27 Facts About Alan Bennett

Alan Bennett was born on 9 May 1934 and is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter.

Alan Bennett has received numerous awards and honours including four BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and two Tony Awards.

Alan Bennett taught medieval history at the university for several years.

Alan Bennett turned to writing full time and gained acclaim with his plays at the Royal National Theatre.

The younger son of a Co-op butcher, Walter, and his wife, Lilian Mary, Alan Bennett attended Christ Church, Upper Armley, Church of England School, and then Leeds Modern School.

Alan Bennett learned Russian at the Joint Services School for Linguists during his national service before applying for a scholarship at Oxford University.

Alan Bennett was accepted by Exeter College, Oxford, and graduated with a first-class degree in history.

Alan Bennett remained at the university for several years, working as a junior lecturer of Medieval History at Magdalen College, before deciding, in 1960, that he was not suited to being an academic.

Alan Bennett wrote The Lady in the Van based on his experiences with an eccentric woman called Miss Shepherd, who lived on Alan Bennett's driveway in a series of dilapidated vans for more than fifteen years.

Alan Bennett adapted the story again for a 2015 film, with Maggie Smith reprising her role again, and Nicholas Hytner directing again.

Alan Bennett adapted his 1991 play The Madness of George III for the cinema.

In 1995 Alan Bennett wrote and hosted the three-part BBC documentary series The Abbey, directed by Jonathan Stedall.

Alan Bennett's critically acclaimed The History Boys won three Laurence Olivier Awards in 2005, for Best New Play, Best Actor, and Best Direction, having previously won Critics' Circle Theatre Awards and Evening Standard Awards for Best Actor and Best Play.

Alan Bennett received the Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Theatre.

Alan Bennett lived for 40 years on Gloucester Crescent in Camden Town, London, and in 2006 moved a few minutes' walk away to Primrose Hill with his partner Rupert Thomas, the former editor of The World of Interiors magazine.

Alan Bennett had a long-term relationship with his former housekeeper, Anne Davies, until her death in 2009.

Alan Bennett was raised Anglican and gradually "left it [the church] over the years".

In 1988, Alan Bennett declined the award of Commander of the Order of the British Empire and in 1996 declined a knighthood.

In September 2005, Alan Bennett revealed that, in 1997, he had undergone treatment for colorectal cancer and described the illness as a "bore".

Alan Bennett began Untold Stories thinking it would be published posthumously, but his cancer went into remission.

In October 2008, Alan Bennett announced that he was donating his entire archive of working papers, unpublished manuscripts, diaries and books to the Bodleian Library, stating that it was a gesture of thanks repaying a debt he felt he owed to the British welfare state that had given him educational opportunities which his humble family background would otherwise never have afforded.

In September 2015, Alan Bennett endorsed Jeremy Corbyn's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election.

For many years Alan Bennett has owned a cottage in Clapham in the Yorkshire Dales.

Alan Bennett was made an Honorary Fellow of Exeter College, Oxford, in 1987.

Alan Bennett declined a CBE in 1988 and a knighthood in 1996.

Alan Bennett has stated that, although he is not a republican, he would never wish to be knighted, saying it would be a bit like having to wear a suit for the rest of his life.

Alan Bennett said he "loosely" based The History Boys on his experiences at the school and his admission to Oxford.