TV comedy genius and playwright
BY DAY Eric Chappell was an auditor with the East Midlands Electricity Board but by night he toiled away at his typewriter, hoping to become a novelist before realising writing plays was far easier as they required fewer words.
In 1970 his debut, The Banana Box, was performed at the Hampstead Theatre Club with Wilfrid Brambell playing Rooksby, a grumpy landlord who has comic interplays with his tenants.
Its success kick-started a prolific writing career.
Two years later the play transferred to the West End with Leonard Rossiter in the lead role.
It was so popular Chappell thought the BBC might pick it up as a comedy series. It was rejected by the Beeb but Yorkshire Television saw its potential and Rising Damp was born – its central character becoming one of the most successful in sitcom history.
But a landlord called Rooksby threatened legal action so Chappell went through a phone book and came up with the name Rigsby.
Rossiter moved from stage to telway evision with the production and grew into the role of Rigsby during the show’s four-year run, creating a wealth of memorable scenes.
When his posh tenant, played by Frances de la Tour, says: “I’m afraid there’s something of the philistine about you, Mr Rigsby,” he replies: “That’s very nice of you, Miss Jones.”
Rehearsals were often tense as Rossiter frequently challenged the dialogue for improvements, which Chappell accepted, quickly realising he was dealing with a brilliant actor capable of sublime irony.
Chappell’s death was announced by Reece Dinsdale, who starred alongside John Thaw in his later sitcom, Home To Roost, saying: “Thank you for everything you did for me, Sir... your scripts were a complete joy to play.” Chappell
also enjoyed success with hospital comedy Only When I Laugh, starring James Bolam, Peter Bowles and Richard Wilson, and wrote TV hits Duty Free, Singles and The Bounder, and many plays.
Born in Grantham, Lincolnshire, his printer father worked alongside the father of author Robert Harris.
Chappell had trained as an
accountant but discovered a talent for writing in his 30s when he would run dialogue and stories past his wife Muriel, who survives him along with their two children. Jed Mercurio, creator of Line Of Duty, said: “RIP Eric Chappell, one of the all-time greats. His brilliant comedies entertained millions, week in week out, for decades.”