{{Short description|Australian actor and writer}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}} '''James Workman''' (4 February 1912 – 28 March 2001) was a Scottish-born actor and writer who mostly worked in Australia.
==Biography== ===Early life=== Workman was born in Scotland in Cove House, Ecclefechan in 1912. In 1914 his family moved to London and he attended a convent school. Workman left school relatively early and attended the HMS Conway a school ship which trained people for the merchant navy. He worked as a sailor for four years on ships such as ''The City of Exeter'' and various freighters.<ref name="oral"/> Workman then became a policeman in London and started acting in plays in his spare time. He left the police force when he was twenty five. He wrote novels in England.<ref name="oral">Oral history of James Workman interviewed by Stuart Glover, National Film and Sound Archive. NFSA ID374406, recorded 22 May 1998</ref> ===Africa=== Workman moved to South Africa, originally intending to becoming a miner at Benoni, but these plans were thwarted when he realised his lung capacity did not allow him to work underground.<ref name="oral"/> He moved to Lourenço Marques in Portuguese East Africa, where he worked for an English-language radio station, announcing and writing scripts, including five-minute serials. He also lived in Rhodesia.<ref name="diana"/>
During the war Workman enlisted with the Witwatersrand Rifles and served with the Eighth Army. After his war service Workman toured Africa in shows with Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies. He worked for the South African Broadcasting Commission as an announcer, scriptwriter and producer, writing some serials.<ref name="diana">WORKMAN, JAMES : INTERVIEWED BY DIANA COMBE : ORAL HISTORY, National Film and Sound Archive, NFSA ID191350, recorded 1984</ref> ===Australia=== Workman moved to Australia in 1948 for his wife's health. He worked as an actor at first, mostly on stage, but also on radio. He began writing on radio for Gordon Grimsdale when Grimsdale expressed his frustration getting writers for the series ''Thirty Minutes to Go''; Workman became one of its leading writers.<ref>[http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/display/display.w3p;adv=no;group=;groupequals=;holdingType=;page=1;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F55334-1%22;querytype=;rec=4;resCount=10 James Workman interview] at National Film and Sound Archive</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Lane|title=The Golden Age of Australian Radio Drama Volume 2|publisher=National Film and Sound Archive|year=2000 |pages= 65–68 }}</ref><ref name="diana"/>
In 1957-58 Workman lived in London for 18 months, after which he returned to Australia.<ref name="oral"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Stage star Lloyd Berrell dies at sea|newspaper=The Age|date=17 January 1958|page=1}}</ref> When television came to Australia, the market for commercial radio plays went into decline.<ref name="diana"/> Workman focused on novels instead writing 23 in all.<ref name="oral"/> He continued to write for radio and did some scripts for television, including the revue ''Press Gang'' (1959) and the play ''Reflections in Dark Glasses''.<ref>{{cite news|title=Novel TV revue based on press life|newspaper=The Age Radio TV Supplement|date=29 May 1959|page=2}}</ref>
Workman died on 28 March 2001, at the age of 89.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121577924/?article=bd3734bf-15b6-4bfa-822c-1e3967dcf4b4|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=30 March 2001|title=Deaths| page =28}}</ref>
==Appraisal== A 1955 article called Workman "One of the finest [radio] scripters in the game, a writer with a hatred of the obvious, a constant seeker after new ideas."<ref>{{Citation | title=Tricks of the Game Writing For Radio | journal=The Bulletin | volume=76| issue=3918 (16 Mar 1955) | location=Sydney, N.S.W | publisher=John Haynes and J.F. Archibald | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-688069409 | id=nla.obj-688069409 | access-date=18 March 2024 | via=Trove }}</ref>
Radio historian Jacqueline Kent wrote "His scripts were innovative and, some thought, difficult to produce and act. At a time when most writers let each character say something definite, followed by a speech from another character, Workman’s scripts used parallel conversations... James Workman was writing Pinteresque dialogue long before Harold Pinter; in Australian radio his technique was way ahead of its time."<ref>{{cite book|first=Jacqueline|last=Kent|page=242|title=Out of the bakelite box : the heyday of Australian radio|year=1983}}</ref>
Workman considered himself a "commercial writer" more at home working for the commercial networks than the ABC.<ref name="diana"/>
==Films== *''Into the Straight'' (1948) - actor<ref name="into">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-films-into-the-straight/|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|date=11 August 2025|access-date=11 August 2025|title=Forgotten Australian Films: Into the Straight}}</ref> *''Strong is the Seed'' (1949) - actor
==Television== *''ITV Television Playhouse'' - "2000 Minus 60" (1958) - TV play - writer *''Press Gang'' (1959) - TV revue - writer, performer *''Reflections in Dark Glasses'' (1960) – TV play - writer<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-australian-tv-plays-reflections-in-dark-glasses/|magazine=Filmink|title=Forgotten Australian TV Plays: Reflections in Dark Glasses|first= Stephen|last= Vagg|date=March 20, 2021|access-date=August 2, 2024}}</ref> *''Armchair Theatre'' - "Cold Fury" (1960) *''In Writing'' (1961) – actor *''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' - "Apex" (1962) - writer *''Malibu Playhouse'' - "Finger on the Pulse" (1963) - writer *''Contrabandits'' - episodes "Target, Smokehouse" (1967) - writer (this script won AWGIE award) *''Motel'' (1967) – writer *''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'' – writer *''The Long Arm'' (1970) – writer *''Behind the Legend'' (1973-74) - episodes "Melba", "Charles Ulm", "C.Y. O'Connor", "Ray Parer" - writer *''Number 96'' - writer *''Class of '74'' - writer *''The Tichborne Affair'' (1977) – writer
==Novels== *''The Apologetic Tiger'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1958) *''Lucifer at Ponsfordville'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1959) *''Face of Fortune'' (Hodder & Stoughton, 1961) *''Impact'' (Horwitz, 1962) (as "James Dark") *''The Mad Surgeon'' (Horwitz, 1962) (as "Victor Kain") *''The Captain from Goondiwindi'' (Horwitz, 1962) *''Havoc!'' (Horwitz, 1962) (as "James Dark") *''Sweet Taste of Venom'' (Horwitz, 1963) (as "James Dark") *''Cleopatra of Egypt'' (Horwitz, 1963) *''The Navy's Here'' (Horwitz, 1963) *''Sodom and Gomorrah'' (Horwitz, 1963) *''The Witch Hunters'' (Horwitz, 1963) *''The Spy from the Grave'' (Horwitz, 1964) (as "James Dark") *''Sin in Hong Kong'' (1965) *''Dragon Ships'' (Horwitz, 1965) *''Genghis Khan'' (Horwitz, 1965) *''Sin in Hong Kong'' (Horwitz, 1965) *''Charge of the Light Brigade'' (Horwitz, 1966) *''The Mad Emperor'' (Scripts, 1966) *''Sex and the Soviet Spy'' (Horwitz, 1966) *''Attila the Hun'' (Scripts, 1967) *''The Courtesans'' (Scripts, 1967) *''Zenobia, Empress of Lust'' (Scripts, 1967) *''The Beautiful Beast of Buchenwald'' (Scripts 1968) *''Shark Bait'' (Horwitz, 1968) - based on script for ''Contrabandits'' ===Short story collections=== *''Shock Stories'' (Horwitz 1962) - "The Castaway", "The Dead Man’s Heart", "The Fungus and the Flower", "Possession", "The Spell", "Spindrift", "Trade-in Bodies" *''Terrifying Stories'' (Horwitz, 1962) (as "James Dark") - "Dead on Time", "Dogged", "The Flying Fix", "Hanging On", "Mad to Start", "Shadow Men", "A Small Grave Matter" *''Horror Tales'' (Horwitz, 1963) (as "James Dark") - "The Creep", "Fattened Calf", "The Flare", "The Flashing Scar", "Man on the Run", "Perkins the Pilot" ===Other short stories=== *''The Reluctant Shadow'' (1958)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article45647059 |title=THE RELUCTANT SHADOW |newspaper=The Australian Women's Weekly |volume=26 |issue=7 |location=Australia, Australia |date=23 July 1958 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=19 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *"Apex" in ''London Mystery Selection'' #36, March 1958 * "The Mummy’s Curse" in ''Nightmare Stories'' ed. Charles Higham (Horwitz, 1962)
==Radio== ===As actor=== *''Murder at the Seventh'' (1948) *''From These Ashes'' (1949) *''Blue Hills'' (1949) *''Close Shaves in History'' (1950)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article142869846 |title=RADIO AND FILMS |newspaper=South Coast Times And Wollongong Argus |volume=L |issue=16 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=28 February 1950 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=3 (South Coast Times AND WOLLONGONG ARGUS FEATURE SECTION) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''Gimme the Boats'' (1954) - actor ===As writer=== *''Thirty Minutes to Go'' (1954) - various episodes *''Fares Please'' (1951)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18494209 |title=Notes On Radio |newspaper=The Sunday Herald (Sydney) |issue=139 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=23 September 1951 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''There's Nothing New'' (serial) *''The Last Miracle'' (1953) *''The Legend of Blue Nose Rock'' (Sept 1953)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230756100 |title=Two shows tonight for square dances |newspaper=The Sun |issue=13,597 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=8 September 1953 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=21 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''Personal Effects'' (1954) *''Rhthym of Life'' (1954) *''Mirror Mirror on the Wall'' (1954)<ref>{{cite magazine | title=Mirror, Mirror on the Wall |department=Commercial |magazine=The ABC Weekly |volume=16 |issue=24 |date=12 June 1954 |page=25 | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1677801556 | id=nla.obj-1677801556 | access-date=1 May 2023 | via=Trove }}</ref> *''L'innoue The innocent'' (1954)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article245575570 |title=Worth hearing |newspaper=The Herald |issue=((24,027)) |location=Victoria, Australia |date=31 May 1954 |access-date=1 May 2023 |page=8 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''This is My Play'' (1954)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248941692 |title=AROUND THE DIAL |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |volume=XIX |issue=227 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=11 December 1954 |access-date=1 May 2023 |page=12 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''This is My Play'' (1954) "The Jackpot" *''The Tin Hook'' (1954)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article230783181 |title=Davey will comment as he drives in trial |newspaper=The Sun |issue=13,811 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 May 1954 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=32 (LATE FIANL EXTRA) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''Heartbeat'' (1955) - also actor *''A Moment of Peril'' (1956) *''The Big Squeeze'' (1956) - series - also director *''Deadline'' (1957) - series - also director *''The Key'' (1958) - series *''Call Box'' (1959) *''Ben Hur'' (1959) (serial) *''Solo Performance'' (1959) *''Street of Secrets'' (serial) *''The Thirsty World'' (1960) (science series) *''The Apologetic Tiger'' (1960) (serial) - adapted from his novel *''Cold Fury'' (1961) (play) - adapted from his stage play ''Eternal Night'' *''Countdown'' (1960) (serial) *''Timber Ridge'' *''Odette'' *''For the Young in Heart'' (1972) (serial) *''The Old Poisoner'' (1973)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131700171 |title=2CY Monday to Sunday |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=[?] |issue=[?] |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=24 December 1973 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=13 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref>
==Documentary== *''Facing Facts'' - writer
==Stage== *''Love for Love'' (1948) - actor<ref>{{Citation | title=SUNDRY SHOWS "LOVE FOR LOVE." | journal=The Bulletin | date=15 September 1948 | location=Sydney, N.S.W | publisher=John Haynes and J.F. Archibald | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-552682656 | id=nla.obj-552682656 | access-date=21 September 2025 | via=Trove }}</ref> *''The Circle'' (1948) - actor<ref>{{Citation | title="The Circle." | journal=The Bulletin | date=6 October 1948 | location=Sydney, N.S.W | publisher=John Haynes and J.F. Archibald | url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-552692723 | id=nla.obj-552692723 | access-date=21 September 2025 | via=Trove }}</ref> *''Midsummer Nights Dream'' (1948) - actor<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18062820 |title=SHAKESPEARE AT ROYAL |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |issue=34,381 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=2 March 1948 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *various plays as actor for the Globe Player in Sydney in 1949 *''Duet for Two Hands'' (1949) - actor, producer *''Macbeth'' (1949) - actor *''Private Lives'' (1949) - actor *''Where's Charley?'' (1950) - actor<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article279629740 |title=BROADWAY HIT FOR TIVOLI |newspaper=The Sun News-pictorial |issue=8612 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=2 May 1950 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *various productions as actor for John Alden Company in 1951-1952 including ''Hamlet'' (1951),<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article18498428 |title=Stage... Whispers |newspaper=The Sunday Herald (Sydney) |issue=118 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=29 April 1951 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=5 (Features) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> ''Midsummer Night's Dream''<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article205665924 |title=Midsummer Night's Dream Is Charming |newspaper=The Age |issue=30,156 |location=Victoria, Australia |date=22 December 1951 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=4 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> ''King Lear'', ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' *''Why Not Tonight?'' (1951) - actor<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248985522 |title=News for Women |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |volume=XVI |issue=153 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=18 September 1951 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''Eternal Night'' (1954) - writer<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article248933633 |title=Stark play at theatre |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |volume=XIX |issue=106 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=23 July 1954 |access-date=1 May 2023 |page=33 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''Hamlet'' (1954) - actor<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article229709382 |title=LONE GIRL TOURS WITH KRUPA |newspaper=The Sun |issue=13872 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=29 July 1954 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=32 (LATE FINAL EXTRA) |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''The Love of Four Colonels'' (1955) - actor<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article225596549 |title=At Sydney Theatres |newspaper=Le Courrier Australien |volume= |issue=21 |location=New South Wales, Australia |date=27 May 1955 |accessdate=19 September 2025 |page=6 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''People of Nowhere'' (1960) - actor *''The Merchant of Venice'' (1961) - actor *''The Grotto'' (1962) - actor *''The Passion Play'' actor (1963)<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article104590339 |title=Audience Of 7,000 Sees Passion Play |newspaper=The Canberra Times |volume=37 |issue=((10,481)) |location=Australian Capital Territory, Australia |date=11 March 1963 |access-date=1 May 2023 |page=19 |via=National Library of Australia}}</ref> *''Assault with a Deadly Weapon'' (1972) - actor *''See you at Philippi'' (1973) - writer *''Breadfruit for breakfast [manuscript] : a play in two acts'' - writer *''Possession [manuscript] : a play in one act /'' - writer *''Cold Cure'' - writer *''Brain drain [manuscript] : a play in one act'' - writer *''Shut-up and Strip [manuscript] : a play in one act'' - writer
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A22262 James Workman] at Austlit *[https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0941463/?ref_=tt_ov_wr James Workman] at IMDb *[http://colsearch.nfsa.gov.au/nfsa/search/summary/summary.w3p;adv=no;group=;groupequals=;page=0;parentid=;query=Person%3A%22%2FPerson%2Fkey%2F55334-1%22;querytype=;resCount=10 James Workman] at National Film and Sound Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Workman, James}} Category:Australian screenwriters Category:Australian actors Category:1912 births Category:2001 deaths Category:Works by James Workman