John Cundill
John Cundill (1936-2016) was a playwright and scriptwriter.
Contents
Biography
Born on a gold-mine in Germiston area on 30 May, 1936, he lived in Johannesburg for much of his life, Cundill became a hugely successful scriptwriter in the first decade of South African television.
He emigrated to Australia in 1987 and continued writing there. He passed away in Australia in 2016.
Contribution to South African Theatre, Film, Media and Performance
His five successful TV series - The Villagers (1976-8), Oh George, Westgate, 1922, and The Mantis Project - glued South African to the box for months on end, and turned numerous South African actors and actresses into household names and TV personalities.
Cundill also wrote a television drama (The Outcast), and a number of stage plays, including a comedy (Two weeks in Paradise), The Earthmover and Duet (two one-act plays Redundant and Waiting). His only published radio play is To the End of the Road (1973 and 1987).
Awards, etc
Winner of a number of South African awards, including the Idem Award, the Olive Schreiner Award (in 1978 for the two short plays Redundant and Waiting, which were televised under the title Duet) and the SA Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns's SABC Prize for English Drama (3 times).
[TH/JH]
Sources
De Beer, 1995,
Joyce 1999,
Gosher, 1988)
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