- Born
- Died
- Birth nameNorman Colin Dexter
- Born in Stamford, Lincolnshire, England, UK as Norman Colin Dexter, he was an English writer, best known for the Inspector Morse series of novels. His parents were Alfred and Dorothy Dexter, his father run a small taxi company. He had a brother, John, and a sister, Avril. He attended St. John's Infants School, Bluecoat Junior School, and then - gaining a scholarship - Stamford School. After graduation, Dexter served in the Royal Corps of Signals as his national service. He then studied Classics at Christ's College, Cambridge, which he graduated in 1953, followed by receiving a master's degree in 1958. He worked a teacher in various schools from 1954 to 1966, when an onset of deafness forced him to change jobs. He then worked as a senior assistant secretary at the University of Oxford Delegacy of Local Examinations until his retirement in 1988. In 1972 Dexter published his first mystery fiction book, entitled Last Bus to Woodstock. The book introduced the character of inspector Morse, who appeared in further 12 novels written by Dexter. In 1987 the first episode of a screen adaptation of the novels, Inspector Morse (1987), was aired. The show run for 7 seasons followed by 5 special episodes, the last one of which aired in 2000. It was followed by a spin-off entitled Inspector Lewis (2006) and a prequel entitled Endeavour (2012). Dexter was involved in the making of all these shows and had small cameos in most episodes. His writings received a number of awards from the Crime Writers' Association and in 2000 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to literature. He was married to Dorothy Cooper from 1956 until his death; they had daughter, Sally, and a son, Jeremy. Dexter died on 21 March 2017 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Evil_Herbivore
- SpouseDorothy Cooper(March 31, 1956 - March 21, 2017) (his death, 2 children)
- He became a close friend of Inspector Morse (1987) star John Thaw and admired his performance so much that he stated that while his estate owns the copyright to the Inspector Morse stories, which extends to 70 years after his own death, no other actor will be allowed to play the role on screen. However, Colin Baker was allowed to play the role for a stage production in 2010.
- Made a Hitchcock-like cameo appearance in all but three episodes of Inspector Morse (1987).
- He was diabetic, like the character Inspector Morse that he created.
- He drew on his own experiences of deafness in writing his novel "The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn".
- He studied classics at Cambridge University. He was a Latin and Greek teacher before moving to Oxford to become a full-time writer.
- I met Agatha Christie. People say she couldn't write, but I doubt they've read her beautiful autobiography. She had more imagination than the rest of us by far, misleading you from page one. Tremendous achievement. I've tried to do that in a way. But I can't stick some writers - Dorothy L. Sayers. Wouldn't have worried if she'd written nothing.
- Morse was popular because of his foibles.
- A huge part of Morse's attraction was John Thaw. Dear old John. So modest. He told me he couldn't understand his fame, that the only thing he could do better than anyone else was learn his lines.
- I think Morse, if he had really existed ...... would probably say to me, "Well, you didn't do me too bad a service in your writing." He might say "I wish you'd made me a slightly less miserable blighter and slightly more generous, and you could have painted me in a little bit of a better light." If he had bought me a drink, a large Glenfiddich or something, that would have been very nice, but knowing him I doubt he would have done - Lewis always bought all the drinks.
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