William Douglas-Home (1912 - 1992)

Born 3 Jun 1912 in Edinburgh, Scotland

Ancestors

Died 28 Sep 1992 at age 80 in Kilmeston, Hampshire, England

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Biography

William Douglas-Home is a member of Clan Douglas.

William Douglas-Home, a prolific English playwright of light comedy, died on Monday at his home in Winchester, England. He was 80 years old.

He died of a heart attack, said his niece, Caroline Douglas-Home.

Mr. Douglas-Home, several of whose works made it to Broadway and the screen, drew on his own aristocratic background to enliven the stage with the upper classes, lords and ladies of the realm and their sometimes eccentric antics. Another source was his political exposure as a three-time unsuccessful candidate for Parliament and brother of former Prime Minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home, now Lord Home.

A son of the 13th Earl of Home (pronounced hume), he came from a family military tradition that stretched back to the battle of Flodden in 1513. In 1944, when he was 32 years old, he was court-martialed for "not obeying a lawful command" as an army officer. He was imprisoned for a year and dishonorably discharged.

His offense was to refuse orders in an attack on the French port Le Havre in World War II. He said a foolish insistence on unconditional surrender would have forced him to bombard German soldiers who were unwilling to fight anymore but whose commander refused to surrender unconditionally. He also cited the danger to countless French civilians.

Years later, he declared that by today's standards he could have been guilty of a war crime had he taken part in the action on Sept. 8, 1944. More than 2,000 French civilians died, and Captain Douglas-Home of the Royal Armored Corps became something of a hero to their survivors. King of the Drawing Room

By the 1950's Mr. Douglas-Home, whose plays had begun to be produced before the war, was considered the king of light English comedy of the drawing-room genre. He then had a dry spell but made a comeback in the late 1960's. In between, some of his plays received rough treatment in London. The Daily Mail panned "The Cigarette Girl" (1962) as "unspeakable drivel."

But others among the more than 40 plays he wrote over four decades were solid hits with the public. Among those produced on Broadway were "The Chiltern Hundreds" and "Yes, M'Lord" (both 1949). "The Reluctant Debutante" (1956) with Wilfrid Hyde-White and Adrienne was generally welcomed by the New York critics for being witty and droll.

The New York Times critic Brooks Atkinson wrote that parts of it were "thoroughly delightful" and called the play a "humorous lark," sophisticated hokum. A 1958 film version starred Rex Harrison and Kay Kendall.

Other plays that critics found lacking in substance were rescued by skilled acting. In the case of "The Kingfisher" (1977), it was Ralph Richardson in London and, a year later on Broadway, Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert who charmed audiences and disarmed the critics.

Mr. Douglas-Home was born in Edinburgh. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and appeared on the London stage before becoming a playwright. He also wrote several books, including "Mr. Home Pronouced Hume: An Autobiography" (1979) and "Old Men Remember" (1991).

Mr. Douglas-Home is survived by his wife, Lady Dacre, the former Rachel Brand; a son and three daughters.

http://www.nytimes.com/1992/09/30/arts/william-douglas-home-80-dies-english-writer-of-stage-comedies.html

Sources

• *http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-william-douglas-home-1554492.html

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Douglas-Home