Theatre, Film, Television
1931 - 1998
Born into a theatrical family, Beverley Cross started by writing plays for children in the 1950's but then achieved instant success with his first adult play One More River which tells the story of a mutiny where a crew puts its first officer on trial for manslaughter. The play made its debut in 1959 starring Michael Caine and directed by Laurence Olivier.
His second play Strip the Willow was to make his future wife Dame Maggie Smith a star. Cross then went on to write the famous musical comedy Half a Sixpence (1963) based on the HG Wells book Kipps. Both Strip the Willow and Half a Sixpence ran in the West End for more than a year.
His other work includes an adaptation of The Scarlet Pimpernel, Happy Birthday, The Three Cavaliers and The Crickets Sing.
Later, Cross became well known for his screenplays, the most famous of which being Jason and the Argonauts, Genghis Khan and Clash of the Titans; he was also to adapt Half a Sixpence for the screen.
Cross's translation of Mark Camoletti's play Boeing Boeing was revived in February 2007 at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End by director Matthew Warchus and starring Francis De La Tour, Mark Rylance, Roger Allam, Tamzin Outhwaite and Michelle Gomez and has garnered wonderful reviews. It moved to Broadway in 2008 and was nominated for six Tony Awards.