John Sullivan Blue Plaque - Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Teddington, London, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Master Mariner
N 51° 25.698 W 000° 19.279
30U E 686211 N 5700859
This Heritage Foundation blue plaque, to John Sullivan, is on the south west face of the Teddington Studios buildings in Broom Lane in Teddington. It is one of 12 blue plaques (May 2015) erected on the wall and was reported in the Daily Mail.
Waymark Code: WMNV32
Location: London, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 05/04/2015
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member lumbricus
Views: 1

The Daily Mail website reported the erection of this blue plaque, to John Sullivan, at Teddington Studios in July 2012:

Lovely jubbly! Only Fools and Horses stars Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst unveil blue plaque honouring comedy writer John Sullivan.

  • Sullivan, who also created Citizen Smith and Just Good Friends, died last year aged 64
  • Plaque unveiled at Teddington Studios, in south-west London, where Only Fools and Horses was filmed
  • Other comedy greats honoured with plaques include Tommy Cooper and Tony Hancock

He was responsible for some of the most memorable moments in the history of British television comedy.

And stars of John Sullivan's best-loved show, Only Fools and Horses, have ensured his achievements will be remembered by generations to come.

Sir David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst, who played brothers Del Boy and Rodney Trotter in the BBC series, yesterday unveiled a blue plaque in the late comedy writer's honour.

They were joined by other members of the cast, including John Challis, who played Del Boy's flashy friend Boycie.

The blue Heritage Foundation plaque has been placed at Teddington Studios, in south-west London, where the show was filmed.

It joins other plaques at the studios erected in honour of other comedy heroes including Tommy Cooper, Kenny Everett and Tony Hancock.

Sullivan died in April last year aged 64 after a battle with viral pneumonia.

Only Fools and Horses was his most famous work and it brought catchphrases such as 'lovely jubbly', 'cushty', 'plonker' and 'this time next year we'll be millionaires' into living rooms across the country.

It was first broadcast in 1981 and aired in seven series until 1991, with sporadic Christmas specials in later years.

One festive episode in 1996 - in which Del Boy and Rodney became wealthy following the discovery and sale of a valuable watch - attracted 24.3million viewers, the highest UK audience for a sitcom.

Sullivan, who was awarded the OBE in 2005, also created The Green Green Grass, Just Good Friends, Citizen Smith and Rock and Chips.

He grew up in Balham, South London, born to a plumber father and mother who occasionally worked as a charlady.

He failed his eleven-plus and left school at 15 with no qualifications. His first job was as a messenger boy for Reuters.

Sullivan then got a job at BBC Television Centre as a scenehand at the age of 16.

Always fascinated by literature and the English language, the would-be writer tried to work on as many comedy programmes as he could, in order to gain experience in the genre.

During his spare time he wrote sketches.

His break came when submitted one of his scripts to Dennis Main Wilson, the renowned BBC comedy producer.

It met Wilson's approval and he was immediately commissioned to write more episodes.

He was given three months' paid leave to work on the series, which turned out to be Citizen Smith.

In December last year it emerged that Mr Sullivan left almost £8.5million in his will.

Type of publication: Newspaper

When was the article reported?: 07/23/2012

Publication: Daily Mail - Mail Online

Article Url: [Web Link]

Is Registration Required?: no

How widespread was the article reported?: national

News Category: Entertainment

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