John Henley Heathcote Williams was born in Helsby, Cheshire, England on November 15, 1941. He studied law at Christ Church, Oxford, but left without earning a degree. He was a poet, playwright, and actor who used every artistic means available to express his outrage at royal privilege, private property, environmental degradation, and numerous other targets. His first book, The Speakers, was published in 1964. His collections of poetry included Whale Nation, Sacred Elephant, Falling for a Dolphin, Autogeddon, Royal Babylon: The Case Against the Monarchy, and American Porn.
His plays included The Local Stigmatic, AC/DC, The Immortalist, and Remember the Truth Dentist. He also appeared in several movies including The Tempest, Wish You Were Here, Orlando, and Basic Instinct 2. He wrote the television drama What the Dickens!, about Charles Dickens's fondness for staging amateur magic shows for friends. It was broadcast on the BBC in 1983. He died from lung disease on July 1, 2017 at the age of 75.
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