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Joe Orton

(1933-1967), Playwright

John Kingsley ('Joe') Orton

Sitter in 13 portraits
Playwright and actor; a pioneer of black farce, Joe Orton's plays include Entertaining Mr Sloane (1963) and Loot (1964-5, filmed 1970) and What the Butler Saw (1967); his other great works generally characterised by a stylish and macabre outrageousness; also wrote novels, three brief years of international fame were brought to a sudden end when he was murdered by his partner, Kenneth Halliwell, who subsequently committed suicide. Orton's plays The Ruffian on the Stair and The Erpingham Camp were first shown at the Royal Court in 1967, a few weeks before he was murdered, as a double bill under the title Crimes of Passion.

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Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
bromide print, 1965
NPG P512(16)

Joe Orton

by Patrick Procktor
pen and ink, 1967
NPG 6154

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
contact sheet, 1965
NPG x88372

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
contact sheet, 1965
NPG x88373

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
contact sheet, 1965
NPG x88374

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
contact sheet, 1965
NPG x88375

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
bromide print, 1965
NPG x24966

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
bromide fibre print, 1965
NPG x38490

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
resin print, 1965
NPG x18547

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
bromide fibre print, 1965
NPG x45226

Joe Orton

by John Haynes
platinum print, 1966
NPG x200699

'In' Group (Susannah York; Miranda Chiu; Sir Peter Frederic Chester Cook; Joe Orton; Michael Fish; Sir Tom Courtenay; Lucy Fleming; Twiggy

by Patrick Lichfield
archival inkjet print, 18 July 1967
NPG x128490

Joe Orton

by Lewis Morley
contact sheet, 1965
NPG x88373a

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Joe Orton

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