Charles Dyer--actor, novelist, director, and playwright--is best known for two comedy-dramas Rattle of a Simple Man (1962) and Staircase (1966). Produced internationally during the 1960s and 1970s to considerable critical acclaim, both plays deal compassionately with lonely humans reaching out to each other for love and understanding.

Born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, Charles Raymond Dyer is the son of Florence Stretton Dyer and James Sydney Dyer, an actor. Dyer was educated at the Highlands Boys' School in Ilford, Essex, and at Queen Elizabeth's School in Barnet, Hertfordshire. In 1938 he became a callboy at the Hippodrome Theatre, Manchester. He served in the Royal Air Force from 1943 to 1947 and attained the rank of Flying Officer Navigator. On 7 July 1959, Dyer married Fiona Jean Thomson, an actress. They have three sons.

Dyer made his acting debut in 1947 as Lord Harpenden in Terence Rattigan's While the Sun Shines in Crewe, Cheshire. He has subsequently acted in...