John Francis Junkin (29 January 1930 – 7 March 2006) was an English actor and scriptwriter who had a long career in radio, television and film, specialising in comedy.
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Early life
Born in Ealing, Middlesex, the son of a policeman, Junkin and his parents subsequently moved to Forest Gate so that he could attend St Bonaventure's Catholic School there, before qualifying as a teacher at St Mary's College, Strawberry Hill. He worked as a primary school teacher in the East End for three years.
Career
Before leaving his teaching job he began submitting jokes and comedy sketches for radio. He joined Associated London Scripts as a writer in the mid-1950s, and worked with Terry Nation to write for the television shows The Idiot Weekly, Price 2d and A Show Called Fred, featuring Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers. With Nation, Junkin also wrote for comedians Ted Ray, Jimmy Logan, and others.
In 1960, at the suggestion of Harry H. Corbett, he joined Joan Littlewood's Stratford East Theatre Workshop, where he played the lead in the original theatre production of Sparrers Can't Sing. A few years later, he joined the Royal Court Theatre company, and appeared with Rex Harrison in the play August for the People by Nigel Dennis.
