John Hopkins (writer)
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John Hopkins (sometimes credited as John R. Hopkins) (January 27, 1931 – July 23, 1998) was an English film and television writer.
Born in London, he began his career as a studio manager for BBC Television in the 1950s, before establishing himself as a writer on the BBC's popular police drama Z-Cars during the early 1960s. Hopkins eventually wrote over ninety episodes of Z-Cars, one of which featured young actress Judi Dench in the role of a delinquent youngster. This character inspired Hopkins to write what is probably his most famous work for the small screen, the 1966 four-part serial Talking to a Stranger. Starring Dench and transmitted as part of BBC2's Theatre 625 anthology strand, the four connected plays told the story of one bleak weekend from the viewpoints of four different members of the same family.
Other notable television work included the 1976 Play for Today A Story to Frighten the Children, and the 1982 adaptation of John Le Carré's novel Smiley's People, starring Alec Guinness, both for the BBC.
In film, Hopkins provided finishing touches to the screenplay for the 1965 James Bond movie Thunderball, and also worked on the script for 1972 film adaptation of Man of La Mancha, although he was removed from this project by United Artists when they discovered that his draft omitted most of the songs from the musical. In 1986 he wrote, directed, and produced the film Torment.
Hopkins married Prudence Balchin in 1954. He divorced Balchin in the 1960s, and in 1969 married actress Shirley Knight, who he remained with until his death. They had a daughter, Sophie C. Hopkins, also an actress.
Hopkins died at his home in Woodland Hills, California, United States in July 1998 due to an accident in which he slipped, hit his head and fell unconscious into his swimming pool, where he drowned.
