R. D. Wingfield
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| R. D. Wingfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | 6 June 1928 Hackney, London, England |
| Died | 31 July 2007 (aged 79) |
| Occupation | Novelist |
| Genres | Crime fiction |
Rodney David Wingfield (6 June 1928 – 31 July 2007) was an English author and radio dramatist. He is best remembered for creating the detective Detective Inspector Jack Frost, who was later played by Sir David Jason in A Touch of Frost.
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[edit] Early life
Rodney David Wingfield was born in Hackney, East London in 1928.[1] He was educated at the Coopers' Company School and during the Second World War was evacuated to Frome, Somerset.[2] Wingfield was exempted from National Service due to poor eyesight and had various office jobs in the East End before joining the Petrofina oil company.[1] His first radio play, Compensating Error was accepted by the BBC in 1968 and two more were then commissioned, at which point Wingfield resigned from his job.[1]
[edit] Inspector Frost
In 1972, Macmillan Publishers invited him to write a book, and he wrote Frost at Christmas. This was rejected and not published until the early 1980s in Canada.[1] Wingfield had originally planned to kill Frost in the first book, but he was persuaded instead to leave it as an open ending.[1] Following this, two more Frost books were written: A Touch of Frost and Night Frost. In 1977 Frost appeared in a radio play called Three Days of Frost, in which Frost was played by Leslie Sands, a friend of Wingfield's.[1] The books were first published in the United Kingdom in the early 1989, and in 1992 Frost first appeared on television in A Touch of Frost, played by David Jason.[2] Wingfield was never enthustic about the TV adaptation of his detective, once saying he had nothing against David Jason but "he just isn't my Frost".[1][2]
Hard Frost was published in 1995, followed by Winter Frost in 1999.[2] Wingfield did not enjoy writing books, and much preferred writing radio scripts.[1] In 20 years he wrote over 40 radio mystery plays, but stopped in 1988, with Hate Mail, due to the decline of radio and the success of his Frost books.[2][1] As well as the many mystery plays, Wingfield also penned a comedy radio series, The Secret Life of Kenneth Williams, starring Kenneth Williams as a secret agent.[2] Wingfield was a very private man and always avoided book launches and publishing parties.[3] He was rarely photographed.[3]
[edit] Later years
In 2002 R. D. Wingfield was diagnosed with prostate cancer.[1] At the same time he started writing the sixth, and final, Frost book, Killing Frost.[1] This was published on 7 April 2008.[4] His wife, Phyllis Patten, who he married in 1952, died in 2004.[1] Wingfield died in 2007 and was survived by their son Phillip.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- R.D. Wingfield at lastingtribute.co.uk
