Royston Morley

John Royston Morley (25 August 1912 – 14 October 1991) was a British television producer, director and writer. He was among the earliest television producers, and also trained new producers for the BBC and in Australia.

Life and career Morley was born in Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England. In 1937 Morley married a BBC colleague, Isa Benzie. They had one daughter. Morley added television drama to his responsibilities, and produced or directed abbreviated versions of plays by Shakespeare, Wilde, Ibsen, John Webster, J.B. Priestley and P.G. Wodehouse among others.

In 1956 Morley went to Australia to train staff for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney. His contribution to the ABC at this time has been described as crucial. While in Australia he directed productions of An Enemy of the People (1958) and Hamlet (1959).

After returning to Britain in the 1960s, Morley produced the long-running BBC television series Dr Finlay's Casebook, followed by two other drama series in the early 1970s, Brett and The Regiment. and the 1961 cinema film, Attempt to Kill, based on an Edgar Wallace detective story.

Select credits Pygmalion (1948) The Admirable Crichton (1950) Point of Return (1958) The Gladys Half-Hour (1958) Chance of a Ghost (1958) An Enemy of the People (1958) Sixty Point Bold (1959) The Seagull (1959) Hamlet (1959)