T.E.B. Clarke Biography

Fast Facts

• In 1952, he was awarded the Order of the British Empire
• Worked for a magazine in Australia, as a freelance journalist in London, in advertising, as a door-to-door salesman and as a member of the police force
• From 1943 to 1957, he was under contract with Ealing Studios, and spent the time writing eccentric British comedies
• His scripts usually begin with a slightly absurd premise that, through carefully laid steps, leads to a much more absurd conclusion
• The makers of the film "Saloon Bar" used his book about British Pubs, "What's Yours?" as a reference
• While writing "The Lavender Hill Mob," he slipped a bank teller a note that read "information required on means of stealing gold bullion" and soon had a number of bank employees helping him work out kinks in his plot
• Wrote ten novels and four books of non-fiction, including an autobiography