Al Hunter Ashton

Al Hunter Ashton (26 June 1957 – 27 April 2007), born Alan Hunter,[1][2] was an English actor and script writer.

Al Hunter Ashton
Born
Alan Hunter

(1957-06-26)26 June 1957
Birmingham, Warwickshire, England
Died27 April 2007(2007-04-27) (aged 49)
High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England

Life

Hunter was born in Birmingham, Warwickshire, and came from a working-class background. Born Alan Hunter (he later changed his name by deed poll to Al Hunter), he wrote scripts for his own amusement from the age of 15; he worked in his spare time as a stand-up comedian in clubs for £15 a night but became a stripper on discovering that he could earn the same amount for shedding his clothes every evening. "My stripping routine was actually funnier than my stand-up one," he said.[2][3]

He acted under the name "Al Ashton", choosing this to ensure he appeared high up in any alphabetical credits. He wrote under the name "Al Hunter". Later he combined the two, acting and writing under the name "Al Hunter Ashton".[1] He also wrote under the alias Alun Nipper.[4]

Work

His first professional acting work was with a Theatre in Education company in Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, and he was subsequently cast in Willy Russell plays such as Breezeblock Park (at the Liverpool Playhouse) and Blood Brothers (at the Derby Playhouse). Russell also later commissioned him to write the BBC Schools television play Teaching Matthew (in which Hunter also had a small role as a policeman, 1985), a satire on Russell's own Educating Rita.[1]

Hunter worked very closely with the Stage 22 School of Arts Network in the UK and upon his death, children from the school made their own version of the Queen hit Only the Good Die Young which was dedicated to him and his three young children.

List of acting roles (incomplete)

List of writing credits (incomplete)
  • Alison BBC TV screenplay
  • EastEnders. BBC TV soap. Regular contributor since 1987. Writer/storyliner.
  • Holby City. Lead core writer, storyliner, producer.
  • Pieces of a Silver Lining. BBC Afternoon Theatre with Martin Jameson
  • Safe. Bafta winner. Best Single Drama. see External links below
  • Teaching Matthew BBC TV script writer and actor
  • The Broker's Man. Creator and writer. (with Tim O'Mara).
  • The Firm. Screen Two. Writer (as Al Hunter)
  • Alive and Kicking. Film shown in series 3 of BBC drama anthology 'Screen One'.

Death

On 27 April 2007 Al Hunter Ashton died of heart failure in his home in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.[1][5] Episode eight of series five of the New Tricks TV series, titled "Mad Dogs", was dedicated to his memory.

Awards
  • Safe (1993), a harrowing tale of homelessness. Won the 1994 Bafta TV Award as Best Single Drama. Al Ashton, writer.

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1982RemembranceJohn
1986Agent on IceThug
1988A Fish Called WandaWarder
1998Ever AfterCargomaster
1999Treasure IslandGeorge Merry
2000GladiatorRome Trainer #1
2000The Wedding TackleTaxi Driver
2001From HellStonecutter
2001Mr In-BetweenFat Dave
2008IncendiaryMale Survivor
2008SisterhoodReggie(final film role)
  • "Al Hunter Ashton Homepage". Archived from the original on 2007-08-21. Retrieved 2007-05-14.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link)
  • Safe (1993) at Screenonline
  • Safe (1993) on IMDb
  • "BBC Comedy Roles". Archived from the original on 2005-04-09. Retrieved 2007-05-15.CS1 maint: BOT: original-url status unknown (link) BBC Comedy Guide
  • Al Hunter Ashton on IMDb

Notes
  1. Martin Jameson (May 11, 2007). "Obituary: Al Hunter Ashton". The Guardian.
  2. Patrick Newley (June 1, 2007). "Obituary: Al Hunter Ashton". The Stage.
  3. "none". The Independent. May 7, 2007.
  4. "Al Ashton". en.notrecinema.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019. alias : Alun NIPPER, Al HUNTER ASHTON, Al HUNTER-ASHTON,
  5. Graham Young (May 10, 2007). "Blazing a trail at Big Al's funeral". Birmingham Mail.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.