Denis Cannan (born 14 May 1919) is a dramatist, playwright and script writer.
He is the son of novelist Joanna Cannan and Captain Harold J "Cappy" Pullein-Thompson. He is also the eldest brother of Josephine Pullein-Thompson, Diana Pullein-Thompson and Christine Pullein-Thompson. He is also related to the writer Gilbert Cannan and uncle to Charlotte Popescu. He is the nephew of the poet May Cannan.
Of his ancestry, his mother came from a Scottish family; Joanna Cannan's father's family came from Galloway, and her father, Charles Cannan, was Dean of Trinity College, Oxford. Charles Cannan was married to Mary Wedderburn the daughter of Andrew Wedderburn-Maxwell, laird of Middlebie and Glenlair. Denis Cannan's father's family, in contrast, were Yorkshire people with interesting links to Guy Fawkes and other Catholic Yorkshire gentry. Denis Cannan's father, Captain Harold J "Cappy" Pullein-Thompson, MC, was a professional soldier and rugby player for the Harlequins.
He was educated at Eton College, a complete contrast to his sisters, as they were mainly educated informally.
After attending Eton he worked as an actor, before joining the Queen's Royal Regiment of West Surrey when the Second World War broke out, rising to the rank of captain and being mentioned in dispatches. He then became a successful play and screenwriter.
Although born Denis Pullein-Thompson, in 1964 he changed his name by deed poll. He was married to Joan Ross, daughter of Captain T. W. Ross OBE of the Royal Australian Navy and Henrietta MacGregor. He has two sons and a daughter. The marriage was dissolved, and he later married Rose Evansky.
Apart from the plays listed below, he has written several screenplays for TV and radio, also adaptions for TV series. With Christopher Fry he adapted The Beggar's Opera for the 1953 film starring Laurence Olivier.
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