Biography
Peter was born in Walsall in the West Midlands in 1946. His name at the time of his birth was Peter Frederick George Cook. His father Arthur Cook was a gardener and his mother Grace worked for the local Police. Whilst attending the Edward Shelley school in Walsall, he took part in a school play and this inspired him to become an actor. He trained at the Birmingham School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art between 1962-65. On leaving college his first job was with the Unicorn Children's theatre, touring the north of England and Scotland, finally being based at the New Arts Theatre club in London. Due to the existence of the comedian Peter Cook, Peter was obliged to change his professional name to Peter Corey. He later changed his name by deedpoll, having apparently become confused by having two surnames. After working in a number of repertory theatres, including Crewe for two years, he was appointed Young People's Theatre Director at The Connaught Theatre Worthing. It was at Worthing where he first started writing plays. He then took a similar role at the Redgrave Theatre in Farnham, where he stayed for eight years. In 1981 he played the famous comedian Tony Hancock in a TV play that he wrote himself for BBC2. He spent several years working with the Junior Television Workshop at Central (later Carlton) Television in Nottingham. This led to him writing TV scripts and books, including TV versions of his book series 'Coping with ..' which won several awards. Peter continues to act and write, as well as touring the world talking about his work and providing writing and acting workshops. He also works as a stand-up comedian. He has worked extensively with learndirect as a writer, and has contributed titles to OUP's new reading scheme Project X. In 2009 he wrote a book for Quatar's National Day celebrations called 'The Pearl'.
Twice married and divorced, Peter lives in Manston, Kent, where he teaches drama, acts, writes, works as a school governor and even writes the weekly quiz for his local pub.
Read more about this topic: Peter Corey
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“A great biography should, like the close of a great drama, leave behind it a feeling of serenity. We collect into a small bunch the flowers, the few flowers, which brought sweetness into a life, and present it as an offering to an accomplished destiny. It is the dying refrain of a completed song, the final verse of a finished poem.”
—André Maurois (1885–1967)
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“As we approached the log house,... the projecting ends of the logs lapping over each other irregularly several feet at the corners gave it a very rich and picturesque look, far removed from the meanness of weather-boards. It was a very spacious, low building, about eighty feet long, with many large apartments ... a style of architecture not described by Vitruvius, I suspect, though possibly hinted at in the biography of Orpheus.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)