Edward J. Mason

{{Short description|British scriptwriter (1912–1971)}} {{about||the member of the Maryland Senate|Edward J. Mason (politician)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}} '''Edward John Mason''' (born 8 May 1912 in Birmingham, England, died 3 February 1971) was a scriptwriter for radio, television and movies for both the BBC and its rival Radio Luxembourg.

==Career== Edward J. Mason had his first major success in 1947 as a script writer when the BBC Home Service radio network began airing his British detective serial ''Dick Barton'' which he created with co-writer Geoffrey Webb. This was the first serial to air on the BBC and it continued to be aired until 1951. The BBC replaced ''Dick Barton'' with ''The Archers'', originally another creation of the Mason-Webb team, today ''The Archers'' remains the world's longest-running soap opera on radio.

In 1950 and prior to ''The Archers'', Mason also created the radio serials ''The Lady Craved Excitement''<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lady Craved Excitement |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8a75e0b3dee64935a4a8d57817b395d4 |access-date=9 September 2024 |publisher=BBC Programme Index}}</ref> and ''What the Butler Saw,''{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} both of which were filmed in that year by Hammer Films (''The Lady Craved Excitement,'' ''What the Butler Saw'').

In 1954, he wrote the 6-part serial thriller ''Red For Danger'', which was broadcast on the BBC Midlands service. In 1955, Edward J. Mason created another mystery series called ''Shadow Man'' for the BBC's English language commercial rival Radio Luxembourg. ''Shadow Man'' was sponsored by Stork Margarine and it ran on ''208'' at 8:30 pm on Tuesday evenings.

That same year Mason also worked on scripts for two television series: ''Unheimliche Begegnungen'' and a year later (1956) on ''I'm Not Bothered''.

In 1960, Mason wrote for the TV mini-series ''The Days of Vengeance'' and in 1961 ''Flower of Evil''. In 1962 his TV work included ''Outbreak of Murder'' followed in 1964 by ''How to be an Alien''.

Mason also created a string of panel game shows with producer Tony Shryane and these included ''Guilty Party'', ''My Word!'', and ''My Music''.

==Personal life== His son Jeremy Mason, an actor who played Roger Travers-Macy in ''The Archers'', married the actress Carolyn Jones.<ref name="Guardian">{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/aug/06/carolyn-jones-obituary|title=Carolyn Jones obituary|first=Anthony|last=Hayward|date=6 August 2018|website=The Guardian|accessdate=10 August 2018}}</ref> Jones played Ursula Titchener in ''The Archers'' from 2016 to 2018, at the end of her career.<ref name="Guardian"/> His other son was musician and songwriter Laurence 'Lol' Mason, the former lead singer of late 1970s rock band City Boy and 1980s one hit wonders The Maisonettes.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/birmingham-singer-lol-mason-dies-16683103|title = Birmingham singer Lol Mason dies at home in Harborne|date = 4 August 2019}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name|id=0556694|name=Edward J. Mason}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, Edward J.}} Category:1912 births Category:1971 deaths Category:English male screenwriters Category:Writers from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:20th-century English screenwriters Category:20th-century English male writers