Editing Sandy Wilson (section)

==Biography==
Wilson was born in [[Sale, Greater Manchester|Sale]], [[Cheshire]], England,<ref name="Larkin50">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Fifties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2002|edition=Third|isbn=1-85227-937-0|page=502}}</ref> and was educated at [[Harrow School]]. In 1942 he won a State Scholarship for a wartime course at [[SOAS]] and was assigned to study Japanese. He was thus one of the so-called 'Dulwich Boys' who studied at SOAS and boarded at [[Dulwich College]]. While there he put together a satirical review titled 'A Matter of Course' based on his experiences on the Japanese course.<ref>Sandy Wilson, ''I Could be Happy: An Autobiography'' (London: Joseph, 1975), p. 75.</ref><ref>Peter Kornicki, ''Eavesdropping on the Emperor: Interrogators and Codebreakers in Britain's War with Japan'' (London: Hurst & Co., 2021), p. 57.</ref> He was one of the few not to complete the course and he subsequently served in the [[Royal Army Ordnance Corps]] in Great Britain, Egypt and Iraq. After the war he went to [[Oriel College, Oxford]] and while a student wrote revues for the Oxford University Experimental Theatre Club and then attended the [[Old Vic]] Theatre School on a production course.<ref name=nyt/>

Most of his work for the stage was material for [[revue]]s, such as Hermione Gingold's ''[[Slings and Arrows (revue)|Slings and Arrows]]'', [[Laurier Lister]]'s ''[[Oranges and Lemons (revue)|Oranges and Lemons]]'', and ''[[See You Later (revue)|See You Later]]'',<ref name="Larkin50"/> starring such performers as [[Peter Cook]].  He wrote the book, music and lyrics for ''[[The Boy Friend (musical)|The Boy Friend]]'' for the Players' Theatre in 1953.<ref name="Larkin50"/> Its success resulted in a longer version being produced in the [[West End theatre|West End]] at [[Wyndham's Theatre]].<ref name="Larkin50"/> After its opening in January 1954, over 2,000 performances were put on there.  It opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1954, at the Royale Theater, and introduced [[Julie Andrews]] in her Broadway debut.<ref name="Stevens"/> The show ran on Broadway for over 480 performances.<ref name=nyt/>

Wilson wrote the musical ''[[Valmouth (musical)|Valmouth]]'' in 1958, based on a [[Ronald Firbank]] novel set in a seaside resort.  In 1964 he wrote ''[[Divorce Me, Darling!]]'', a sequel to ''The Boy Friend''.<ref name=nyt/> His last work was a version of ''[[Aladdin (1979 musical)|Aladdin]]'' (1979) for the [[Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith]].<ref name=guardian>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/aug/27/sandy-wilson|title=Sandy Wilson obituary|first1=Michael|last1=Freedland|first2=Michael|last2=Coveney|date=27 August 2014|website=[[The Guardian]]|accessdate=29 October 2019}}</ref>

His autobiography, published in 1975, is titled ''I Could Be Happy''.<ref>Beck, Andy and Fisher, Brian. ''Broadway for Two'', Alfred Music Publishing, 2007, {{ISBN|0-7390-4477-X}}, p. 82</ref>

Sandy Wilson died in [[Taunton]], England in 2014, aged 90.<ref name="nyt">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/01/arts/sandy-wilson-composer-and-writer-of-the-boy-friend-dies-at-90.html|title=Sandy Wilson, Composer and Writer of 'The Boy Friend,' Dies at 90|first=Daniel E.|last=Slotnik|date=31 August 2014|website=The New York Times|accessdate=29 October 2019}}</ref> His longtime partner was Chak Yui.<ref name=guardian/> Wilson was a member of the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and contributed to the ''[[The Young Elizabethan|Elizabethan]]'' magazine during his years of greatest fame.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

In 1999, Wilson donated his papers to the [[Harry Ransom Center]].<ref>[http://research.hrc.utexas.edu:8080/hrcxtf/view?docId=ead/00176.xml "Sandy Wilson:A Preliminary Inventory of His Papers at the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center"], Utexas.edu, retrieved 9 March 2010</ref> The papers include produced and unproduced plays, mostly musicals but also plays for stage and TV, as well as drafts of Wilson's published and unpublished works including an autobiography, illustrated book, novels, articles, and short stories, along with correspondence.