Biography: Steven John Peter Spears (22 January 1951 – 16 October 2007) was an Australian playwright, actor, writer and singer. His most famous work was The Elocution of Benjamin Franklin (1976). He was cited as "one of Australia's most celebrated playwrights". Spears studied law at the University of Adelaide, but through writing and performing student revues, was distracted into a career in the theatre. Spears died in Aldinga, South Australia, from brain cancer in 2007. He was 56.