Iain MacCormick Iain MacCormick i(8039192 works by) (a.k.a. Iain McCormick)
Also writes as: John Graeme
Born: Established: 1918
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Australia,
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 ; Died: Ceased: Oct 1965
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England,
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United Kingdom (UK),
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Western Europe, Europe,
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

'MacCormick was born in Australia 1918 to Scottish émigré parents. He considered himself a Scot also and held a British passport. MacCormick was studying medicine when the Second World War began and he volunteered for service with the Australian army, rising to the rank of Captain. He fought in North Africa, Crete and Greece, where, in 1941, he was captured when Allied forces withdrew. He spent the next four years as a prisoner of war, during which time he took to writing, between escape attempts, and completed a number of plays. Upon his release in 1945 he was sent to Britain en route to Australia for official demobilisation, but he didn’t complete this journey, choosing to settle in London.'

Source:

Oliver Wake, 'Iain McCormick', British Television Drama (website), posted 13 March 2010.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Some sources state that MacCormick was born in Scotland, perhaps because of his self-identification as Scottish. Australian newspapers of the mid to late 1950s, when he was beginning to make a name for himself as a script-writer, firmly identify him as Australian.

  • MacCormick's work for the BBC has been traced in some detail, but few if any sources also note that his plays were also produced for early Australian television.

  • MacCormick's significance as a script-writer was recognised in Australia very early: when ABC features and drama director Neil Hutchinson headed to the UK in 1958 in search of information on improving Australian drama, for example, he deliberately sought out MacCormick.

    Source:

    'In Search of Ideas to Improve Our TV Drama', The Age, 29 August 1958, p.13.

  • In addition to the works individually indexed on AustLit, MacCormick also wrote the following:

    • episodes of The Third Man for the BBC in 1959, 1960, and 1961.
    • episodes of The Saint (as John Graeme) for ITV in 1964.
    • episodes of Gideon's Way for ITV in 1964 and 1965.
    • episodes of Court Martial for ITV in 1965.
Last amended 10 Dec 2014 14:50:59
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