Tony Warren

Tony Warren (8 July 1936 – 1 March 2016) is the founder of ITV television series Coronation Street.

Early life

Tony Warren was born Anthony McVay Simpson in Eccles to George M. and Doris Simpson.  George M. Simpson fought in World War II and could speak seven languages.  After the war, he worked as a fruit importer and played the violin in George M Simpson’s Tonics Dance Orchestra.

Tony would visit his mother's mother's house and listen to her visitors talk.  He would later use these memories to make the characters on Coronation Street talk like real people.

He began working in Sunday School plays and then the BBC's Children's Hour.  He took the stage name Tony Warren while still a child actor.

Warren went to Eccles grammar school on a scholarship.  He went to Liverpool's Shelagh Elliott-Clarke's drama school but was told he had to leave school after 18 months.  He went to London and worked on acting and writing.

Career

In 1958, Warren started working at ITV company Granada Television as a writer.  He worked on Shadow Squad, Biggles, and other projects.

Warren started his own series in the 1960s.  At first he called it Florizel Street, but a tea lady at Granada named Agnes said that sounded "like a disinfectant", so they changed the name to Coronation Street.

Coronation Street was a success, but Warren began to have problems with money, drugs, and alcohol.  Sometimes he would leave the country.  He tried to write Ferry Cross the Mersey but could not.  He did write other things: The War of Darkie Pilbeam in 1968.

Warren managed to become sober.  He worked as a consultant on Coronation Street and related projects.  He wrote novels: The Lights of Manchester in 1991, Foot of the Rainbow in 1993, Behind Closed Doors in 1995, and Full Steam Ahead in 1998.

References

Other websites
IMDB

Category:1936 births
Category:2016 deaths
Category:British novelists
Category:British television writers
Category:Coronation Street