Posted on 05/18/2003 11:28:26 PM PDT by Timesink
LONDON, May 18 (AP) — Jeremy Sandford, whose 1967 television play "Cathy Come Home" made homelessness the subject of a national debate in Britain, died on Monday in Hatfield, north of London. He was 72.
The cause of death was not disclosed.
"Cathy Come Home," directed by Ken Loach, told of an impoverished couple who become homeless. The social workers they meet are shown as unfeeling and unhelpful, and they remove the children from their distraught mother.
The film resulted in some local authorities' discontinuing their policy of separating poor families. The play and the ensuing debate led to the creation of the British charity organization Shelter.
Mr. Sandford's 1971 play, "Edna, the Inebriate Woman," a companion piece to "Cathy Come Home," followed the progress of a vagrant through the hostels of London.
The son of a printer, Mr. Sandford attended Eton College and Oxford University, then began writing radio plays.
In the 1950's and early 60's he made short documentaries for British Broadcasting Corporation radio, including one that looked at the overworked, poorly paid staff at London's luxurious Savoy Hotel.
Inspired by his Anglo-Irish grandmother, who was a member of the Gypsy Lore Society, he also campaigned for the rights of British Gypsies and edited their occasional newsletter, Romano Drom. In 1973 he published "Gypsies," a collection of firsthand accounts of Romany life.
He is survived by his second wife, Philippa, and three sons from his first marriage.
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