The Naked Civil Servant is the first volume of an autobiography by the gay icon Quentin Crisp. It was later turned into a television movie starring John Hurt, which was also titled The Naked Civil Servant. The book started life as a radio interview with Crisp in 1964 conducted by his friend and fellow eccentric, Philip O'Connor, which was heard by the then managing director of Jonathan Cape, commissioned by him, and which was published in 1968. It only sold 3,500 copies when first released but became a success after a re-publication once the television version was shown.