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Ralph Peterson (writer)

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Ralph Peterson
Born
Ralph Wilton Peterson

21 February 1921 (1921-02-21)
Adelaide, Australia
Died2 November 1996 (1996-11-03) (aged 75)
Occupations
  • Playwright
  • screenwriter
  • novelist
  • dramatist
  • actor
  • radio producer
  • stage and screen producer
SpouseBetty Lucas (m 1946-)

Ralph Wilton Peterson (21 February 1921 – 2 November 1996) was an Australian writer (dramatist and playwright), actor and producer of film, theatre, radio and TV. He went to London and achieved fame with the success of his play The Square Ring, which was turned into a film of the same name in 1953.[1] He married the Australian actress Betty Lucas in 1946;[2] their son, Joel Patterson (1957–2017), became a cinematographer.[3]

Biography

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Peterson was born in Adelaide, the only son of Ralph A. and Daphne (née Coulter) Peterson,[4] and became involved in theatre and journalism in his teens. He got work on radio playing one of the students on the show Yes, What? (1937–41) which became very popular. Peterson started writing episodes. When the show ended Peterson moved to Sydney and worked as an announcer on 2UE before joining the army.

He served as an artillery officer and in the First Australian Broadcasting Control Unit.[5] He appeared in plays at the Metropolitan Theatre and the Independent Theatre, including the original production of Rusty Bugles.

After the war, Peterson began writing regularly for Sydney radio including comedy material for Roy Rene, Jack Davey and Dick Bentley. He wrote a comedy serial for him and his wife Betty Lucas, Ralph and Betty (1947).

A radio feature about an Aboriginal child, The Problem of Johnny Flourcake (1950) was narrated by Anthony Quayle who recommended Peterson to the BBC. Peterson moved to London in 1951, writing scripts for Benny Hill and Tony Hancock. His stage play The Square Ring (1952), based on his radio serial Come Out Fighting, was such a success at Frank Thring's Arrow Theatre that the production was transferred to the much larger Princess Theatre, Melbourne.[6] It was the basis of the Ealing Studios film The Square Ring.

Peterson returned to Australia in 1954, the year his second play, The Night of the Ding Dong, premiered. He continued to work in radio and wrote for film and TV.

He had a success with My Name's McGooley, What's Yours? (1966–68).

Personal

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Peterson married Betty Helen Lucas of Clovelly road, Clovelly, New South Wales, on 8 November 1946.[7]

Selected writing credits

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References

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  1. ^ "Film May End A 50-Year Jinx". The Sunday Herald. Sydney. 21 June 1953. p. 14. Retrieved 10 July 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ Betty Lucas: Actor played many roles on and off stage, Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  3. ^ Joel Peterson, filmmaker whose career covered West Papua to Windsor Castle, Sydney Morning Herald Retrieved 19 October 2017.
  4. ^ "Family Notices". The Chronicle (Adelaide). Vol. LXIII, no. 3, 363. South Australia. 5 March 1921. p. 29. Retrieved 12 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "Stars of the Air". The Express, Bacchus Marsh. No. 3446. Victoria, Australia. 25 November 1944. p. 6. Retrieved 12 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ "Play to be transferred". The Herald (Melbourne). No. 23, 760. Victoria, Australia. 21 July 1953. p. 5. Retrieved 12 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ^ "Family Notices". The Advertiser (Adelaide). Vol. 89, no. 27505. South Australia. 30 November 1946. p. 20. Retrieved 12 January 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Novels Reviewed". The Argus. Melbourne. 21 April 1956. p. 14. Retrieved 10 July 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
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