LAFFAN, Kevin (Barry) 1922-2003 (Kevin Barry)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born May 24, 1922, in Reading, Berkshire, England; died March 11, 2003, in London, England. Author. Laffan was a playwright and television scriptwriter best known for creating the popular British soap opera Emmerdale Farm. He began his career as an actor and during the early 1950s was artistic director for the Everyman Theatre in Reading, England. He then started writing stage plays under the name Kevin Barry, including Ginger Bred (1951), The Strip-Tease Murder (1955), Winner Takes All (1956), and First Innocent (1957). As he became more successful, he reverted to his real name for his play writing and found success with his comedy It's a Two-Foot-Six-Inches-above-the-Ground World (1970), which he adapted into a movie in 1972. By the 1960s and 1970s, he was also building a reputation for his television writing, including the programs Bud (1963), Castle Haven (1969), and Decision to Burn (1971). Asked to write a series about a farming family, Laffan created Emmerdale Farm in 1972. He wrote for the series until 1985, when he became the show's consultant; it was renamed Emmerdale in 1989 as the show gained popularity and began to shift attention away from the farm and focus on relationships among the townspeople. Laffan's other successful series at this time was Beryl's Lot, which aired during the 1970s. He continued writing into the 1980s—including the sitcom 1980 I Thought You'd Gone—and contributed episodes to other television series into the 1990s. Laffan's first novel, Virgins Are in Short Supply, was published in 2001.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Contemporary Dramatists, sixth edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.

Writers Directory, 18th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 2003.

PERIODICALS

Guardian (London, England), March 20, 2003.

Independent (London, England), March 15, 2003, p. 20.

Scotsman (Edinburgh, Scotland), March 21, 2003.

Times (London, England), March 27, 2003.