Scotsman Obituaries: Eric Chappell, creator of classic sitcom Rising Damp
msn.comEric Chappell, writer. Born: 25 September 1933 in Grantham, Lincolnshire. Died: 21 April 2022 in Grantham, Lincolnshire, aged 88For 22 years Eric Chappell beavered away in the offices of the local electricity board in the East Midlands, while spending his spare time writing the novels he would might open the door to fame and fortune only to amass a mountain of “no thank you” letters.
Ground down by the effort that goes into writing a 100,000-word novel only to see his work rejected time and again, Chappell decided to have a go at writing a play.
It might still get turned down, but at least it was fewer words. He was inspired by a newspaper article about a black man who stayed at a hotel for a year without paying after telling them he was a prince.
But in his play The Banana Box the venue evolved from a hotel to a seedy lodging house and the focus switched from the black guest to the miserly landlord, played on stage by Wilfrid Brambell.
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