Norman Hudis obit

Carry On writer Norman Hudis dies aged 93

 

He was not on the list.

Norman Hudis, best known for writing the first six Carry On films, has died at the age of 93.

The screenwriter died surrounded by his family in California on Monday after several weeks of hospice care.

His widow Rita Hudis said in a statement: "He died peacefully at home with myself and Stephen and Kevin, his two sons.

"He did well to reach 93. We will miss him. Our 60th anniversary would have been on the 28 April."

Hudis was born in London and began his career as a journalist before writing for stage and screen.

He wrote the first Carry On film, 1958's Carry On Sergeant, when he was 34. The cast included future Doctor Who actor William Hartnell, Bob Monkhouse, Charles Hawtrey, Kenneth Connor, Kenneth Williams and Hattie Jacques.

Hudis went on to pen Carry On Nurse, Teacher, Constable, Regardless and Cruising - the first Carry On film in colour.

Carry On films - the Norman Hudis years

Carry On Sergeant - 1958

Carry On Nurse - 1959

Carry On Teacher - 1959

Carry On Constable - 1960

Carry On Regardless - 1961

Carry On Cruising - 1962

Carry On Nurse was inspired by stories from his wife, a former nurse. In a BBC interview in 2008, external, Hudis said: "I used to call downstairs to Rita and say 'put on the old nurse's cap and tell me something funny'."

In 2008, Hudis published an autobiography titled No Laughing Matter: How I Carried On.

In it, he revealed that he continued to write Carry Ons after he left the series in the early 1960s in the hope that he might be asked back one day, drafting Carry On Under the Pier If Wet and Carry On Shylock Holmes.

After moving to the US, his TV writing credits include The Wild Wild West, The Man From UNCLE and Hawaii Five-O.

Morris Bright, chairman of Elstree Studios and a close family friend, said: "Without him we wouldn't have had the Carry On films, because he wrote the first six - and look what that spawned over the years.

"We owe the man a lot. He leaves a great legacy of joy, entertainment and laughter - something we can look back on and say, 'We're very grateful for him'.

"He was a great guy, I shall miss him a great deal."

Hudis is survived by his widow, two sons, and two grandchildren, Veronica and Cameron.

Writer

Midsummer Madness (2007)

Midsummer Madness

5.9

additional material

2007

 

Billy the Cat (1996)

Billy the Cat

7.2

TV Series

Writer

2001

1 episode

 

Norman Normal (1999)

Norman Normal

5.6

TV Series

story

1999

1 episode

 

A Monkey's Tale (1999)

A Monkey's Tale

5.7

writer

1999

 

Waldo's Way (1996)

Waldo's Way

TV Series

head writer (1996-)

1996

 

Talis the Porcupine: The Spagettiflyer

Short

Writer

1995

 

Hurricanes (1993)

Hurricanes

6.9

TV Series

Writer

1993

1 episode

 

Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker in Simon & Simon (1981)

Simon & Simon

7.0

TV Series

teleplay

1988

1 episode

 

Snowballing (1987)

Snowballing

3.8

story

1987

 

Paw Paws (1985)

Paw Paws

6.8

TV Series

story

1985

4 episodes

 

Hot Resort (1985)

Hot Resort

3.6

screenplay

1985

 

Erik Estrada and Larry Wilcox in CHiPs (1977)

CHiPs

6.5

TV Series

teleplay

1982

1 episode

 

Gil Gerard and Erin Gray in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century (1979)

Buck Rogers in the 25th Century

6.9

TV Series

written by

1981

1 episode

 

Tourist (1980)

Tourist

6.5

TV Movie

story

teleplay

1980

 

Olivia Hussey and Tony Musante in The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther (1979)

The Thirteenth Day: The Story of Esther

6.7

TV Movie

script

story

1979

 

Eddie Albert and Robert Wagner in Switch (1975)

Switch

7.1

TV Series

story

writer

1976

2 episodes

 

Robert Blake in Baretta (1975)

Baretta

6.7

TV Series

teleplay

1976

1 episode

 

James Brolin, Robert Young, Barbara Sigel, and Elena Verdugo in Marcus Welby, M.D. (1969)

Marcus Welby, M.D.

7.0

TV Series

writer

teleplay

written by

1973–1976

13 episodes

 

McCoy (1975)

McCoy

6.4

TV Series

story by

1976

1 episode

 

David Hartman in Lucas Tanner (1974)

Lucas Tanner

6.9

TV Series

story by

teleplay by

1975

1 episode

 

Cannon (1971)

Cannon

6.8

TV Series

writer

1974

1 episode

 

Butch Cassidy (1973)

Butch Cassidy

7.1

TV Series

story

1973

1 episode

 

Anthony Franciosa, Doug McClure, and Hugh O'Brian in Search (1972)

Search

8.1

TV Series

written by

1973

2 episodes

 

Dennis Weaver in McCloud (1970)

McCloud

6.9

TV Series

written by

1970

1 episode

 

It Takes a Thief (1968)

It Takes a Thief

7.5

TV Series

written by

teleplay

1970

3 episodes

 

Tim Conway and Carlos Manteca in Turn-on (1969)

Turn-on

4.7

TV Series

writer

1969

2 episodes

 

Bracken's World (1969)

Bracken's World

6.8

TV Series

written by

1969

1 episode

 

The F.B.I. (1965)

The F.B.I.

7.4

TV Series

story

teleplay

1969

1 episode

 

Kam Fong, Al Harrington, Jack Lord, and James MacArthur in Hawaii Five-O (1968)

Hawaii Five-O

7.4

TV Series

teleplay

1969

1 episode

 

Koroshi (1968)

Koroshi

6.3

TV Movie

screenplay

1968

 

How to Steal the World (1968)

How to Steal the World

5.3

writer

1968

 

Robert Vaughn, Leo G. Carroll, and David McCallum in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1964)

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

7.7

TV Series

writer

teleplay

1967–1968

6 episodes

 

Garrison's Gorillas (1967)

Garrison's Gorillas

7.8

TV Series

writer

1967

2 episodes

 

Robert Vaughn and David McCallum in The Karate Killers (1967)

The Karate Killers

5.3

screenplay

1967

 

Mister Ten Per Cent (1967)

Mister Ten Per Cent

5.0

screenplay

1967

 

Patrick McGoohan in Secret Agent (1964)

Secret Agent

8.2

TV Series

written by

1967

2 episodes

 

Robert Conrad and Ross Martin in The Wild Wild West (1965)

The Wild Wild West

8.1

TV Series

writer

1967

1 episode

 

Gideon C.I.D. (1964)

Gideon C.I.D.

8.0

TV Series

screenplay

screenplay by

1965–1966

3 episodes

 

Eddie Albert, Eva Gabor, and Arnold the Piggy in Green Acres (1965)

Green Acres

7.3

TV Series

story

1966

1 episode

 

Roger Moore in The Saint (1962)

The Saint

7.5

TV Series

screenplay by

1964–1965

4 episodes

 

Nurse on Wheels (1963)

Nurse on Wheels

6.2

writer

1963

 

Charles Hawtrey, Hattie Jacques, Norman Rossington, and Joan Sims in Our House (1960)

Our House

6.4

TV Series

creator

writer

teleplay

1960–1962

39 episodes

 

Carry on Cruising (1962)

Carry on Cruising

6.1

screenplay

1962

 

Twice Round the Daffodils (1962)

Twice Round the Daffodils

6.3

screenplay

1962

 

Carry on Regardless (1961)

Carry on Regardless

6.0

screenplay

1961

 

Leslie Phillips and Noel Purcell in Beware of Children (1960)

Beware of Children

5.7

screenplay

1960

 

Carry on Constable (1960)

Carry on Constable

6.2

screenplay

1960

 

Please Turn Over (1959)

Please Turn Over

6.3

screenplay

1959

 

Carry on Teacher (1959)

Carry on Teacher

6.2

original screenplay

1959

 

Carry on Nurse (1959)

Carry on Nurse

6.2

original screenplay

1959

 

Death Over My Shoulder (1958)

Death Over My Shoulder

writer

1958

 

Julia Arnall, Anton Diffring, and Sheldon Lawrence in Mark of the Phoenix (1958)

Mark of the Phoenix

4.9

script

1958

 

William Hartnell in Carry on Sergeant (1958)

Carry on Sergeant

6.3

screenplay

1958

 

Six-Five Special (1958)

Six-Five Special

5.8

screenplay

1958

 

The Duke Wore Jeans (1958)

The Duke Wore Jeans

5.0

screenplay

1958

 

The Mailbag Robbery (1957)

The Mailbag Robbery

6.2

screenplay

1957

 

Menace in the Night (1957)

Menace in the Night

6.2

Writer

1957

 

Alex Nicol and Anne Paige in A Stranger in Town (1957)

A Stranger in Town

6.0

screenplay

1957

 

Tommy Steele in Rock Around the World (1957)

Rock Around the World

5.5

screenplay

1957

 

Hour of Decision (1957)

Hour of Decision

5.4

screenplay

1957

 

The Crooked Sky (1957)

The Crooked Sky

5.1

screenplay

1957

 

Keefe Brasselle and Kay Callard in The Fighting Wildcats (1957)

The Fighting Wildcats

6.7

based on an original story by

screenplay

1957

 

Lois Maxwell and Dale Robertson in The High Terrace (1956)

The High Terrace

6.0

screenplay

1956

 

Breakaway (1956)

Breakaway

5.7

screenplay

1956

 

Rod Cameron and Lois Maxwell in Passport to Treason (1956)

Passport to Treason

5.4

screenplay

1956

 

Bond of Fear (1956)

Bond of Fear

6.0

additional scenes

1956

 

Kolibri - Eine Magazingeschichte

TV Movie

scenario

1956

 

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950)

BBC Sunday-Night Theatre

7.0

TV Series

adapted for television by

by

1955

1 episode

 

Additional Crew

La souris du Père Noël (1991)

La souris du Père Noël

7.0

TV Movie

story editor

1991

 

The Promoter (1952)

The Promoter

7.0

floor publicity (uncredited)

1952

 

Yvonne De Carlo, Peter Ustinov, Roland Culver, and David Tomlinson in Hotel Sahara (1951)

Hotel Sahara

6.2

floor publicist (uncredited)

1951

 

The Browning Version (1951)

The Browning Version

8.0

floor publicist (uncredited)

1951

 

Jean Simmons in The Clouded Yellow (1950)

The Clouded Yellow

6.9

floor publicist (uncredited)

1950

 

Jean Simmons and Dirk Bogarde in So Long at the Fair (1950)

So Long at the Fair

7.1

floor publicist (uncredited)

1950

 

Margaret Leighton in The Astonished Heart (1950)

The Astonished Heart

6.0

floor publicist (uncredited)

1950

 

Adam and Evalyn (1949)

Adam and Evalyn

6.2

publicist (uncredited)

1949

 

Soundtrack

A Monkey's Tale (1999)

A Monkey's Tale

5.7

writer: "Chanson de Sérignole", "To Be King" (English version) (English version, "Assimilate" , "Where Do I Belong?" (English version))

1999