A New Zealand actor and writer, born in Reefton, New Zealand. During World War II, he served as a sergeant in the Australian Army's entertainment unit. While attending Victoria University of Wellington, he started performing in theater. Later, in the late 1930s, he relocated to Sydney, where he joined Doris Fitton's theatrical company and wrote for radio. After moving to England in 1948, he began performing in British theater at the Royal Shakespeare Theater and other venues. Among his most important works are The Last Chronicle of Barset (1959), A Night to Remember (1958), Phoenix Five (1970), and Tom Jones (1963). He died in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, on November 3, 1993, at the age of 81.