Jonathan Adam Lynn (born 3 April 1943) is an English stage and film director, producer, writer, and actor. He directed the comedy films Clue, Nuns on the Run, My Cousin Vinny, and The Whole Nine Yards. He also co-created and co-wrote the television series Yes Minister.
Jonathan Lynn | |
|---|---|
| Born | Jonathan Adam Lynn 3 April 1943 |
| Education | Pembroke College, Cambridge |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1964–present |
| Notable work | Clue Nuns on the Run My Cousin Vinny The Whole Nine Yards |
Early life
editLynn was born in Bath, Somerset, the son of physician Robin Lynn and sculptor Ruth Helen (née Eban), whose first cousin on her mother's side was the neurologist Oliver Sacks. Another cousin, Caroline Sacks, married Nicholas Samuel, 5th Viscount Bearsted.[1][2][3][4] Lynn was educated at Kingswood School, Bath, between 1954 and 1961, after which he studied law at Pembroke College, Cambridge. (His maternal uncle, Israeli statesman Abba Eban, had also studied at Cambridge in the 1930s.) There he participated in the Cambridge University Footlights Club revue Cambridge Circus (appearing with the revue in 1964 on Broadway and on The Ed Sullivan Show).[5][6]
Career
editActing
editLynn's first West End appearance was in a stage production of Green Julia, for which he was nominated for the 1965 Plays and Players Award as Most Promising New Actor.[7] In 1967, he played Motel the tailor in the original West End production of Fiddler on the Roof (production recorded by CBS Records).[8] From the late 1960s, Lynn was appearing in and writing television sitcoms, including the television comedy series Twice a Fortnight with Graeme Garden, Bill Oddie, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Tony Buffery.[9]
Lynn played the Irish medical student Danny Hooley in the second series of the television comedy Doctor in the House in 1970. He wrote some episodes for Doctor at Large, Doctor in Charge, Doctor at Sea and Doctor on the Go.[4] As a TV actor, his most memorable roles included Beryl's boyfriend Robert in early series of The Liver Birds,[10] the role of Harold in Jack Rosenthal's 1976 television film Bar Mitzvah Boy,[11] and the role of Ted Margolis in Rosenthal's The Knowledge (1979).[12] He had a bit-part as a window cleaner in the BBC television series The Good Life. His film appearances have included roles in Prudence and the Pill (1968), The House That Dripped Blood (1971), Romance with a Double Bass (1974), and Three Men and a Little Lady (1990).
Lynn is a guest instructor at HB Studio.[13]
Screenwriting
editLynn's first (co-written) screenplay was for The Internecine Project, which was released in 1974.[14] For television he wrote episodes for the Doctor TV series and On the Buses and wrote for Harry Worth and George Layton before eventually, in partnership with Antony Jay, writing Yes Minister and Yes, Prime Minister.[15] His later writing credits include the first two films he directed, Clue (1985) and Nuns on the Run (1990).[16] He is also known for his co-writing, co-producing, and co-directing of the revived Yes, Prime Minister series produced by the BBC on Gold in 2013.[17]
Books
editLynn co-authored the books The Complete Yes Minister, as well as The Complete Yes Prime Minister, which spent 106 weeks on the Sunday Times top 10 fiction list. Both were ranked number one on the Sunday Times list, including in December 1986 when the books were ranked number one and number two respectively.[18] He also wrote the 1993 novel Mayday.[19] In 2011 Lynn wrote a non-fiction work entitled Comedy Rules. The Independent newspaper called the book "a charming memoir, full of amusing and insightful anecdotes about the many entertainers Lynn has worked with" and described it as a combination of autobiography and how-to manual for comedy. The paper wrote further: "By dovetailing different types of book, Lynn cleverly avoids the pitfalls of both genres. Because it's ostensibly a sort of how-to book, there are no boring childhood reminiscences. Because it's also a kind of autobiography, his no-nonsense dos and don'ts are springboards for entertaining yarns, rather than academic discourse."[20]
Plays
editLynn won praise for his direction of the 2010 London stage version of Yes, Prime Minister, which he co-wrote as well.[21]
In 2016 Lynn's play The Patriotic Traitor was published. Its subject is the relationship of Philippe Pétain to Charles de Gaulle. In the words of the blurb, ‘Two giants of the twentieth century who loved each other like father and son until they found themselves on opposing sides in World War II. In 1945 de Gaulle had his oldest friend tried for treason. Their complex relationship – noble, comic and absurd – changed history.’ [22][23]
Lynn also co-wrote the stage play of "Clue", together with Hunter Foster, Eric Price and Sandy Rustin.
Producing
editLynn also produced six episodes of the new Yes, Prime Minister television series, was executive producer of He's Such a Girl, Vanity Fair, and was a producer for Trial and Error.[6] It also received an exclusive production agreement with Columbia Pictures Television in 1992.[24]
Awards
editLynn's work on the Minister series earned him three BAFTAs, two Broadcasting Press Guild Awards, and two Pye Television Writers Awards, and he won the ACE Award for Best Written Comedy Series. The Campaign for Freedom of Information also recognized Lynn with a special award for his work on the show.[6] Lynn was a recipient of a Diamond Jubilee Award for Political Satire in 2010.[25] He received an NAACP Image Award for the 2003 film The Fighting Temptations.[26]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | The Internecine Project | Yes | ||
| 1985 | Clue | Yes | Yes | |
| 1990 | Nuns on the Run | Yes | Yes | |
| 1992 | My Cousin Vinny | Yes | ||
| The Distinguished Gentleman | Yes | |||
| 1994 | Greedy | Yes | ||
| 1996 | Sgt. Bilko | Yes | ||
| 1997 | Trial and Error | Yes | Yes | |
| 2000 | The Whole Nine Yards | Yes | ||
| 2003 | The Fighting Temptations | Yes | ||
| 2010 | Wild Target | Yes |
Executive producer
- Vanity Fair (2004)
- He's Such a Girl (2008)
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Prudence and the Pill | Chemist's Assistant | |
| 1971 | The House That Dripped Blood | Mr. Petheridge (uncredited) | Segment "The Cloak" |
| 1975 | Romance with a Double Bass | Leader of the Orchestra | Short film |
| 1975 | Who Sold You This, Then? | Video short | |
| 1976 | The Cold Call | ||
| 1977 | The Fortune Teller | Short film | |
| 1980 | Breaking Glass | Radio DJ | |
| 1985 | Into the Night | Tailor | |
| 1990 | 3 Men and a Little Lady | Vicar Hewitt | |
| 1994 | Greedy | Douglas | |
| 1999 | One Man Band | Tailor's Assistant | Short film |
| 2009 | He's Such a Girl | Priest | |
| 2010 | Wild Target | Parrot (voice) |
Additional credits
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Decisions, Decisions | Writer | Video short |
| 1976 | The Cold Call | ||
| 1977 | How Am I Doing? | ||
| The Unorganized Manager, Part One: Damnation | |||
| The Unorganized Manager, Part Two: Salvation | |||
| The Fortune Teller | Short film | ||
| 1979 | I'd Like a Word with You | Video short | |
| 2003 | Beyoncé Feat. Walter Williams Sr.: He Still Loves Me | Director | Music video |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Doctor at Large | Yes | Episode: "Pull the Other One!" | ||
| 1972–73 | On the Buses | Yes | 6 episodes | ||
| Doctor in Charge | Yes | 11 episodes | |||
| 1972 | Nearest and Dearest | Yes | Episode: "Worker's Playtime" | ||
| 1973 | Romany Jones | Yes | Episode: "Look After the Pennies" | ||
| All Star Comedy Carnival | Yes | Doctor in Charge | |||
| 1974 | My Name is Harry Worth | Yes | 3 episodes | ||
| Doctor at Sea | Yes | 5 episodes | |||
| 1975 | Doctor on the Go | Yes | 5 episodes | ||
| 1975–76 | My Brother's Keeper | Yes | 13 episodes | ||
| 1980–84 | Yes Minister | Yes | 22 episodes | ||
| 1982 | The Funny Side of Christmas | Yes | Yes Minister | ||
| 1983 | Arms and the Man | Yes | TV film | ||
| 1985 | Twee handen op een buik | Yes | TV film | ||
| 1986–88 | Yes, Prime Minister | Yes | 16 episodes | ||
| 1987 | Mr. President | Yes | Episode: "Freedom of Speech" | ||
| 1988 | American Playhouse | Yes | Episode: "Suspicion" | ||
| Smart Guys[27] | Yes | Unsold pilot | |||
| 1990 | Ferris Bueller | Yes | Episode: "Pilot" | ||
| Life After Life | Yes | TV film | |||
| 2013 | Yes, Prime Minister | Yes | Yes | Yes | 6 episodes |
Acting roles
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Thirteen Against Fate | Moise | Episode: "The Lodger" |
| 1967 | Twice a Fortnight | Various | 11 episodes |
| 1968 | The Jazz Age | Harry Plant | Episode: "Black Exchange" |
| 1969 | Hadleigh | Harold | Episode: "The Ring" |
| Softly, Softly | Tony | Episode: "Wild Goose" | |
| The Merchant of Venice | Tubal | TV short | |
| 1970 | ITV Playhouse | John Simons | Episode: "Rumour" |
| Doctor in the House | Danny Hooley | 9 episodes | |
| 1972 | The Liver Birds | Johnny | Episode: "The Driving Test" |
| ITV Sunday Night Drama | Bill | Episode: "Don't Deed the Fish" | |
| Colditz | Bergman | Episode: "The Spirit of Freedom" | |
| Turnbull's Finest Half Hour | Roddy Cheever-Jones | 5 episodes | |
| 1973 | Doctor in Charge | Danny Hooley | Episode: "Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot?" |
| 1974 | The Liver Birds | Robert | 7 episodes |
| Whodunnit? | Bob Deacon | Episode: "It's Quicker by Train" | |
| 1974–75 | The Dick Emery Show | Various | 4 episodes |
| 1975 | The Good Life | Window Cleaner | Episode: "Pig's Lib" |
| 1975–76 | My Brother's Keeper | Pete Booth | 13 episodes |
| 1976 | Play for Today | Harold | Episode: "Bar Mitzvah Boy" |
| Pleasure at Her Majesty's | Various | TV film | |
| 1978 | BBC2 Play of the Week | Gaston | TV film: "She Fell Among Thieves" |
| Play for Today | Cyril Benson | Episode: "Dinner at the Sporting Club" | |
| 1979 | The Knowledge | Ted Margolies | TV film |
| 1982 | Outside Edge | Kevin | TV film |
| 1984 | Diana | Twining | Miniseries, 3 episodes |
| 1988 | American Playhouse | Beaky Thwaite | Episode: "Suspicion" |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Finally getting somewhere - Essay - Lives". TLS. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
- ^ A Sense of Purpose: Recollections, Suzy Eban, Plunkett Lake Press, 2015
- ^ Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 106th edition, vol. 1, Burke's Peerage, Ltd, p. 218
- ^ a b "Jonathan Lynn Biography (1943-)". Film Reference. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Sir Anthony Jay CVO and Jonathan Lynn". Political Studies Association. Archived from the original on 5 March 2011. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ a b c "Jonathan Lynn". IMDb. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Jonathan Lynn bio". Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Jonathan Lynn". tv.com. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Twice a Fortnight (1967– ) Full Cast & Crew". IMDb. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ^ "Liver Birds". BBC. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Jenni Frazer (9 November 2009). "Review: The Barmitzvah Boy". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ Jonathan Lynn (2011). Comedy Rules: From the Cambridge Footlights to Yes, Prime Minister. Faber & Faber. p. 181. ISBN 9780571277971. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Jonathan Lynn". HB Studio. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
- ^ "TCM Biography - Jonathan Lynn". Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Jonathan Lynn on Yes, Prime Minister's rise to high office". Radio Times. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ "Biography". Jonathan Lynn. Archived from the original on 15 February 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
- ^ Rupert Christiansen; et al. (4 January 2013). "Culture and arts: what to see in January 2013". The Telegraph. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "The Complete Yes Prime Minister". Archived from the original on 24 September 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ "Jonathan Lynn". Archived from the original on 21 September 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ William Cook (26 August 2011). "Comedy Rules, By Jonathan Lynn". The Independent. Archived from the original on 14 June 2022. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ Lahr, John (11 October 2010). "Brits and Wits". The New Yorker. pp. 116–118.
...a new stage version of 'Yes, Prime Minister' (expertly directed by Lynn, at the Gielgud, in London)...
- ^ Lynn, Jonathan, The Patriotic Traitor, London, Faber and Faber, 2016. ISBN 9780571331024.
- ^ "Free Thinking – Delacroix. Petain, De Gaulle. Jonathan Lynn". BBC Radio 3. 17 February 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2022. The discussion between Lynn and Philip Dodd, the presenter, begins at 16.00 after the start.
A podcast is also available for downloading within the United Kingdom, but not necessarily elsewhere, as in some cases the BBC blocks its podcasts from being downloaded outside the United Kingdom. - ^ "Lynn signs deal with Columbia" (PDF). Broadcasting. 14 December 1992. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
- ^ "Diamond Jubilee Award" (PDF). p. 14.
- ^ "Author bio: Jonathan Lynn". Archived from the original on 1 August 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ^ ""Smart Guys" Unsold Pilot". archive.org. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
Further reading
edit- Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus: Celebrating a Unique Generation of Comedy. Heinemann. ISBN 978-0-413-50770-9.
- Hewison, Robert (1983). Footlights!: A Hundred Years of Cambridge Comedy. London: Methuen. ISBN 978-0-413-51150-8.
