Jimmy Chinn
| Jimmie Chinn | |
|---|---|
| Born |
30 March 1940 Middleton |
| Died |
29 January 2011 Hounslow |
Jimmie Chinn was an actor, teacher and most notably, a playwright.
Personal Info
Jimmie was born in Middleton, Lancashire on 30 March 1940, the only son of his beloved mother, Edie. His early years in Oldham and Manchester were to shape his writing in future years. He came to London in 1959 where he trained as an actor at the RADA and worked in many aspects of the theatre. His short and very undistinguished career as an actor led him eventually to train as a teacher at Whitelands College, Putney, where he gained an honours degree in English and Drama. He taught and became a senior teacher and housemaster at Dormers Wells School in Middlesex from 1979 until becoming a full-time writer in 1984. Jimmie became increasingly loved and admired not only in the professional theatre, but also in amateur theatre circles as a fine and talented actor, director, teacher, mentor and advisor.
Jimmie's plays began to blossom from 1984 under the watchful eye of his agent Richard Hatton (previously of Hatton and Baker) and the constant support and encouragement, particularly of John Bedding and Paul Taylor, at Samuel French Ltd, Fitzrovia, London. As well as a pleasurable and successful time in television, his plays for radio and stage have been enjoyed all over the world.
Work as a playwright
Encouraged by the success of a handful of radio plays, including.....
- From Here to the Library (which was later adapted for the stage)
- Looks Like Rain, Looks Like Rain Again, Rain on the Just, Perfect Timing (with Bernard Cribbins, Dora Bryan, Roy Barraclough)
- Too Long an Autumn (with Brenda Bruce)
- Pity About Kitty (with Dora Bryan)
- A Woman Who Does (with Martin Jarvis)
- A Different Way Home (starring Bernard Cribbins). This he began to rewrite for the stage (starring Roy Barraclough) .
Most of his work for the theatre was premiered by Teddington Theatre Club at Hampton Court Theatre or on the fringe circuit.
His full-length plays and one-act plays (**) include.....
- Our Linda Our Carol and Freda (bought by Yorkshire Television for whom Jimmie also wrote episodes of Emmerdale from 1987 to 1993)
- In Room Five Hundred and Four **
- To the Island
- After September
- Albert Make Us Laugh (a play based on his own boyhood experiences in the North)
- But Yesterday **
- Home Before Dark - The Saga of Miss Edie Hill
- In By the Half **
- Interior Designs **
- Pity About Kitty **
- From Here To The Library ** / A Respectable Funeral ** (Back To Back in Oldham)
- Something to Remember You By
- Sylvia's Wedding
- Take Away the Lady
- Too Long an Autumn
- The Garden Party (co-written with Hazel Wyld)
- A Different Way Home
- Audrey and Me**
His television credits include Emmerdale, Coronation Street, and A Different Way Home.
Straight and Narrow
On 18 March 1992 he had his first West End production. The play was Straight and Narrow which opened at the Wyndham's Theatre starring Nicholas Lyndhurst, Carmel McSharry and Neil Dalglish. It later moved to the Aldwych Theatre. The play was originally performed with his local theatre group, Theatre West Four in 1987, directed by the talented Jo Burnett.
Death
Jimmie was diagnosed with COPD in the year 2000 and died after a long struggle with the illness on 29 January 2011.