Plater, Alan (1935-2010), a British dramatist, screenplay writer, and novelist, won fame for his scripts, which reflect his working-class upbringing, his political beliefs, and his love of jazz. Much of Plater’s work is set in the industrial region of northeastern England.
Beginning in the 1960’s, he wrote more than 200 original scripts and adaptations for radio, television, the cinema, and stage. Among his most successful original plays are Close the Coalhouse Door (1968) and The Land of Green Ginger (1974). Among his television serial adaptations is The Beiderbecke Affair (1985), a thriller revolving around a man’s love of the music of 1920’s jazz trumpeter Bix Beiderbecke.
Plater’s other television scripts include an adaptation of the British author J. B. Priestley’s The Good Companions (1980); The Fortunes of War (1987), based on the novels of the British writer Olivia Manning; and A Very British Coup (1988), which won him several awards. Other outstanding work includes his television adaptation of the British author Anthony Trollope’s “Barchester Chronicles” novel series. Plater wrote the screenplays for such films as The Virgin and the Gypsy (1969), adapted from a novel by the British writer D. H. Lawrence, and The Priest of Love (1980), the story of Lawrence’s last years. Other works include Selected Exits (1993); the television film Doggin’ Around (1994); and Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1997), adapted from the novel by the British author George Orwell.
Alan Frederick Plater was born on April 15, 1935, in Jarrow-on-Tyne, northeastern England. He studied to be an architect but turned to a freelance career in writing in 1961. In the 1960’s, he produced scripts for the police television series Z Cars. Apart from his scripts, Plater also wrote novels, such as The Beiderbecke Affair (1985), adapted from his own television serial, and Misterioso (1987). Plater died on June 25, 2010.
