James Workman (writer) explained

James Workman (1912  - 28 March 2001) was a Scottish-born actor and writer who mostly worked in Australia.

A 1955 article called him "One of the finest scripters in the game, a writer with a hatred of the obvious, a constant seeker after new ideas."

Biography

Workman was born in South Africa, and worked as a sailor and a policemen. He lived in South Africa, working for in radio before going to Australia for his wife's health. In Australia he worked as an actor at first, mostly on stage, before becoming a radio writer for Gordon Grimsdale.^{[1] [2]}

Workman died on 28 March 2001, at the age of 89.^[3]

Films

• Into the Straight (1948) - actor

Television

• ITV Television Playhouse - "2000 Minus 60" (1958) - TV play - writer
• Press Gang (1959) - TV series
• Reflections in Dark Glasses (1960) – TV play - writer^[4]
• Armchair Theatre - "Cold Fury" (1960)
• In Writing (1961) – actor
• Alfred Hitchcock Presents - "Apex" (1962) - writer
• Malibu Playhouse - "Finger on the Pulse" (1963) - writer
• Contrabandits - ep "Target, Smokehouse"
• Motel (1967) – writer
• Skippy – writer
• The Long Arm (1970) – writer
• Behind the Legend (1973) "Melba", "Charles Ulm" - writer
• Number 96 - writer
• Class of '74 - writer
• The Tichborne Affair (1978) – writer

Novels

• The Apologetic Tiger (1958)
• Lucifer at Ponsfordville (1959)
• Face of Fortune (1961)
• Impact (1962)
• the Mad Surgeon (1962)
• Shock Stories (1962)
• The Captain from Goondiwindi (1962)
• Havoc (1962)
• Sweet Taste of Venom (1963)
• Cleopatra of Egypt (1963)
• the Navy's here (1963)
• Sodom and Gomorrah (1963)
• The Witch Hunters (1963)
• Sin in Hong Kong (1965)
• Dragon Ships (1965)
• Genghis Khan (1965)
• Sin in Hong Kong (1965)
• Charge of the Light Brigade (1966)
• The Mad Emperor (1966)
• Sex and the Soviet Spy (1966)
• Attila the Hun (1967)
• The Courtesans (1967)
• Zenobia, Empress of Lust (1967)
• The Beautiful Beast of Buchenwald James Workman (1968)
• Shark Bait (1968)

Radio

• Thirty Minutes to Go (1951–54) - various episodes
• The Last Miracle (1953)
• Mirror Mirror on the Wall (1954)^[5]
• L'innoue The innocent (1954)^[6]
• This is My Play (1954)^[7]
• A Moment of Peril (1956)
• The Big Squeeze (1956) - series - writer, director
• Deadline (1957) - series - writer, director
• The Key (1958) - series - writer
• Call Box (1959) - writer
• Countdown - writer
• Timber Ridge - writer
• Odette - writer

Documentary

• Finding Facts - writer

Stage

• various plays as actor for the Globe Player in Sydney in 1949
• various productions as actor for John Alden Company in 1951-1952 including Hamlet
  • Eternal Night (1954) - writer^[8]
• The Passion Play actor (1963)^[9]
• Cold Cure - writer
• The Tichborne inheritance : a play in two acts - writer
• Brain drain [manuscript] : a play in one act - writer
• Shut-up and Strip [manuscript] : a play in one act - writer
• See you at Philippi (1973) - writer
• The old poisoner [manuscript] : a play in two acts - writer
• Breadfruit for breakfast [manuscript] : a play in two acts - writer
• Possession [manuscript] : a play in one act / - writer

External links

• James Workman at Austlit
• James Workman at IMDb
• James Workman at National Film and Sound Archive

Notes and References

1. http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=no;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=1;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F55334-1%22;querytype=;rec=4;resCount=10 James Workman interview
2. Book: Lane, Richard. The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2. National Film and Sound Archive. 2000 . 65–68 .
3. News: Deaths. The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 March 2001. 28.
4. Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Reflections in Dark Glasses. Filmink. Stephen. Vagg. March 20, 2021. August 2, 2024.
5. Mirror, Mirror on the Wall . Commercial . The ABC Weekly . 16 . 24 . 12 June 1954. 25 . nla.obj-1677801556 . 1 May 2023 . Trove.
6. News: Worth hearing . . ((24,027)) . Victoria, Australia . 31 May 1954 . 1 May 2023 . 8 . National Library of Australia.
7. News: AROUND THE DIAL . . XIX . 227 . New South Wales, Australia . 11 December 1954 . 1 May 2023 . 12 . National Library of Australia.
8. News: Stark play at theatre . . XIX . 106 . New South Wales, Australia . 23 July 1954 . 1 May 2023 . 33 . National Library of Australia.
9. News: Audience Of 7,000 Sees Passion Play . . 37 . ((10,481)) . Australian Capital Territory, Australia . 11 March 1963 . 1 May 2023 . 19 . National Library of Australia.