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John Glennon (born 1931) is an American stage actor, writer, screenwriter, and playwright. [1]
| The topic of this article may not meet Wikipedia's notability guideline for biographies .(April 2024) |
John Glennon (born 1931) is an American stage actor, writer, screenwriter, and playwright. [1]
As an actor, his notable Broadway credits include roles in productions of Saint Joan, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Richard III, Cyrano de Bergerac, The Taming of the Shrew, and King Richard II , and he was stage manager on How to Be a Jewish Mother . [2] [3]
Glennon sold his first script to CBC in 1957, when he was performing in Saint Joan on Broadway. [4]
He is known for his television writing credits on Armchair Mystery Theatre , Armchair Theatre , Ruth [5] and Rope (both 1959) [6] [7] , ITV Play of the Week (from 1957 - 1961), Playdate, BBC Sunday-Night Play, and Encounter .
Glennin travelled to Melbourne on 8 August 1959 to present two plays for GTV-9, starting with Ruth, which was a part of Shell Presents and directed by Rod Kinnear . He was also to help coach Australian writers and producers on US drama techniques. [8] The producers wanted Lyndall Barbour to play the lead. She was tracked down to a hotel room in Paris and John Glennon travelled from London to persuade her to accept the part. He also co-starred in the production. The play was produced in Melbourne at the GTV 9 studios. [9] [10] [11] While rehearsing it Glennon said he was working on a play about Australians in London. [12] The TV critic from the Sydney Morning Herald called it "a highly original and diverting play" where Glennon's writing was "in an attractively inventive and individual way that sometimes shades into the eccentric". [13] Another version aired as a BBC Sunday-Night Play in 1962, starring Constance Cummings, again written by John Glennon, and this time directed by Henry Kaplan." [14]
Rope was the other 1959 Australian TV play he wrote and starred in, also part of Shell Presents and again directed by Kinnear, based on the play by Patrick Hamilton. Glennon played one of the lead roles. [15] [16] Glennon made several changes to the play, including cutting the time down from two hours to an hour, shifting the action from 1929 to present day New York, and moving the local from one-room to a four-room penthouse. "Whereas the original dealt with distance," said Glennon, "you can now eliminate long speeches and convey the same idea by gesture or by a bit of business magnified a hundred fold by that eagle eyed camera." [17] The Sydney Morning Herald critic praised "John Glennon' s clever, perceptive and highly mannered performance... and the tensions which producer Rod Kinnear was able to generate by some thoughtful camera work, and some very skilful organisation on a large and attractive set." [2] The Age TV credit praised the set, credit sequence and some of the acting but had reservations about some of the performances and the direction. [1]
According to Filmink "Glennon is one of a number of people who came down under in the late ‘50s and early ‘60s to help “instruct” Australians how to make television drama... This was very much in the long tradition of Australian cultural institutions being impressed by a foreign accent, particularly one from England or America." [18]
The Shifting Heart is a play written in 1957 in Australia by Richard Beynon, it is an insight to the psychology of racism and its victims. In the background of 1950s Collingwood, Melbourne.
Shell Presents was an early attempt at Australian television drama, being an umbrella title for several different productions. It debuted on 4 April 1959, and aired on ATN-7 and GTV-9, who split production of plays for the series between them. It was an anthology series, each program being a self-contained play for television. The series won a Logie award in 1960 for TV Highlight of 1959. As the title suggests, it was sponsored by Shell. It was described as "a very big deal for the station: major institutional sponsorship from international companies for locally produced drama." It would be followed by The General Motors Hour.
Roundabout is a television movie, or rather a live television play, which aired on Australian television in 1957. Broadcast 4 January 1957 on ABC station ABV-2, it is notable as the first example of television drama produced in Melbourne.
Treason is a 1959 Australian television live drama, which aired on ABC about the 20 July plot during World War Two. Originally broadcast 16 December 1959 in Melbourne, a kinescope ("telerecording") was made of the program and shown in Sydney on 13 January 1960. It was an adaptation of a stage play by Welsh writer Saunders Lewis, which had previously been adapted as an episode of BBC Sunday-Night Theatre.
A Dead Secret is a 1957 play by Rodney Ackland. It is a murder drama set in 1911 London and is based on the Seddon murder trial.
The Twelve Pound Look is a 1956 live television play which aired on Sydney Australia station ABN-2 during the opening night of the station. Based on a British stage play by J.M. Barrie, it is significant as it was the very first drama produced for Australian TV.
In the Zone is a 1917 stage play by Eugene O'Neill.
Venus Observed is a play in blank verse by the English dramatist and poet Christopher Fry. The play concerns a Duke who decides to remarry for a third time. He gets his son Edgar to pick the bride. The Duke likes Perpetua but Edgar wants her for himself.
Swamp Creatures is a play by the Australian author Alan Seymour. He wrote it for radio, stage and TV. It was Seymour's first produced play.
The Duke in Darkness is a 1942 play by Patrick Hamilton. A psychological drama set during the French Wars of Religion, it was first staged on 7 September 1942 at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. It ran for 72 performances at the St. James Theatre, London, and had a brief run on Broadway in 1944.
Act of Violence is a 1959 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was based on a play by Australian writer Iain Mac Cormick which had previously been broadcast in Britain in 1956. This was typical of Australian television at the time - most locally produced drama consisted of adaptations of overseas stories.
The Merchant of Venice is a 1961 Australian television adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare that aired on 13 September 1961 in Sydney, and on 25 October 1961 in Melbourne.
The Fighting Cock is a 1963 Australian television play. It is an adaptation of a play by Jean Anouilh whose original French title was L'Hurluberlu. In English, it had a run on Broadway, starring Rex Harrison.
"Rope" is a 1959 Australian TV play based on the play by Patrick Hamilton. It was part of Shell Presents. It aired on 31 October 1959 in Melbourne, and a tapped version aired on 15 November 1959 in Sydney.
Rodney Scott Kinnear was an Australian director, best known for his work in TV.
"The Concert" is a 1961 Australian TV GTV-9's Melbourne studios. It was directed by Rod Kinnear. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. The episode aired on 3 June 1961 in Melbourne, and on 10 June 1961 in Brisbane.
"Ruth" is a 1959 Australian television play. It was presented as part of the Shell Presents program and starred Lyndall Barbour. It was written by John Glennon, an American actor and writer who appeared in the production, and directed by Rod Kinnear. The play aired in Melbourne on 5 September 1959 and in Sydney on 19 September 1959.
The Big Client is a 1961 Australian television play. It was directed by James Upshaw. It screened "live" on the ABC on 19 July 1961 and was recorded in Sydney Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time.
Split Level is a 1964 Australian TV play directed by Ken Hannam and written by Noel Robinson. It aired on 7 October 1964 and was shot in Sydney at ABC's Gore Hill Studios.
The Multi-Coloured Umbrella is a 1958 Australian television play based on the stage play of the same name by Barbara Vernon.