Alfred Shaughnessy

Autor, Regie, Produzent

19. Mai 1916 — 2. November 2005 (89 Jahre)
Alfred James Shaughnessy (19 May 1916 – 2 November 2005) was an English scriptwriter, film director and producer best known for being the script editor of Upstairs, Downstairs.

Alfred Shaughnessy was born in London, his father, the Hon Alfred Thomas Shaughnessy, having died while serving with the Canadian army in France two months before. His grandfather Thomas Shaughnessy was an American-born Canadian railway administrator, who was created Baron Shaughnessy in 1916, and his mother was a second cousin of James K. Polk, the 11th US President. He spent his early years living in Tennessee, and in 1920 his mother, Sarah Polk Bradford, married The Hon Sir Piers Legh who then became Equerry to the Prince of Wales, and the family moved to Norfolk Square in London. The family had a butler, cook, footman, two housemaids, a kitchen maid and a lady's maid. The Prince of Wales later visited the house for dinner, and he drew on this when writing the Upstairs, Downstairs episode Guest of Honour. He also often spent weekends and holidays at Lyme Park, his stepfather's ancestral home. Sir Piers Legh later became Master of the Household.

Shaughnessy was educated at Summer Fields then Eton, and then went to the Royal Military College, Sandhurst, with the intention of joining the Grenadier Guards. However, in 1935 he resigned on grounds of conscience, once stating he didn't wish to have a career dedicated "to learning to kill men". He then had an unsuccessful time at the London Stock Exchange, and had a hectic social life, with debutante balls, shooting parties and country weekends.

In the late 1930s Shaughnessy began to write lyrics and sketches, but at the outbreak of war in 1939 he returned to the Army, and on D-Day landed with the Guards Armoured Division on Gold Beach.

After the war ended, he got a job at Ealing Studios, and he soon began his career as a successful writer, producer and director. In 1956, he directed the film Suspended Alibi and continued to direct and produce during the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1970s, he began to concentrate on script writing. His first major success was Upstairs, Downstairs. He wrote fifteen episodes and was the script editor for 66 episodes, and was meticulous in researching facts about the era.

He later wrote episodes for The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Cedar Tree, The Irish R.M., All Creatures Great and Small, The Saint, Journey to the Unknown and Alleyn Mysteries. Shaughnessy wrote two novels, Dearest Enemy and Hugo.

Filme & Serien auf plex.tv

  • Sherlock Holmes
    Sherlock Holmes4 Staffeln
  • Simon Templar
    Simon Templar6 Staffeln
  • Das Haus am Eaton Place
    Das Haus am Eaton Place5 Staffeln
  • Im Rampenlicht des Bösen
    Im Rampenlicht des Bösen1972

Bekannt aus

  • Das Haus am Eaton Place
    Das Haus am Eaton Place5 Staffeln
  • Im Rampenlicht des Bösen
    Im Rampenlicht des Bösen1972
  • Crescendo - Die Handschrift des Satans
    Crescendo - Die Handschrift des Satans1970
  • Der Doktor und das liebe Vieh
    Der Doktor und das liebe Vieh7 Staffeln
  • Ein Spatz in der Hand
    Ein Spatz in der Hand1957
  • Die Nächte der Würgerin
    Die Nächte der Würgerin1957
  • Tiffany Jones
    Tiffany Jones1973
  • Simon Templar
    Simon Templar6 Staffeln
  • A Touch of the Sun
    A Touch of the Sun1956
  • Six-Five Special
    Six-Five Special1958
  • Suspended Alibi
    Suspended Alibi1957

Filmografie

1963
Lunch Hour · as Executive Producer
1958
1955
1954
1953
1952
Brandy for the Parson · as Associate Producer

1955

1984
Sherlock Holmes (1984) · as Dramatised Byauf plex.tv
1983
The Irish R. M. · as Written By
1982
The Haunting of Cassie Palmer · as Dramatisation
1976
The Cedar Tree · as Created By
1969
Journey to the Unknown · as Episode "the Last Visitor"
1955
1954
Under the Caribbean · as Dialogue: English Version
1952
Brandy for the Parson · as Additional Scenes