Rosemary Anne Sisson obit

Rosemary Anne Sisson, prolific writer of period drama – obituary

 

She was not on the list.

Rosemary Anne Sisson, or Romy as she was known to all her friends, was a former Writers’ Guild Chair, President, activist and also the best role model any of us could have had.

Romy (pictured above with former WGGB General Secretary Bernie Corbett) was a prolific playwright, author and screenwriter. Her career was vast and varied. When she started, she co-authored a play, A Ghost On Tiptoe, with Robert Morley. She told me she learned a lot and the luncheons were wonderful.

On television, she wrote for Upstairs, Downstairs, The Duchess of Duke Street, The Six Wives of Henry VIII and how long have you got?

Romy cocked a snook at ageism. Late in her career, she wrote The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for George Lucas. She took great pride in wearing her Lucasfilm silk bomber jacket well into her late 70s.

She was delighted that she wrote Murder, She Wrote when Angela Lansbury and she were both nearly 80.

Did I mention Romy also wrote films starring Bette Davis, David Niven and Jodie Foster?

Yet in her spare time she worked ceaselessly for the Guild and negotiated some of the television agreements which we still benefit from today.

Once, with Guild support, Romy and six other writers brought a case of copyright infringement against a major television company. They claimed their work had been used without credit or payment.

Romy refused to back down. The Guild won the case but coincidentally Romy’s work dried up shortly after.

Romy of course wrote to the company and asked if she was on an unofficial blacklist? The company of course denied it. She was soon offered work again. You didn’t mess with Romy.

When the new Broadcasting Act was passed in the early 90s, some disreputable people without any credentials – or money – set themselves up as independent producers. Romy wrote:

“A producer who has no money is not a producer but a wannabee, and if he commissions work without paying for it, he is a crook.”

Romy was part of the Guild negotiating team who, along with the PMA, gave us the first PACT agreement, which lays out the terms for writers when working with independent producers. We all have a lot to thank her for.

Till the end of her life, Romy was passionate about the Guild and attended AGMs. No one knew our Rule Book better than her.

She was the first person I ran to with Guild news and gossip and, most importantly, for wise counsel. I miss Romy’s enthusiasm, friendship and also her talent. Now let’s celebrate some of her work.

 

Filmography

Film

Sisson was asked to write screenplays for several Disney films:

 

Ride a Wild Pony (1975)

Escape from the Dark (1976, aka The Littlest Horse Thieves)

Candleshoe (1977)

The Watcher in the Woods (1980), which she co-wrote with Brian Clemens and Harry Spalding

The Black Cauldron (1985)

Television credits

The Ordeal of Richard Feverel (1964)

Upstairs, Downstairs, for which she wrote 11 episodes

The Talking Parcel (1978 animated film)

The Wind in the Willows (1983 animated film)

The Wind in the Willows (1984) animated TV series, continuation of the above film.

Follyfoot

Together

The Irish R.M.

The Six Wives of Henry VIII, the episode concerning the King's marriage to Catherine of Aragon

The Shadow of the Tower (Henry VII), two episodes

Elizabeth R, the episode The Marriage Game

The Duchess of Duke Street

A Town Like Alice (1981 miniseries)

Manions of America

A Dorothy L. Sayers Mystery (TV Series, 1987) Lord Peter Wimsey

The Bretts (1987–88), which Sisson co-created with Frank Marshall

The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, on which she co-wrote screenplays with George Lucas