John Osborne was born in Newcastle upon Tyne, England in 1930. He was educated at the local Grammar School and studied music and drama at the University of Manchester, where he wrote and performed in revues and musicals. He also performed in radio plays and recorded a single for the BBC Light Programme. Upon graduation, Osborne worked as an actor and singer before becoming a screenwriter
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He began writing scripts for television, but before long decided that screenwriting was not his true calling. In 1960, he turned to theatre again with a group of friends who founded the Northern Stage Company in Newcastle upon Tyne. He became its artistic director later that year, and remained so until the company closed in 1968.
The following year he became an actor-manager with his own production company, Redgrave's Productions. In 1971 he took over the management of the newly opened Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London, where he remained until 1984. During this period he directed and wrote over sixty productions for both London theatres.
He appeared on stage in London's West End from 1965 to 1976, playing many leading roles in Shakespearean tragedies such as Hamlet, Othello and Macbeth. In 1972 he joined Ellen Terry's Old Vic company which toured worldwide from 1973 to 1975, when it closed due to poor ticket sales. In 1984 he returned to acting with a major role in the film Murder by Decree at the request of director Anthony Hopkins.
In 1990 Osborne took a sabbatical from theatrical work in order to write his memoirs which went on to become a bestseller after being serialised by The Times Literary Supplement. It was published in book form under the title Fingersmith: The Novel That Changed My Life (2001) by Harper Collins Publishers Ltd., London.