Brian Clemens facts for kids

Brian Horace Clemens (30 July 1931 – 10 January 2015) was an English screenwriter and television producer. He was well-known for his work on popular TV shows like The Avengers and The Professionals. Brian Clemens believed he was related to the famous American writer Mark Twain. He even named his two sons, Samuel Joshua Twain Clemens and George Langhorne Clemens, to reflect this connection.

Early Life and Career Beginnings

Brian Clemens was born in Croydon, Surrey, England. His father was an engineer who also worked in music halls. Brian left school when he was 14 years old.

After serving in the British Army as a weapons training instructor, Brian wanted to become a journalist. However, he felt he didn't have the right qualifications. He then worked his way up from a messenger boy at an advertising company. While working there, his first thriller script, Valid for Single Journey Only (1955), was accepted by BBC TV. This helped him get noticed by independent movie producers.

TV Shows Brian Clemens Wrote For

From the mid-1950s, Brian Clemens worked as a writer for many TV shows and low-budget movies. He wrote so much that he often used a fake name, Tony O'Grady!

Early TV Writing

He wrote for half-hour TV series such as Mark Saber (1957–1959), White Hunter (1958–1960), Man from Interpol (1960–1961), and Richard The Lionheart (1961–1965).

He also wrote for other thriller series like The Invisible Man (1958–1959), Sir Francis Drake (1961–1962), and Danger Man (1960–1967).

The Avengers and Beyond

Brian Clemens wrote for The Avengers starting in 1961. He became the main writer and a producer for the series. He brought a fun and playful style to the show. He also worked on other shows like Adam Adamant Lives! (1966-1967), The Baron (1966-1967), and The Persuaders! (1971-1972).

He chose Diana Rigg to play the character Emma Peel in The Avengers. He later said he wished he could have written even better scripts for her.

Brian Clemens as a Producer

Brian Clemens also created and produced many successful TV shows.

Creating New Series

He created the TV comedy show My Wife Next Door (1972), which won an award for best comedy series. He also created Thriller (1973–1976), a series where each episode was a different suspenseful story. He wrote all the stories for Thriller.

In the mid-1970s, Brian Clemens had a disagreement with another writer, Terry Nation, about the idea for the TV series Survivors. They both decided to stop the case because it was costing too much money.

The New Avengers and The Professionals

Brian Clemens' company helped create The New Avengers (1976-1977). This show was a co-production between France, Canada, and Britain. It was very expensive to make, but it was sold to 120 countries around the world! To find the right actress for the role of Purdey, Brian Clemens looked at hundreds of girls before choosing Joanna Lumley.

His company also produced The Professionals (1977–1983), another popular action series.

Later TV Work

In the 1980s, Brian Clemens was asked to make American versions of The Avengers, but these projects didn't happen. He did write episodes for several US TV series, including Darkroom (1981–1982), Remington Steele (1982–1987), and Father Dowling Mysteries (1989–1991). He also worked on the Perry Mason TV movies and the mystery series Diagnosis: Murder.

Back in the UK, he worked on Bergerac (1981–1991) and other anthology shows. His last TV credit was for Jane Doe: How To Fire Your Boss in 2007.

Films Brian Clemens Worked On

Brian Clemens also wrote and produced for movies.

In 1971, he wrote and produced Dr. Jekyll and Sister Hyde. In 1972, he wrote and directed Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter, which was the only film he ever directed.

He also wrote stories or screenplays for other feature films, including:

• Operation Murder (1957)
• The Tell-Tale Heart (1960)
• Station Six-Sahara (1963)
• The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973)
• The Watcher in the Woods (1980)
• Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)

Theatre Work

In 1988, Brian Clemens wrote a play called Holmes and the Ripper. This play was inspired by the famous detective Sherlock Holmes and the mystery of the Whitechapel murders in 1888.

In 2008, he wrote another play called Murder Hunt. This play was performed at The Mill at Sonning theatre. It was about a native African policeman who had to find a murderer among guests stuck at a remote safari lodge.

Brian Clemens also helped write and produce other plays, including:

• The Avengers (1971) - a stage version of the TV show
• Lover (1972)
• Shock! (1972)
• All About Murder (1982)
• Sting in the Tale (1986)
• Anybody for Murder? (1990)
• Strictly Murder (2006)
• Murder Weapon (2012)

Personal Life and Death

Brian Clemens married Brenda Prior in 1955, and they divorced in 1966. He then had a partner, Diane Enright, who was an actress and a stand-in for Diana Rigg on The Avengers. Diane passed away in 1976. Later, he married Janet Elizabeth, and they had two sons. They stayed together until his death.

Brian Clemens was honored with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) award in 2010 for his contributions.

Brian Clemens died at home on 10 January 2015, at the age of 83. His son said that Brian died shortly after watching an episode of The Avengers. His last words were: "I did quite a good job."