Sherrin, Ned 1931-2007 (Edward George Sherrin)

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born February 18, 1931, in Low Ham, Somerset, England; died of cancer, October 1, 2007, in London, England. Producer, director, broadcaster, dramatist, and author. Sherrin had a long and varied career in almost every facet of the entertainment business, but he is remembered most for the satirical television series That Was the Week That Was, which he created and produced for the British Broadcasting Corporation for the 1962-1963 season. The audacious political-social revue injected a much-needed stimulant into British television programming and catapulted some of its cast members, notably host David Frost, into the international spotlight. The series was reportedly too topical and provocative to survive the 1963 national elections and went on what turned out to be a permanent hiatus, but Sherrin barely broke his stride. Having worked in television throughout the 1950s as a production assistant turned program host, in the 1960s Sherrin explored a variety of media options: radio, film, and more television, none of which produced a commercial or popular blockbuster. Toward the end of the decade, Sherrin turned to the stage. With longtime collaborator Caryl Brahms, he wrote or adapted a handful of plays, then launched a new career as a stage director. His biggest successes in that arena were the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim and the play Jeffrey Barnard Is Unwell. In the 1980s Sherrin worked as a radio presenter, starring as the headmaster in the long-running series Loose Ends and hosting the musical game show Counterpoint. Sherrin wrote many books, including the novel Scratch an Actor (1996), and several memoirs or collections of anecdotes from his life in the arts, including A Small Thing—Like an Earthquake (1983), Ned Sherrin's Theatrical Anecdotes: A Connoisseur's Collection of Legends, Stories, and Gossip (1991), Ned Sherrin in His Anecdotage: A Classic Collection from the Master Raconteur (1993), and Ned Sherrin: The Autobiography (2005).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Sherrin, Ned, A Small Thing—Like an Earthquake, Weidenfeld & Nicolson (London, England), 1983.

Sherrin, Ned, Ned Sherrin: The Autobiography, Little, Brown (London, England), 2005.

PERIODICALS

New York Times, October 5, 2007, p. C12.

Times (London, England), October 3, 2007, p. 54.