Brian Clemens

Brian Clemens OBE
Born	Brian Horace Clemens (1931-07-30)30 July 1931 Croydon,Surrey,England
Died	10 January 2015(2015-01-10)(aged 83)
Occupation(s)	Film and television producer, screenwriter
Spouse(s)	Brenda Prior (m. 1955–1966) Janet Elizabeth Clemens (m. 1979–2015; his death)
Partner	Diane Enright (~1966–1976)(Till her suicide)
Children	Two with Janet Elizabeth.

Brian Horace ClemensOBE(30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an Englishscreenwriterandtelevision producer.He worked on the British TV seriesThe Avengersand createdThe New AvengersandThe Professionals.

Early life

Clemens was born inCroydon,Surrey,to Suzanna (néeO'Grady) and Albert,an engineer, who worked inmusic halls.Clemens said he was related toMark Twain(Samuel Langhorne Clemens), and reflected this in the naming of his two sons, Samuel Joshua Twain Clemens and George Langhorne Clemens.He left school aged 14.

Followingnational servicein theBritish ArmyatAldershot,where he was a weapons training instructor in theRoyal Army Ordnance Corps,Clemens wanted to be a journalist but decided he did not have any qualifications. He was offered a job with aprivate detectiveagency, but this involved taking a training course in the city ofLeedsand, as he had been away from home in London for two years, he decided he did not want to go away again.Instead, he worked his way up from messenger boy at theJ. Walter Thompsonadvertising agency.While he was acopywriterthere, he had a thrillerscreenplayaccepted and shot byBBC TV,Valid for Single Journey Only(1955).This brought him to the attention of theDanziger brothers,independent, low-budget movie producers.

TV career

Writer

From the mid-1950s onward Clemens was a staff writer for the Danzigers, churning out dozens of quickie scripts for assembly line'B' moviesand half-hour television series such asMark Saber(ITV, 1957–1959; also known asSaber of London),White Hunter(ITV, 1958–1960),Man from Interpol(ITV, 1960–1961), andRichard The Lionheart(ITV, 1961–1965).

He wrote forITC Entertainment's thriller seriesThe Invisible Man(ITV, 1958–1959),Sir Francis Drake(ITV, 1961–1962), andDanger Man(ITV, 1960–1961; 1964–1967; also known asSecret Agent),for which he had written the pilot.His output was so prolific during the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s that he frequently used thepseudonymTony O'Grady.

He wrote the second episode forThe Avengers(ITV, 1961–1969) in 1961but not the pilot, as is often claimed. He also wrote one other episode ( "One for the Mortuary" ) for the first season and multiple episodes of the third season. Beginning in the fourth season, Clemens became the script editor, associate producer and main scriptwriter for the series. According to theBritish Film Institute's profile of him, he "brought this spirit of burlesque to his other series – most notably withAdam Adamant Lives!(BBC, 1966–1967), but also withThe Baron(ITV, 1966–1967),The Persuaders!(ITV, 1971–1972),The Protectors(ITV, 1972–1974), andThe Adventurer(ITV, 1972–1974) – resoundingly poking fun both at the genre they were imitating and the sources of their inspiration. "Due to his rapid working rate and productivity, Clemens would frequently perform extensive rewrites of other writers' scripts to ensure the show consistently matched his creative sensibilities; fellowAvengerswriter Roger Marshall later noted that "his influence pervades almost every scene"of the show's later seasons.

Clemens castDiana Riggto replace departing starHonor BlackmaninThe Avengers.He was later quoted as saying, "I didn't do Diana a very good service. It made her an international star but I think I could have done more for her as far as the script was concerned. She was rather a stooge toPatrick Macnee's Steed. "He did not chooseLinda Thorsonto replace Rigg.

Producer

Clemens created the BBC TVsitcomMy Wife Next Door(1972) but left the scriptwriting toRichard Waring.The series won aBAFTA Award for Best Situation Comedy Series.Made around the same time, the TV movieThe Woman Hunterwas scripted by Clemens and fellow ITC writerTony Williamsonfrom the former's story. It was Clemens' first American credit.

He followed this with a twist-in-the-tail anthology seriesThriller(ITV 1973–1976; also known asMenace), for which he wrote all the stories as well as 38 of the scripts.

In the mid-1970s, Clemens sued fellow writerTerry Nationfor plagiarism, saying he had given the concept of the 1975 television seriesSurvivorsto Nation in the late 1960s and that had he registered the idea with theWriters' Guild of Great Britainin 1965. Nation strenuously denied the allegation. Both sides agreed to discontinue the case due to escalating legal fees.

Clemens' company The Avengers (Film and TV) Enterprises Ltdcreated a French/Canadian/British co-production,The New Avengers(ITV 1976-1977). The series cost £125,000 an episode to produce and was not a critical success, but sold to 120 countries.To cast the central female role ofPurdey,Clemens considered "about 700 girls", interviewed 200, read scripts with 40 and screen-tested 15before choosingJoanna Lumley.His company Avengers Mark One Productions went on to produceThe Professionals(ITV, 1977–1983).

In the early 1980s he was twice asked to produce a U.S. version of his most successful series -The Avengers U.S.A.for producerQuinn MartinandThe Avengers InternationalforTaft Entertainmentbut neither version materialised. An earlier attempt by Clemens at a US-basedAvengers-style series resulted in his writing and co-producing the hour-long pilot filmEscapadewhich was aired byCBSin 1978; again, this project did not proceed to series.However, he did write episodes for the US TV seriesDarkroom(ABC-TV, 1981–1982),Remington Steele(NBC, 1982–1987), andMax Monroe: Loose Cannon(CBS, 1990).

Back in the UK, he worked on the BBC'sBergerac(1981–1991), the anthologiesHammer House of Mystery and Suspense(ITV, 1984–1986) andWorlds Beyond(ITV, 1984–1989), and adaptedGavin Lyall's espionage thrillerThe Secret Servantas a three-part drama for the BBC (1984).

He then, in the US again, worked on theFather Dowling Mysteries(NBC, 1989; ABC-TV, 1990–1991), as executive script consultant for the feature-length revival series ofRaymond Burr'sPerry Mason(CBS, 1985–1995) for which he wrote three teleplays. He wrote for theDick Van Dykemystery seriesDiagnosis: Murder(CBS, 1992–2001).

He wrote for theBugsTV series in the UK (BBC, 1995–1999) andHighlander: The Seriesin the US. Clemens' final credit was forJane Doe: How To Fire Your Bossin 2007.

Films

In 1971, he wrote and produced forHammer Film ProductionsDr. Jekyll and Sister Hydeand, in 1972, wrote and directedCaptain Kronos – Vampire Hunter(his only directorial effort). He also wrote the screenplays and/or stories for the feature filmsOperation Murder(1957), The Tell-Tale Heart(1960),Station Six-Sahara(1963),The Peking Medallion(1967),And Soon the Darkness(1970),See No Evil(1971),The Golden Voyage of Sinbad(1973),The Watcher in the Woods(1980), andHighlander II: The Quickening(1991).

Selected filmography

• At the Stroke of Nine(1957)
• Operation Murder(1957)
• The Betrayal(1957)
• Moment of Indiscretion(1958) (co-written withEldon Howard)
• Woman's Temptation(1959)
• An Honourable Murder(1960)
• Identity Unknown(1960)
• The Tell-Tale Heart(1960)
• Return of a Stranger(1961)
• Station Six-Sahara(1962)
• The Corrupt Ones(1967)
• And Soon the Darkness(1970)
• Blind Terror(also known asSee No Evil;1971)
• Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde(1971)
• The Golden Voyage of Sinbad(1973)
• Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter(released 1974; filmed 1972) (also director)
• The Watcher in the Woods(1980)
• Highlander II: The Quickening(1991)
• Justine: A Private Affair(1995)

Theatre

In 1988, Clemens wrote the playHolmes and the Ripper,which was inspired byStephen Knight's bookJack the Ripper: The Final Solution.The play has the great detectiveSherlock Holmesand his colleagueDr. Watsonbecome embroiled in the grisly murders in Whitechapel in 1888. The play would be adapted into an audio drama byBig Finish Productions.

In 2008 Clemens wrote the playMurder Hunt,which was performed atThe Mill at Sonningand starred David Monteith as Captain K'Maka, a native African policeman who has to find the murderer amongst a bunch of guests stranded at a remote safari lodge.The list of plays he helped to write and produce:

Year	Title	Collaboration	Genre	Notes
1971	The Avengers	Terence Feely		Stage version of television show
1972	Lover		Thriller
1972	Shock!		Thriller
1973	Dear Heart	Terence Feely	Drama	Loosely based upon life ofJoe Orton
1975	Edge of Darkness		Drama
1977	Our Kid		One act Drama	Based upon the Moors Murders and Myra Hindley
1979	I'm Only Going to Kill her	Dennis Spooner	Comedy
1979	Will You Still Love Me in the Morning	Dennis Spooner	Sex comedy
1982	All About Murder		Thriller
1986	Sting in the Tale	Dennis Spooner	Drama
1988	Holmes and the Ripper		Mystery	Based on the Whitechapel murders and Sherlock Holmes
1990	Anybody for Murder?	Dennis Spooner	Drama
1993	Inside Job		Thriller
2001	The Devil at Midnight		Thriller
	Without Trace
2006	Strictly Murder		Thriller
2012	Murder Weapon		Thriller

Personal life

Clemens married his first wife Brenda Prior in 1955; they divorced in 1966.From 1967, he was with the actress Diane Enright, who was Diana Rigg's stand-in asEmma Peelduring the 1965-1967 Avengers series. Enright died by suicide in 1976.He then married Janet Elizabeth with whom he had two sons; they stayed together until his death.

Clemens was appointedOfficer of the Order of the British Empire(OBE) in the 2010 Birthday Honours.

Death

Clemens died at home on 10 January 2015, aged 83.The cause of death was a leakinganeurysm.His son said his father had died shortly after watching an episode ofThe Avengers,and that his last words were: "I did quite a good job."

External links

• Brian ClemensatIMDb
• The Man Who Created The Avengers: An Interview with Brian Clemens
• Brian Clemens at The Playwrights Database
• Brian Clemens Interview 2012