Dick Vosburgh

Richard Kennedy Vosburgh (27 August 1929 – 18 April 2007) was an American-born Grammy and Tony-nominated comedy writer and lyricist, working chiefly in Britain. Early life Vosburgh was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States. He persuaded his father to let him study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London (where he met his future wife, Beryl Roques) and won the Comedy Acting prize. He was soon writing for BBC Radio, starting with scripts for Bernard Braden in 1953. Career In the 60s he moved from radio to television, writing (and occasionally performing onscreen) on television comedy shows like The Frost Report, That Was The Week That Was, We Have Ways of Making You Laugh, Do Not Adjust Your Set, At Last The 1948 Show and How To Irritate People. On all these shows Vosburgh worked alongside members of what was to be Monty Python and he formed lasting friendships with them. He later appeared on one episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus as a bearded Russian spy who fights Lemming of the BDA, played by Eric Idle. Vosburgh also provided the serious-sounding voice-over on the theatrical trailer for the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Throughout the 70s he was in the top tier of British comedy writers often partnering with Garry Chambers and Barry Cryer on material, working on the most popular shows of the time like The Two Ronnies, Morecambe and Wise and Who Do You Do? on which he was also script editor. Who Do You Do? pioneered a fast format of cutting between impressionists performing individual jokes against a neutral background which still feels modern today. From the 70s onwards he wrote for many comedy television shows starring Ronnie Corbett, Ronnie Barker, David Frost, Roy Hudd, Bobby Davro, Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse, Lenny Henry, Tommy Cooper, Freddie Starr and even visiting US stars such as Bob Hope and Joan Rivers.