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| John Sullivan with The Trotters' 3 wheel van. |
John Sullivan stared offwas submitting scripts to the BBC which kept getting turned down so he decided to work for them as a scene shifter and in the props department, all the while watching and learning about how Comedy programs were made. He submitted a script which turned into the popular sitcom 'Citizen Smith' which ran from 1977 to 1980. It followed the exploits of young "Wolfie" Smith, a Communist Urban Guerrilla living in Tooting, South London and self proclaimed leader of the "Tooting Popular Front" Attempting to emulate his hero Che Guevara. In reality though, Wolfie was unemployed, a dreamer and a petty criminal, and the "Tooting Popular Front" was merely a small bunch of his mates. The series starred Robert Lindsay in the lead role which launched his glittering career and it also launched Sullivan's career as a full time comedy writer.
Citizen Smith ran for four series and Sullivan was then asked what other sitcom ideas he had. He first submitted one set in the world of football (Soccer) but it was rejected and it was then he hit upon the idea of a sitcom centering around the life of a cockney market trader in modern day South London under the working title 'Readies'
When a draft script was submitted, the BBC gave the go ahead and with that Sullivan said he wanted to change the title to 'Only Fools And Horses' which was also the title of a Citizen Smith episode and comes from the very obscure saying "Why do only fools and horses work for a living?" which dates back to American Vaudeville.
The BBC were initially unwilling for this, fearing the public wouldn't understand the title but Sullivan eventually made them see sense and got his way, also managing to persuade them to let him write and sing the theme tune like Dennis Waterman had done on ITV's 'Minder' which was also a hit, had a similar premise to OFAH, and Minder's success on ITV is what Sullivan believes was the key factor in the BBC readily accepting his show.
Only Fools And Horses got off to a slow start but by the time it ended in 2003, it was a massive hit with the British public. Many phrases used within the show entered the British lexicon and even today, it still continues to top Best Sitcom polls.
During the 1980's, after his wife read him a letter in a magazine about a woman being jilted at the altar by her fiance, he wrote a sitcom with a female lead role to offset Citizen Smith and Only Fools and Horses, which had strong male leads. 'Just Good Friends' premiered in 1983 with Jan Francis and Paul Nicholas as ex-lovers who meet in a pub five years after he jilted her. They agree to forget the past and become, as the title says, Just Good Friends. The show was a hit but not nearly as big as OFAH and the series ended in 1986.
He then created 'Dear John' in 1987 which was about a man who finds a 'Dear John' letter from his wife and is forced to find lodgings and joins a singles club. The series was unfortunately not a hit in Britain but was re-made successfully in the US under the same name and premise.
Sullivan's other efforts, some would say have never measured up to Only Fools And Horses. When Sullivan died, The third episode of the prequel to Only Fools And Horses 'Rock & Chips' aired 5 days later. It's sad that there will be no more of this wonderful prequel about the early days of Del Boy and the childhood of Rodney.
But I suppose all the good things must come to an end, don't they?
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