Beverley Cross

Playwright and screenwriter Beverley Cross is best remembered for launching the illustrious career of actress Dame Maggie Smith. The son of an actress and a theater manager, Cross wrote his first play in the late '50s. His second play, STRIP THE WILLOW (1960), starred a young Maggie Smith, and while it only played regionally outside of London, her performance garnered her good reviews that would lead to her being a staple of British stage and screen. Cross' screenplays include JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963), GHENGIS KAHN (1965) and CLASH OF THE TITANS (1981).