Simon Gray

Popular 70s & 80s British playwright Simon Gray (Butley, The Common Pursuit) has died. He was 71.

Billington assesses, here.

One way I recommend remembering him is reading of his least flattering works--his brief memoir, Fat Chance, an unabashed rant against actor Stephen Fry for suddenly and weirdly walking away from a hit play of his mid-run. (Hint: the title's an insult.) Cruel, yes. (Fry was apparently suffering suicidal depression.) But every playwright who's ever felt at the mercy of his or her collaborators will sympathize at some point.