Obituaries - Nov. 9, 1999

* William Goodhart; Playwright, Filmmaker

William Malcolm Goodhart, 74, author of the Broadway comedy “Generation” who went on to become a filmmaker. Born in New Haven, Conn., and educated at Yale, Goodhart served in the Army during World War II. He began his career as a scenic artist and lighting designer, but had success with his first effort as a playwright when “Generation” opened in 1965. Henry Fonda starred as a father who is upset with the plans of his daughter and son-in-law to deliver their own baby. Goodhart adapted the play for the screen and David Janssen took the father’s role in the 1969 film version. Goodhart stayed on in Hollywood to become a writer and producer for Warner Bros. Among his screen credits is “Cloud Dancer,” released in 1980 starring David Carradine. On Oct. 20 on Shelter Island, N.Y., of heart disease.

* John Hadfield; Author of ‘Love on a Branch Line’

John Hadfield, 92, British author best known for his novel “Love on a Branch Line.” The Birmingham native spent most of his career in publishing, notably compiling literary anthologies, and for 21 years editing “The Saturday Book.” Among the anthologies published in limited editions by his Cupid Press were “Georgian Love Songs” in 1949, “A Book of Britain” in 1956, “A Book of Love” in 1958, “A Book of Joy” in 1962 and “Chamber of Horrors” in 1965. His 1952 anthology, “A Book of Beauty,” sold so well that he bought and restored the 16th century Barham Manor in England’s Suffolk County. Nearby, a light-rail line running between two obscure villages closed down, prompting Hadfield to explore the area’s wayof life and turn his observations into a novel. The result, “Love on a Branch Line,” was an immediate success when it was published in 1959 and again when it was reissued in 1988. The comic story involves a staid civil servant sent from London to report on a long-forgotten government research center set up in the stately home of an eccentric aristocrat, Lord Flamborough. The book was adapted for a four-part British Broadcasting Corp. television series in 1994. On Oct. 10 in London.