“The
thing about imagination is that by the very act of putting it down, there must
be some truth in one's own imagination.” – Dennis Potter
Born on this date in 1935, Potter is widely regarded as one of the most influential and innovative dramatists
ever to have worked on British television.
His television dramas mixed fantasy, reality, personal and social with
themes and images from popular culture.
In addition to his work as a TV
dramatist, Potter also wrote journalistically, had several novels and
nonfiction books published, and did both screenplays and stage productions. He
is best known for his BBC TV serials Pennies from Heaven and The Singing
Detective, and for his television play Blue Remembered Hills, all aired
on Masterpiece Theatre as well.
Major motifs in Potter's writing are
the concept of betrayal and the device of a disruptive outsider. 
He also wrote a number of pieces considered
semi-autobiographical, and while he won
very few awards (he did win an Edgar from the
Mystery Writers of America for his screenplay of the novel Gorky Park), his work has influenced a wide range of other writers and producers both in Great Britain and the
U.S. He died at the relatively young age of 59 and has since been the subject of several television retrospectives, including a festival of his works by the BBC.
He also wrote a number of pieces considered
semi-autobiographical, and while he won
very few awards (he did win an Edgar from the
Mystery Writers of America for his screenplay of the novel Gorky Park), his work has influenced a wide range of other writers and producers both in Great Britain and the
U.S. He died at the relatively young age of 59 and has since been the subject of several television retrospectives, including a festival of his works by the BBC.
Noted for his droll sense of
humor, he once remarked wryly that, “The trouble with words is that you never know whose
mouths they have been in.”
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