| Birth: | Dec. 6, 1924 | | Death: | Jun. 2, 2003 | 
Popular British comedy scriptwriter. A native of Golders Green in North West London, Merriman was one of the most prolific comedy writers of the 20th Century. He will probably be remembered mostly for his contribution to the now legendary BBC Radio show "Beyond Our Ken" in the 1960's, although the vast majority of his work was for television. With "Beyond Our Ken", he and fellow scriptwriter Barry Took created a comedy format which laid the foundations for the even more outrageous "Round the Horne". After serving in the RAF during the Second World War, he started out as a full-time scriptwriter. He wrote for leading performers of the day such as Bernard Braden, Dickie Henderson and Kenneth Horne and was commissioned to devise a radio vehicle for Horne in collaboration with Took. The cast included the likes of Kenneth Williams and Hugh Paddick and ran from 1958 to 1964. Merriman eventually wrote the last five series by himself after Took moved on to television. Prior to their break-up, the pair worked on the final editions of "Take It From Here". During this time, Merriman's work was also making its mark on T.V. and he helped create a popular new sketch show "Great Scott - It's Maynard!", starring Terry Scott and Bill Maynard. During the 1960's he wrote extensively for Norman Vaughan, both for his own shows and when he was compering Val Parnell's "Sunday Night at the London Palladium". He also provided material for the likes of Dave Allen, Max Bygraves and Tommy Cooper. In 1965 he scripted and appeared in "Call It What You Like", an experimental programme for the new BBC chanel BBC2 and a year later was seen on screen in yet another sketch show called "Mild and Bitter". The following decade saw Merriman's most prolific works, writing for top-rated television shows, headed by performers such as Mike and Bernie Winters, Beryl Reid, Bruce Forsyth, Dick Emery, Frankie Howerd, Freddie Starr, Stanley Baxter and Victor Borge. In 1974, together with John Chapman, he created the BBC sitcom "Happy Ever After". This was the series that brought Terry Scott and June Whitfield together on screen for the first time and led to their long-running hit "Terry and June". He continued to write for television and on occasions for radio. Among his clients were Bobby Davro, Little and Large, Mike Yarwood and Russ Abbot. He also proved to be a skilful panellist on quiz shows such as "Password" and "Call My Bluff". Following his funeral at Golders Green Crematorium on the 10th June, 2003 his ashes were scattered on Section 3-M of the Lawns of Remembrance. (bio by: Kieran Smith)
Search Amazon for Eric Merriman | | | Burial:
Golders Green Crematorium
Golders Green
Greater London, England |
Maintained by: Find A Grave
Originally Created by: Kieran Smith
Record added: Dec 07, 2004
Find A Grave Memorial# 10056379 |
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