John Sullivan has died


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frot

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64:-:)-(. True comedy legend

John Sullivan, who wrote one of the best-loved British sitcoms, Only Fools and Horses, has died at the age of 64.

The BBC said he had suffered a short illness.

He also wrote Citizen Smith, and his latest work Rock & Chips is due to be shown on BBC One on Thursday.

BBC director general Mark Thompson said: "John had a unique gift for turning everyday life and characters we all know into unforgettable comedy."

Only Fools and Horses - starring David Jason and Nicholas Lyndhurst as two south London brothers forever trying to make a quick fortune - ran for 10 years between 1981 and 1991, with several Christmas specials in the years that followed.

The 1996 special Time On Our Hands, which was billed as the final episode and saw Del Boy Trotter come good on his ambition to make him and Rodney millionaires, was watched by more than 24 million people, a record for a sitcom in the UK.

The demand for follow-ups saw Sullivan eventually relent and return to the story of the Trotters from 2001 for occasional Christmas specials.

He also wrote a spin-off - The Green Green Grass, featuring Only Fools characters Boycie and Marlene - and a prequel, Rock & Chips, which documented Del Boy's early life.

John Sullivan, who was born in Balham, south London, in 1946, and always said his secret was that he wrote about what he knew, was appointed an OBE in 2005 for services to drama.

He was married with two sons and one daughter, and two grandchildren.

BBC head of comedy Mark Freeland said: "No one understood what made us laugh and cry better than John Sullivan."

"He was the Dickens of our generation. Simply the best, most natural, most heartfelt comedy writer of our time."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13176198

Wonder what this means for Rock and Chips
 
Didnt even know he was ill...........was only watching him on OFAH Greatest Moments this morning........ :cry:
 
Great writing, and I dont think there are many writers now or the up and coming ones who could match him :cry:
 
OFAH was class but they should have let it be rather than bring back xmas specials. Not having a pop at John Sullivan but good comedies should be ended at their peak a la Fawlty Towers.

RIP brought many a laugh out of me.
 
A sad loss. The OF&H episode where the lads form a syndicate to buy dodgy diamonds is an example of near-perfect writing for television - an interesting story with laughs along the way - the the redial button gag is priceless :lol:
 
Trigger: If it's a girl they're gonna name it Sigourney, after the actress. And if it's a boy they're gonna name him Rodney, after Dave. :lol::lol:

 
Trigger: If it's a girl they're gonna name it Sigourney, after the actress. And if it's a boy they're gonna name him Rodney, after Dave. :lol::lol:


That's a brilliant line, isn't it?

As a massive fan that has all the DVDs, this is a great shock. I didn't even know he was ill... I'm geniunely saddened by the news. On all the TV docs to do with the show he seemed like a really decent, likable bloke as well.
 
A truly sad day. We've lost a genious.

I had the honour of working on an episode of Only Fools And Horses in the nineties.

So sad.
 
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