Bill Naughton

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William John Francis Naughton, or Bill Naughton (Ballyhaunis, 12 June 1910 - Ballasalla, 9 January 1992) was a British playwright and author, best known for his play Alfie.

Born in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo,Ireland his family moved in 1914 to Bolton, Lancashire, England, where he attended Saint Peter and Paul's School. Naughton worked as a weaver, coal-bagger and lorry-driver before he started writing. Naughton's preferred environment was working class society. Although Alfie is the play with which he will always be associated, mostly because of the British film starring Michael Caine in the eponymous role, he was a prolific writer, with both plays, novels, short stories and children’s books to his name. At least two of his other plays have been transferred onto the cinema screen as well. These are Spring and Port Wine, which had James Mason starring in the role of Rafe Crompton, and The Family Way, which starred John Mills. His work also includes the novel One Small Boy (1957), and the collection of short stories The Goalkeeper's Revenge: And Other Stories (1961). Had many of his plays performed at the Octagon Theatre in Bolton town Centre and has a theatre named after him.

During his lifetime, he received the following awards:

Screenwriters Guide Award (1967 and 1968)
Italia Prize for Radio Play (1974)
Children's Rights Workshop Other Award (1978)
Portico Literary Prize (1987)
The Hon. Fellowship, Bolton Institute of Higher Education (1988).

Naughton died in 1992, in Ballasalla on the Isle of Man. There is today a "Bill Naughton Short Story Competition"[1] in honour of the author. This is administered by The Kenny/Naughton Autumn School, established in 1993 and based today in the village of Aghamore, Ireland. The "School" was created in honour of Bill Naughton and Patrick Dermot Kenny, and scheduled over the annual October bank holiday weekend, consists of lectures, readings, local tours, workshops, new publications, drama and entertainment[2].