Rising Damp and Home to Roost creator dies at 88: Tribute to Eric Chapel, who wrote the sitcom classic
- Eric Chapel, creator of Rising Damp and Home to Roost, has died at the age of 88
- Grantham sitcom writer Lincolnshire began his writing career in 1970.
- Rising Damp, which aired from 1974 to 1978 on ITV, won the Bafta Award for Best Sitcom
- After his success with Rising Damp, Mr. Chappell continued to write Home to Roost
- Actor Rhys Dinsdale, who starred in Home to Roost, paid tribute to the writer
From Mark Tovi to Mailonline
Posted: 12:03, 24 April 2022 | Updated: 12:41, 24 April 2022
Eric Chapel, creator of the comedy series Rising Damp and Home to Roost, has died at the age of 88.
Mr. Chapel of Grantham, Lincolnshire, began his writing career with a play called The Banana Box, which debuted at the Hampstead Theater Club in 1970, before making its way to the West End in 1973.
This play in the West End was later adapted into Rising Damp, the popular ITV sitcom that aired in four series from 1974 to 1978 and starring Leonard Rositer, Francis de la Tour, Richard Beckinsale and Don Warrington.
Rising Damp tells the story of a landlord’s miser named Rupert Rigsby who rents out a skinny Victorian townhouse to a colorful team of tenants.
After winning the Bafta Award for Best Situational Comedy in 1978, Rising Damp was adapted into a 1980 film.
Eric Chapel, creator of the comedy series Rising Damp and Home to Roost, has died at the age of 88.
Rising Damp tells the story of a landlord’s miser named Rupert Rigsby who rents out a skinny Victorian townhouse to a colorful team of tenants. Pictured: Rising Damp characters Rupert Rigsby, played by Leonard Rossiter; and Miss Ruth Jones, played by Francis de la Tour
Rising Damp characters, left to right: Alan Moore (played by Richard Beckinsale), Rupert Rigsby (Leonard Rositer), Miss Ruth Jones (France de la Tour) and Philip Smith (Don Warrington)
Following the success of Rising Damp, Mr. Chappell continued to write Home to Roost, which aired from 1985 to 1990, and starring John Toe, who plays a divorced man whose life turns upside down after his teenage son, played by Reese Dinsdale moves in with a bachelor. substrate.
Dinsdale, 62, announced Mr Chapel’s death in a tweet yesterday.
He wrote on the social media platform: “I just heard that Eric Chapel, the writer of #HomeToRoost, #RisingDamp and many other shows, died on Thursday,
“Thank you for everything you have done for me, sir, your scripts were a joy to play. Great times!
“My love and deepest condolences to his friends and the RIP Eric family.”
House of the Roost Stars, left to right: Henry Willows (played by John Toe), his teenage son Matthew (Reese Dinsdale) and his daughter Julie (Rebecca Lacey)
After the success of Rising Damp (1974 to 1978), Eric Chapel continued to write Home to Roost, about a divorced man whose life turned upside down after his teenage son, played by Reese Dinsdale, moved into his bachelor party. Pictured, left to right: Home to Roost characters Henry Willows (John Toe) and Matthew (Reese Dinsdale)
Actor and director Reese Dinsdale, who played the grim teenage son Matthew in Home to Roost, paid tribute to Bafta playwright Eric Chapel, who died on April 21.
Mr. Chapel, who died on April 21, worked for 22 years as an auditor on the East Midlands Electricity Board and wrote several novels that were rejected before taking a break from drama.
“RIP Eric Chappell, one of the greats of all time,” tweets Jed Mercurio, creator of the BBC’s Line of Duty.
Mr Mercurio continued: “His brilliant comedies have entertained millions, week after week, for decades.”
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