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Troy Kennedy Martin R.I.P.

Troy Kennedy Martin, tv and film script writer, has died aged 77.
Writer of my favourite film the original Italian Job, he also wrote Edge of Darkness and The Sweeney as well as Z cars.

He joined the BBC in 1958 and wrote four plays before winning a series commission, Storyboard.

In a broad writing career, he co-created Z-Cars in 1962, staying on as a writer for the first two series. The hugely successful police procedural ran for a total of 667 episodes and revolutionised how the police were portrayed on television.

Moving into film in the 1960s, he wrote The Italian Job, starring Noel Coward and Michael Caine, before penning films starring Arnold Swarzenegger (Red Heat) and Clint Eastwood (Kelly's Heroes).

Back on TV, he wrote the hugely popular Reilly, Ace of Spies for ITV, before returning to the BBC with Edge of Darkness in 1985 and later co-wrote the BBC's adaption of Andy McNab's Bravo Two Zero in 1999.

Working right up to his death from liver cancer, he had just completed a six-part drama on global warming for HBO.

Comments

  • Edge of Darkness - I hope they show that again, remember missing it when it first aired and then spent several nights watching it when the Beeb repeated it. Even bought the 12" EP of the Michael Kamen/Eric Clapton soundtrack. Bob Peck was awesome.

    He was a truely great scriptwriter for TV, told a good story well!

    RIP
  • I think there is a Hollywood version of Edge of Darkness coming out soon with Robert DeNiro in the Bob Peck role
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