote with its subject the biography of the boxer Joe Egan, titled Big Joe Egan, the Toughest White Man on the Planet.
on 29 August 2010.
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
, The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
and Dempsey & Makepeace
Dempsey & Makepeace
Dempsey & Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham...
.
Early life
Graham was born in SandakanSandakan
Sandakan is the second-largest city in Sabah, East Malaysia, on the north-eastern coast of Borneo. It is located on the east coast of the island and it is the administrative centre of Sandakan Division and was the former capital of British North Borneo...
, North Borneo
North Borneo
North Borneo was a British protectorate under the sovereign North Borneo Chartered Company from 1882 to 1946. After the war it became a crown colony of Great Britain from 1946 to 1963, known in this time as British North Borneo. It is located on the northeastern end of the island of Borneo. It is...
(now Sabah
Sabah
Sabah is one of 13 member states of Malaysia. It is located on the northern portion of the island of Borneo. It is the second largest state in the country after Sarawak, which it borders on its southwest. It also shares a border with the province of East Kalimantan of Indonesia in the south...
) on 3 January 1941 to Scottish parents. Just over a year later, on 19 January 1942, the Japanese landed at Sandakan as part of the invasion of Borneo
Battle of Borneo (1941–42)
For campaigns on eastern Borneo, see Battle of Tarakan and Battle of Balikpapan .The Battle of Borneo was a successful campaign by Japanese Imperial forces for control of Borneo island and concentrated mainly on the subjugation of the Kingdom of Sarawak, North Borneo, and the western part of...
that had commenced on 16 December 1941 when the Japanese took Miri
Miri
Miri is a city in northern Sarawak, Malaysia, on the island of Borneo. It is the second largest city in Sarawak, with a population of about 300,000, and the government administrative centre of Miri District in Miri Division....
and Seria
Seria
Seria is a town in the Belait District of Brunei Darussalam. Its full name is Pekan Seria in full . Seria was originally known as Padang Berawa which is Wild Pigeon's Field in Malay. The name "Seria" comes from the river located very near where oil was first discovered in the area in 1929...
in Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
. For the first few months the European civilians were interned in various private houses in Sandakan; in May 1942 they were transferred to the prison camp on Berhala Island
Berhala Island, Sabah
Berhala Island is a small forested island situated in Sandakan Bay in Sandakan, Sabah, East Malaysia.The island is approximately 5 hectares in size and has prominent cliffs at its northern end...
in Sandakan Harbour. Here Graham, his older sister Sheena and their mother were separated from their father. After eight months, the women and children were sent from Berhala Island to Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang camp
Batu Lintang camp at Kuching, Sarawak on the island of Borneo was a Japanese internment camp during the Second World War. It was unusual in that it housed both Allied prisoners of war and civilian internees...
in Kuching
Kuching
Kuching , officially the City of Kuching, and formerly the City of Sarawak, is the capital and most populous city of the East Malaysian state of Sarawak. It is the largest city on the island of Borneo, and the fourth largest city in Malaysia....
, Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
arriving at the camp after a nine-day long and difficult sea journey on 21 January 1943. Graham’s father arrived in Kuching some 6 weeks later. Batu Lintang was to be Graham’s home for the next 2 years and 9 months.
One of the female internees at Batu Lintang, Hilda Bates, recorded her thoughts about Graham in her account of her internment:
My favourite [of the 35 children in the camp] was Ronald [sic]; a tough three year old, and quite the naughtiest child in the camp! He possessed an angelic face, wavy golden hair, large blue eyes with long lashes, and an attractive Scottish accent. This little wretch often escaped punishment for his crimes, simply because of his appearance, and the artless gaze of his big blue eyes when being pulled up! When his mother was ill, Ronald was left in my care, and whenever he became too naughty, I would say “Now, bend over, Ronald!” As I then produced a small cane, prepared to whack him, he would turn his head and give me such an appealing look, saying: “Oh Batesie, you wouldn't, would you?” And I would end by giving him just a tiny smack!
The camp was liberated on 11 September 1945, and after a period of recuperation on Labuan Island the Graham family returned to the UK. His parents eventually returned to Sandakan, but Graham remained in the UK, to be educated at Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun
Gordonstoun School is a co-educational independent school for boarding and day pupils in Moray in North East Scotland. Named after the estate originally owned by Sir Robert Gordon in the 1600s, the school now uses this estate as its campus...
and later at Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
, where he studied English and was a keen member of the drama society. He then undertook an MA in contemporary literature at Birmingham University
University of Birmingham
The University of Birmingham is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Birmingham Medical School and Mason Science College . Birmingham was the first Redbrick university to gain a charter and thus...
.
Writing and producing
Graham began his writing career in 1966 when his play Aberfan, Or How The Abnormally High Welsh Rainfalls And The Amazingly High Scottish Wind Pressure Brought About A Dislocation of Scottish And Welsh Responsibilities (or more succinctly, Aberfan) was performed at the Traverse TheatreTraverse Theatre
The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963.The Traverse Theatre commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary playwrights. It also presents a large number of productions from visiting companies from across the UK. These include new plays,...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The play interwove the stories of two disasters: the Aberfan colliery disaster and the Tay Bridge disaster
Tay Bridge disaster
The Tay Bridge disaster occurred on 28 December 1879, when the first Tay Rail Bridge, which crossed the Firth of Tay between Dundee and Wormit in Scotland, collapsed during a violent storm while a train was passing over it. The bridge was designed by the noted railway engineer Sir Thomas Bouch,...
, was performed mainly by children and received a rave notice in The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
. His second play An Expedition to Pick Mushrooms was staged in 1967, also at the Traverse Theatre.
In 1968 Graham became a researcher and writer for the television sports documentary series Sports Arena, which was presented by Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
.
In 1974 Graham wrote the screenplay for the horror film Shanks
Shanks (film)
Shanks is a 1974 American horror film about a puppeteer able to manipulate dead bodies like puppets. Mime Marcel Marceau, in his first major film role, plays the titular Malcolm Shanks. It was the last film directed by producer-director William Castle....
, directed by "Hollywood B-movie veteran" William Castle
William Castle
William Castle was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. Castle was known for directing films with many gimmicks which were ambitiously promoted, despite being reasonably low budget B-movies....
and starring Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau
Marcel Marceau was an internationally acclaimed French actor and mime most famous for his persona as Bip the Clown.-Early years:...
. It was "generally acknowledged as the weirdest project ever to emerge from a major studio" and was critically panned. The next year Graham co-wrote a television movie, Strange New World and started to make his career in crime dramas, writing for The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
. In all, he contributed six episodes between 1975-78: “Queen’s Pawn”, “Cover Story”, “Supersnout”, “Thou Shalt Not Kill” (all 1975), “Lady Luck” (1976) and “Nightmare” (1978).
Graham was chosen as the screenwriter of the first film spin-off of the series, Sweeney!
Sweeney! (1977 film)
Sweeney! is a 1977 British thriller film made as a spin-off from the television show The Sweeney, which ran from 1974 and 1978. It was released on Region 2 DVD in 2007. A sequel Sweeney 2 was released the following year.- Plot :...
, which was released in 1977. The film’s producer Ted Childs
Ted Childs
Edward Samuel "Ted" Childs is a British television producer, screenwriter and director, whose notable works include The Sweeney, Kavanagh QC, Soldier Soldier, Making Waves, Inspector Morse and its spin-off Lewis...
commented: “I felt that he had a cinematic understanding that not all television writers had ... It needed to have a larger than life quality, which Ranald was able to bring to it."
Graham went on to write for The Professionals
The Professionals (TV series)
The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
, contributing five episodes between 1978 and 1982: "Blind Run" and "Fall Girl" (both 1978), "Wild Justice" (1980), "Operation Susie" and "Lawson's Last Stand" (both 1982).
The Professionals saw Graham at his most abrasive: the elite CI5 crime-fighting squad used bad language and wildly underhand methods. Bodie and Doyle were hard, gritty and unlovable. But the public watched in their millions. Graham explored the tension between Bodie and Doyle perfectly and then played them off against Jackson's more benign - but equally hard - supremo. Graham's scripts brought an unerring earthiness that equally shocked and entertained.
In 1980 Graham revisited the horror genre, writing an episode of Hammer House of Horror
Hammer House of Horror
In 1980, Hammer Films created a series for British television, the Hammer House of Horror, which ran for 13 episodes with 51 minutes per episode...
, "The Two Faces of Evil".
This work was followed by the screenplay for Breakout, a film for the Children's Film and Television Foundation
Children's Film Foundation
The Children's Film Foundation was a non-profit-making organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom, typically running for about 55 minutes. It was founded in 1951. For 30 years it was subsidised by the Eady Levy - a tax on box office receipts, but this was abolished in 1985...
in 1983, and three episodes for the Australian version of The Professionals, Special Squad
Special Squad
Special Squad was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network in 1984.The series focused on an elite division of the Victoria Police, which handled crimes either too sensitive or specialist for regular squads. The Special Squad was headed by Det. Insp. Don...
: "The Golden Run" and "Child of Fortune" (both 1984) and "Wild Man" (1985).
In 1985 London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
asked Graham to create the television crime drama series Dempsey & Makepeace
Dempsey & Makepeace
Dempsey & Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham...
. He scripted the opening episode and wrote a further six episodes over its three series run: "Armed and Extremely Dangerous", "Silver Dollar", "Tequila Sunrise", "The Bogeyman" (all 1985), "The Burning Part 1", "The Burning Part 2" and "Guardian Angel" (all 1986). He also acted as series consultant, and for the third series, as producer. Scorpio, a projected series about an international anti-terrorist squad that was "announced in a blaze of glory" in 1986, was never made.
In 1990 Graham produced Yellowthread Street
Yellowthread Street
Yellowthread Street was a 1990 ITV police drama about detectives of the Royal Hong Kong Police based on the novels by William Leonard Marshall....
, a big budget police series set and filmed in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
and made by Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
. Graham's last television work was an appearance as himself in a television documentary about the depiction of police in television dramas, Top of the Cops.
Directing
"An able theatre director", Graham directed an adaptation of Jean CocteauJean Cocteau
Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, playwright, artist and filmmaker. His circle of associates, friends and lovers included Kenneth Anger, Pablo Picasso, Jean Hugo, Jean Marais, Henri Bernstein, Marlene Dietrich, Coco Chanel, Erik Satie, María...
’s Opium in 1970 at the Dublin Theatre Festival
Dublin Theatre Festival
The Dublin Theatre Festival is Europe's oldest specialized theatre festival. It was founded by theatre impresario Brendan Smith in 1957 and has, with the exception of two years, produced a season of international and Irish theatre each autumn. It is one of a number of key post-World War II events...
and the Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre
Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in the vicinity of Swiss Cottage and Belsize Park, in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. In 2009 it celebrates its 50 year anniversary.The original theatre was...
. In 1998 he co-directed Claude Harz’s Maggie and Delaney with Penny Cherns at London's Rosemary Branch Theatre
Rosemary Branch Theatre
Rosemary Branch Theatre is a theatre above a public house, in Islington on the borders of Hackney and Shoreditch. It has a capacity of 57 seats, expandable to 65. The pub is a freehouse and the venue is independent and privately-owned.- Stage :...
.
Sport
Graham was a keen sports enthusiast, from his Gordonstoun days onwards. His sporting interests included watching boxing, Scottish rugby and English cricket. He directed a London Weekend Television documentary on squash player Jonah Barrington, with whom he had been at university. In 2000, he was a technical consultant on the movie SnatchSnatch (film)
Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
, advising on the boxing scenes, and in 2005 he co-wrote with its subject the biography of the boxer Joe Egan, titled Big Joe Egan, the Toughest White Man on the Planet.
Personal life
Graham was "gregarious, a lovely teller of tales". He married (and divorced) twice. His first wife was Judy Monahan, with whom he had a son, Seorais; his second wife was Carolyn Trayler, with whom he had two daughters, Skye and Georgia. Graham died of motor neurone diseaseMotor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...
on 29 August 2010.
Film
- ShanksShanks (film)Shanks is a 1974 American horror film about a puppeteer able to manipulate dead bodies like puppets. Mime Marcel Marceau, in his first major film role, plays the titular Malcolm Shanks. It was the last film directed by producer-director William Castle....
(1974) screenwriter - Sweeney!Sweeney! (1977 film)Sweeney! is a 1977 British thriller film made as a spin-off from the television show The Sweeney, which ran from 1974 and 1978. It was released on Region 2 DVD in 2007. A sequel Sweeney 2 was released the following year.- Plot :...
(1977) screenwriter - Breakout (1983) screenwriter
- SnatchSnatch (film)Snatch is a 2000 crime film written and directed by British filmmaker Guy Ritchie, featuring an ensemble cast. Set in the London criminal underworld, the film contains two intertwined plots: one dealing with the search for a stolen diamond, the other with a small-time boxing promoter named Turkish ...
(2000) technical consultant (for the boxing)
Television
- Sports Arena (1968) writer, researcher
- Strange New World (TV movie) (1975) screenwriter, executive producer
- The SweeneyThe SweeneyThe Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
(1975–78) writer - The ProfessionalsThe Professionals (TV series)The Professionals was a British crime-action television drama series produced by Avengers Mk1 Productions and London Weekend Television that aired on the ITV network from 1977 to 1983. In all, 57 episodes were produced, filmed between 1977 and 1981. It starred Martin Shaw, Lewis Collins and Gordon...
(1978–1982) writer - Hammer House of HorrorHammer House of HorrorIn 1980, Hammer Films created a series for British television, the Hammer House of Horror, which ran for 13 episodes with 51 minutes per episode...
(1980) writer - Special SquadSpecial SquadSpecial Squad was an Australian television series made by Crawford Productions for the Ten Network in 1984.The series focused on an elite division of the Victoria Police, which handled crimes either too sensitive or specialist for regular squads. The Special Squad was headed by Det. Insp. Don...
(1984–1985) writer - Dempsey & MakepeaceDempsey & MakepeaceDempsey & Makepeace is a British television crime drama made by London Weekend Television for ITV, created and produced by Ranald Graham...
(1985–1986) creator, writer, producer and series consultant - Yellowthread StreetYellowthread StreetYellowthread Street was a 1990 ITV police drama about detectives of the Royal Hong Kong Police based on the novels by William Leonard Marshall....
(1990) producer - Top of the Cops (2009) documentary, contributor as himself
Theatre
- Aberfan, Or How The Abnormally High Welsh Rainfalls And The Amazingly High Scottish Wind Pressure Brought About A Dislocation of Scottish And Welsh Responsibilities (1966) writer
- An Expedition to Pick Mushrooms (1967) writer
Books
- Big Joe Egan, the Toughest White Man on the Planet (2005) co-written with Joe Egan
- "Last Train", contribution to London, City of Disappearances by Iain SinclairIain SinclairIain Sinclair FRSL is a British writer and filmmaker. Much of his work is rooted in London, most recently within the influences of psychogeography.-Life and work:...
(2007), 588-590
External links
- Obituary, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 16 September 2010 - Obituary, The IndependentThe IndependentThe Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
, 20 September 2010 - Obituary, The ScotsmanThe ScotsmanThe Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
, 21 September 2010 - Obituary, The StageThe StageThe 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...
, 21 September 2010 - Recollections of Graham by Lawrnece Gray, a writer who worked with him on Yellowthread Street