Sheridan Morley, Author, Critic, and Playwright, Dies at 65

Sheridan Morley, one of England’s most respected authors, critics, and playwrights, died in his sleep yesterday at age 65.

Morley hailed from a great theatrical family; his father was the well-known actor Robert Morley and his grandmother, Dame Gladys Cooper, co-starred in My Fair Lady. His godfather was Noel Coward, whom Morley paid tribute to in books such as A Talent to Amuse: The Life of Noel Coward and two shows which were produced in England and America, Noel and Gertie and If Love Were All. He also wrote another West End musical, Spread a Little Happiness.

Over his 40-year-career, Morley, who graduated from Oxford, gained fame in England for his work on BBC Radio 4’s various arts programs and for writing drama criticism for such publications as The Times of London, The Daily Express, The Spectator, and The International Herald Tribune.

A prolific author, Morley wrote biographies of Sir John Gielgud, Gene Kelly, and Ginger Rogers, books such as The Stephen Sondheim Songbook, and his own memoirs, Asking for Trouble.

He is survived by his second wife, Ruth Leon, and by his three children from his first marriage.