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- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Ackland studied for the stage at the Central School of Speech Training and Dramatic Art in London, England. He made his stage debut in 1924 at the Gate Theatre. Spent several years acting before turning to the cinema. His first screenwriting success came with his collaboration on Bank Holiday in 1938. His career was split between screen writing and his favoured medium of stage acting.- Director
- Production Manager
- Producer
Born in England on Christmas Day, 1905, Lewis Allen first came on the show-biz scene when he was appointed executive in charge of West End and Broadway stage productions for famed impresario Gilbert Miller. Allen also co-directed some of the productions (including the celebrated "Victoria Regina" with Helen Hayes and Vincent Price) before he was lured to Hollywood by Paramount studio head Buddy G. DeSylva. The Uninvited (1944), based on Dorothy Macardle's best-selling novel, made for an auspicious directing debut; its success prompted an immediate follow-up, the suspense thriller The Unseen (1945) (with a script by Raymond Chandler). Otherwise, his filmography leans heavily toward "tough guy" movies of the Alan Ladd-George Raft-Edward G. Robinson school. Allen also directed much TV (Perry Mason (1957), The Big Valley (1965), Mission: Impossible (1966), Little House on the Prairie (1974), many more).- Writer
- Director
- Sound Department
Anna Ambrose was born on 28 September 1944 in London, England, UK. She was a writer and director, known for Phoelix (1979), Honour, Profit & Pleasure (1985) and Alan Bush: A Life (1983). She died on 18 May 1985 in London, England, UK.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Julian Amyes was born on 9 August 1917 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Jane Eyre (1983), BBC Sunday-Night Theatre (1950) and Danger Man (1960). He was married to Anne Allan. He died on 26 April 1992 in London, England, UK.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Actor
London-born Michael Anderson began his career in films as an office boy at Elstree studios. By 1938, he had progressed up the ladder to become assistant director for distinguished film makers Noël Coward, David Lean and Anthony Asquith. Shortly after, during wartime with the Royal Signals Corps (Army Kinematograph Service), Anderson made the acquaintance of Peter Ustinov. Upon demobilisation, the 24-year old up-and-coming director secured the release from the military of his 'favourite corporal' and mentor to work as first assistant on Secret Flight (1946) and Vice Versa (1948). For Ustinov's third venture, Private Angelo (1949), Anderson both co-directed and co-wrote the screenplay, but the picture that first put him on the map was to be the patriotic wartime drama The Dam Busters (1955), based on true events. Britain's most successful film of 1955, in turn, led to Anderson being hired by Mike Todd to direct the all-star blockbuster Around the World in 80 Days (1956). A hugely popular box-office hit and winner of five Academy Awards, it elevated Anderson into the realm of more ambitious international productions.
His strong visual style -- in no small way complemented by a fruitful and long-standing collaboration with the cinematographer Erwin Hillier -- became ideally suited for suspenseful thrillers and action subjects like Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958), the sub-Hitchcockian psychological whodunnit The Naked Edge (1961) or the underrated maritime drama The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959) (based on a novel by Hammond Innes and originally intended for Alfred Hitchcock who went on to do North by Northwest (1959) instead). Another little gem is the intricately plotted spy thriller The Quiller Memorandum (1966), tautly directed and noteworthy for supremely well captured Berlin exteriors (a familiarity which stemmed from Anderson having spent some of his early childhood in Berlin and Hillier having worked at Ufa in the 20s before collaborating on Fritz Lang's classic thriller M (1931)). According to Hillier, Anderson also had a reputation for being "superb at handling actors". This is reflected in his films which have often featured big name stars like Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Laurence Olivier or Alec Guinness.
Moving into science fiction, Anderson made style triumph over content with his (for the time) expensively made dystopian thriller Logan's Run (1976). Though not a big success with critics, the picture won at the box office and helped MGM out of its financial doldrums. Also in this genre, but with less distinction, Anderson directed Millennium (1989) and a miniseries, The Martian Chronicles (1980). A foray into the world of comic strip heroes, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (1975), proved to be one of his rare failures. His more recent work of note has included the Gemini Award-winning TV movie Young Catherine (1991), based on the early life of Russia's Catherine the Great. Vanessa Redgrave, who played Empress Elizabeth, was also nominated for a Primetime Emmy in the Supporting Actress category.
In 1957, Anderson received the Silver Medallion for outstanding work from the Screen Director's Guild of America and was in 2012 also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Directors Guild of Canada. A Canadian resident since the 1970s, Anderson passed away at his home on the Canadian Sunshine Coast in British Columbia on April 25 2018 at the age of 98.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
A former salesman and journalist, Ken Annakin got into the film industry making documentary shorts. His feature debut, Holiday Camp (1947), was a comedy about a Cockney family on vacation. It was made for the Rank Organization and was a modest success, spawning three sequels, all of which he directed. He worked steadily thereafter, mainly in light comedies. One of his more atypical films was the dark thriller Across the Bridge (1957), based on a Graham Greene story about a wealthy businessman who embezzles a million dollars from his company, kills a man who resembles him and steals his identity so he can escape to Mexico. It boasted an acclaimed performance by Rod Steiger as the villain and a distinct "noir" feel to it, unlike anything Annakin had done before (or, for that matter, since).
In the 1960s he was one of several British directors--e.g., Guy Green, John Guillermin--who specialized in turning out all-star, splashy, big-budget European/American co-productions, shot on the Continent. He was one of the directors of the epic World War II spectacle The Longest Day (1962) and went solo on Battle of the Bulge (1965), both of which were financial--if not exactly critical--successes. He also directed Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965), which was less successful. His final film was Genghis Khan: The Story of a Lifetime, a film that was started in 1992 under Annakin's direction but never completed. In 2009 it was restarted again and Annakin was hired to assemble the existing footage for release, but died before completing the job. Italian director Antonio Margheriti finished up and the film was released in 2010.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Paul Annett was born on 19 February 1937 in London, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Emmerdale Farm (1972), Partners in Crime (1983) and Dead of Night (1972). He was married to Margo Andrew. He died on 11 December 2017.- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Michael Apted was born on 10 February 1941 in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Amazing Grace (2006), Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Rome (2005). He was married to Paige Simpson, Dana Stevens and Jo Apted. He died on 7 January 2021 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Albert H. Arch was born on 20 June 1894 in Chesterton, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Piccadilly Nights (1930). He died in 1969 in Wokingham, Berkshire, England, UK.- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Jane Arden was born in Wales in 1927 and left for London in her teens.
She trained at RADA and quickly began working as an actress and playwright. It was there that she met her future husband, Philip Saville, who is now perhaps most known for his work Boys from the Blackstuff (1982) and The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986). They had 2 children, Sebastian Saville and Dominic Saville and one step- child, Elizabeth Saville.
Jane Arden's plays include The Thug (1959) which starred Alan Bates, The Party (1958) which was directed by Charles Laughton and gave Albert Finney his first role in the theatre, Post Mortem (1999), _The New Communion For Freaks, Prophets and Witches (1999)_, The Illusionist (1983) and Vagina Rex and the Gas Oven (1969).
Jane Arden began tracing female oppression in 1966 when she wrote a script for the film The Logic Game (1965). It was described as a "surrealist puzzle" attempting to locate the isolation of women in the context of bourgeois marriage.
Arden's film career includes her original script and her performance in Separation (1968), which featured the song "Salad Days" by Procol Harum and was directed by Jane Arden's collaborator Jack Bond. In this film, women's' exploitation was exposed as their personal dilemma began to take on a political context.
Arden formed the feminist theatre group "Holocaust" and then wrote a play with the same name. In 1972, she adapted and directed this for the cinema as The Other Side of Underneath (1972).
Before her involvement with the Women's Liberation Movement, she appeared on TV talk programmes like Not So Much a Programme, More a Way of Life (1964) as a speaker on women and politics. As an actress, she was best known for her performance as "Inez" in a BBC-TV production of Jean-Paul Sartre Huis clos (1965), opposite Harold Pinter as "Garcia".
Two more films, both co-directed with Jack Bond, followed in the later 1970s, the experimental Vibration (1974), made in the USA in 1974, and Anti-Clock (1979) which opened the 1979 London Film Festival. It was the fist film to use video techniques in an experimental way. Her poetry books include "You Don't Know What You Want, Do You?". Jane Arden committed suicide on Dec. 20, 1982 in North Yorkshire and is buried in Darlington West Cemetary. She was 55 years old.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
John Argyle was born on 6 March 1911 in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for The Last Tide (1931), The Final Reckoning (1932) and The Green Finger (1946). He died on 9 December 1962 in Salisbury, Rhodesia [now Harare, Zimbabwe].- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Former journalist and film critic Leslie Arliss began his film career as a screenwriter in the 1930s, mainly for Gainsborough Pictures. He continued as a writer for ten years, leaving Gainsborough in 1941 when he was offered a chance to direct at Associated British. It wasn't long before he returned to Gainsborough and brought with him a young actor named James Mason, and the films they made together there garnered both of them public recognition. Their first, The Man in Grey (1943), was quite popular with wartime audiences, who found Mason's villainy just what they needed to hiss at during the depths of the war. Their next two films together, A Lady Surrenders (1944) and The Wicked Lady (1945), were also wildly successful, especially the latter with star Margaret Lockwood gaining attention for her appearance in a succession of low-cut (for 1945) dresses. It became the #1 box-office film in Britain for 1946.
Arliss then left Gainsborough for London Films, producer Alexander Korda's company; unfortunately, his tenure there was anything but productive. He and Korda did not get along at all and fought constantly (he was taken off of Korda's Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948), which was completed by Anthony Kimmins--and even Korda himself--but to no avail; it was one of the major flops of 1948). Arliss left London Films under less-than-amicable conditions and it was three years before he made another film. His latter work was a considerable step down in quality from his earlier films, and he wound up his career directing television.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Michael Armstrong was born on 24 July 1944 in Bolton, Lancashire, England, UK. He is a writer and director, known for House of the Long Shadows (1983), Mark of the Devil (1970) and Horror House (1969).- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Director
- Production Manager
British director Robert Asher began his film career in 1934 as an assistant director, and in that capacity worked with such directors as Roy Ward Baker and Anthony Pelissier. He became a director in 1959 with the Norman Wisdom comedy Follow a Star (1959). He and Wisdom were a good team, and Asher shot several more Wisdom comedies before making his last one with the comedian, Press for Time (1966). By this time film projects were harder and harder for Asher to come by, and he turned to television, directing episodes of such fondly remembered shows as Patrick McGoohan's classic The Prisoner (1967).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
British film director Anthony Asquith was born on November 9, 1902, to H.H. Asquith, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and his second wife. A former home secretary and the future leader of the Liberal Party, H.H. Asquith served as prime minister of the United Kingdom from 1908-1916 and was subsequently elevated to the hereditary peerage. His youngest child, Anthony, was called Puffin by his family, a nickname given him by his mother, who thought he resembled one. Puffin was also the name his friends called him throughout his life.
Asquith was active in the British film industry from the late silent period until the mid-1960s. As a director he was highly respected by his contemporaries and had a long and successful career; by the 1960s he was one of only three British directors (the others being David Lean and Carol Reed) who were directing major international motion picture productions. However, Asquith's proclivity for adapting plays for the screen caused an erosion in his critical reputation as a filmmaker after his death. He was faulted for what was perceived as his failure to focus, like his contemporary Alfred Hitchcock, on the cinematic. Asquith was known as an actor's director, and solicited some of the finest film performances from Britain's greatest actors, including Edith Evans and Michael Redgrave.
Although Asquith's first love was music, he lacked musical talent. He channeled his artistic ambitions toward the nascent motion picture, and was instrumental in the formation of the London Film Society to promote artistic appreciation of film. Asquith traveled to Hollywood in the 1920s to observe American film production techniques, and after returning to England, he became a director.
Among his best-known films is Pygmalion (1938), an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw's stage play, which he co-directed with its star, Leslie Howard. The film was a major critical success, even in the United States, winning multiple Academy Award nominations. Nobel Prize-winner Shaw, who had been a co-founder of the London Film Society along with Asquith, won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay for the film. Asquith had a long professional association with playwright Terence Rattigan, and two of Asquith's most famous and successful pictures were based on Rattigan plays, The Winslow Boy (1948) and The Browning Version (1951). Asquith directed the screen version of Rattigan's first successful play, French Without Tears (1940), in 1940.
Asquith's most successful postwar film was, arguably, his adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play The Importance of Being Earnest (1952). More than a half-century after it was made, Asquith's film remains the best adaptation of Wilde's work. Ironically, Asquith's father H.H., while serving as Home Secretary, ordered Wilde's arrest for his homosexual behavior. Wilde's arrest, for "indecent behavior", led to his incarceration in the Reading jail and destroyed the great playwright, personally. The Wilde incident stifled gay culture in Britain for the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Another irony of the situation is that H.H.'s youngest son, Anthony, himself was gay.
By the 1960s Asquith was directing Hollywood-style all-star productions, including the episodic The Yellow Rolls-Royce (1964), once again from a screenplay by Rattigan, and the Richard Burton-Elizabeth Taylor potboiler The V.I.P.s (1963), also with a screenplay by Rattigan. It is based in an incident in the life of Laurence Olivier, a frequent Asquith collaborator. In 1967 Asquith was tipped to direct the big-screen adaptation of the best-selling novel The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968) set to co-star Olivier and Anthony Quinn, but he had to drop out of the production due to ill heath. He died on February 20, 1968, at the age of 65.
The British Academy Award for best music is named the Anthony Asquith Award in his honor.- Sound Department
- Editor
- Editorial Department
Jim Atkinson was born on 5 August 1934 in Yeovilton, Somerset, England, UK. He was an editor, known for Deliverance (1972), Get Carter (1971) and Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). He was married to Valerie St Helens. He died on 29 May 1995 in Streatham, London, England, UK.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Richard Attenborough, Baron Attenborough of Richmond-upon-Thames, was born in Cambridge, England, the son of Mary (née Clegg), a founding member of the Marriage Guidance Council, and Frederick Levi Attenborough, a scholar and academic administrator who was a don at Emmanuel College and wrote a standard text on Anglo-Saxon law. The family later moved to Leicester where his father was appointed Principal of the university while Richard was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School for Boys in Leicester and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
His film career began with a role as a deserting sailor in In Which We Serve (1942), a part that contributed to his being typecast for many years as a coward in films like Dulcimer Street (1948), Operation Disaster (1950) and his breakthrough role as a psychopathic young gangster in the film adaptation of Graham Greene's novel, Brighton Rock (1948). During World War II, Attenborough served in the Royal Air Force.
He worked prolifically in British films for the next 30 years, and in the 1950s appeared in several successful comedies for John Boulting and Roy Boulting, including Private's Progress (1956) and I'm All Right Jack (1959). Early in his stage career, Attenborough starred in the London West End production of Agatha Christie's "The Mousetrap", which went on to become one of the world's longest-running stage productions. Both he and his wife were among the original cast members of the production, which opened in 1952 and (as of 2007) is still running.
In the 1960s, he expanded his range of character roles in films such as Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) and Guns at Batasi (1964), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the regimental Sergeant Major. He appeared in the ensemble cast of The Great Escape (1963), as Squadron Leader "Roger Bartlett" ("Big X"), the head of the escape committee.
In 1967 and 1968, he won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards in the category of Best Supporting Actor, the first time for The Sand Pebbles (1966), starring Steve McQueen, and the second time for Doctor Dolittle (1967), starring Rex Harrison. He would win another Golden Globe for Best Director, for Gandhi (1982), in 1983. Six years prior to "Gandhi", he played the ruthless "Gen. Outram" in Indian director Satyajit Ray's period piece, The Chess Players (1977). He has never been nominated for an Academy Award in an acting category.
He took no acting roles following his appearance in Otto Preminger's The Human Factor (1979), until his appearance as the eccentric developer "John Hammond" in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993). The following year, he starred as "Kris Kringle" in Miracle on 34th Street (1994), a remake of the 1947 classic. Since then, he has made occasional appearances in supporting roles, including the historical drama, Elizabeth (1998), as "Sir William Cecil".
In the late 1950s, Attenborough formed a production company, "Beaver Films", with Bryan Forbes and began to build a profile as a producer on projects, including The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Whistle Down the Wind (1961), also appearing in the first two of these as an actor.
His feature film directorial debut was the all-star screen version of the hit musical, Oh! What a Lovely War (1969), and his acting appearances became more sporadic - the most notable being his portrayal of serial killer "John Christie" in 10 Rillington Place (1971). He later directed two epic period films: Young Winston (1972), based on the early life of Winston Churchill, and A Bridge Too Far (1977), an all-star account of Operation Market Garden in World War II. He won the 1982 Academy Award for Directing for his historical epic, Gandhi (1982), a project he had been attempting to get made for many years. As the film's producer, he also won the Academy Award for Best Picture. His most recent films, as director and producer, include Chaplin (1992), starring Robert Downey Jr. as Charles Chaplin, and Shadowlands (1993), based on the relationship between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham. Both films starred Anthony Hopkins, who also appeared in three other films for Attenborough: "Young Winston", "A Bridge Too Far" and the thriller, Magic (1978).
Attenborough also directed the screen version of the hit Broadway musical, "A Chorus Line" (A Chorus Line (1985)), and the apartheid drama, Cry Freedom (1987), based on the experiences of Donald Woods. He was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Director for both films. His most recent film as director was another biographical film, Grey Owl (1999), starring Pierce Brosnan.
Attenborough is the President of RADA, Chairman of Capital Radio, President of BAFTA, President of the Gandhi Foundation, and President of the British National Film and Television School. He is also a vice patron of the Cinema and Television Benevolent Fund.
He is also the patron of the UWC movement (United World Colleges), whereby he continually contributes greatly to the colleges that are part of the organization. He has frequented the United World College of Southern Africa(UWCSA) Waterford Kamhlaba. His wife and he founded the "Richard and Sheila Attenborough Visual Arts Center". He also founded the "Jane Holland Creative Center for Learning" at Waterford Kamhlaba in Swaziland in memory of his daughter, who died in the Tsunami on Boxing Day, 2004. He passionately believes in education, primarily education that does not judge upon color, race, creed or religion. His attachment to Waterford is his passion for non-racial education, which were the grounds on which Waterford Kamhlaba was founded. Waterford was one of his inspirations for directing Cry Freedom (1987), based on the life of Steve Biko.
He was elected to the post of Chancellor of the University of Sussex on 20 March 1998, replacing the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. A lifelong supporter of Chelsea Football Club, Attenborough served as a director of the club from 1969-1982 and, since 1993, has held the honorary position of Life Vice President. He is also the head of the consortium, "Dragon International", which is constructing a film and television studio complex in Llanilid, Wales, often referred to as "Valleywood".
In 1967, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). He was knighted in 1976 and, in 1993, he was made a life peer as Baron Attenborough, of Richmond-upon-Thames in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.
On 13 July 2006, Attenborough and his brother, David Attenborough, were awarded the titles of Distinguished Honorary Fellows of the University of Leicester "in recognition of a record of continuing distinguished service to the University". Lord Attenborough is also listed as an Honorary Fellow of Bangor University for his continued efforts to film making.
Attenborough has been married to English actress Sheila Sim, since 1945. They had three children. In December 2004, his elder daughter, Jane Holland, as well as her daughter Lucy and her mother-in-law, also named Jane, were killed in the tsunami caused by the Indian Ocean earthquake. A memorial service was held on 8 March 2005, and Attenborough read a lesson at the national memorial service on 11 May 2005. His grandson, Samuel Holland, and granddaughter, Alice Holland, also read in the service.
Attenborough's father was principal of University College, Leicester, now the city's university. This has resulted in a long association with the university, with Lord Attenborough a patron. A commemorative plaque was placed on the floor of Richmond Parish Church. The university's "Richard Attenborough Centre for Disability and the Arts", which opened in 1997, is named in his Honor.
His son, Michael Attenborough, is also a director. He has two younger brothers, the famous naturalist Sir David Attenborough and John Attenborough, who has made a career in the motor trade.
He has collected Pablo Picasso ceramics since the 1950s. More than 100 items went on display at the New Walk Museum and Art Gallery in Leicester in 2007; the exhibition is dedicated to his family members lost in the tsunami.- Director
- Stunts
- Producer
Prolific director of episodic television, born in London and educated at Brighton College. The athletic Austin began his career as a stunt man, his first screen credit being Martin Landau 's stunt double in the famous Mount Rushmore scene in North by Northwest (1959) (he was also said to have sidelined as Cary Grant's chauffeur). Having moved up to stunt coordinator, Austin began to direct action sequences from the early 60s. He also appeared sporadically on the screen as a small part supporting player. From 1968, he worked primarily as a full director with occasional forays into script writing and production. Due to his previous background in stunt work, Austin always maintained a predilection for action/fight scenes which featured prominently throughout much of his work on iconic series like The Avengers (1961), The Saint (1962), Department S (1969), Space: 1999 (1975) and The Professionals (1977).
Austin was the holder of a feudal hereditary Irish title as Baron DeVere-Austin of Delvin. His first two marriages having ended in divorce, Austin remarried again in 1984. His third wife was the English novelist Wendy DeVere-Knight-Wilton. In the 80s, the couple moved from Britain to settle on an estate in rural Virginia. Austin continued working as a TV director in the U.S. until 1999, in addition lecturing on film and television at UCLA, the London Film School and other institutions. He had latterly also published several mystery and espionage-themed novels.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
English-born "Army brat" John Badham is the son of English actress Mary Hewitt and the stepson of an American Army general. Raised in Alabama and schooled at Yale, he cut his teeth producing and directing for TV before making his feature debut with The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars & Motor Kings (1976). Badham's breakthrough credit was the box office smash Saturday Night Fever (1977), made the following year; other hits on his resume include Blue Thunder (1983), WarGames (1983), and Short Circuit (1986).- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Writer
Teddy Baird was born on 9 September 1901 in London, England, UK. He was an assistant director and producer, known for School for Danger (1947), Five Angles on Murder (1950) and The Winslow Boy (1948). He died on 23 March 1975.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Graham Baker was born in November 1938 in Woolwich, London, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Alien Nation (1988), Leaving Lily (1975) and Beowulf (1999). He has been married to Annabel Jane Cameron since 1981.- Producer
- Additional Crew
- Writer
London-born Robert S. Baker served as an artilleryman in the British army during World War II, posted to North Africa (where he met future partner Monty Berman), and later joined the army's film and photography unit, becoming a combat cameraman in Europe. At war's end he and Berman formed Tempean Films to make movies, their first being a Terry-Thomas / Norman Wisdom comedy, Date with a Dream (1948). The company churned out a string of lower-budget "B" pictures, including comedies, mysteries and thrillers, many of them directed by Baker. In 1959 they made a somewhat edgier film than their usual fare, Jack the Ripper (1959), a fictionalized account of the notorious Whitechapel serial killer. The next year they came out with an even grittier crime thriller, The Siege of Sidney Street (1960), about a real-life 1911 shootout between police and a gang of Russian criminals in east London. They next turned out The Hellfire Club (1961), an anemic "adventure" film, which was followed by The Secret of Monte Cristo (1961), one of the lesser entries in the string of pictures based on the classic Alexandre Dumas novel.
Berman and Baker concentrated on television in the 1960s, their main project being as producers of The Saint (1962) series. Baker later joined Gideon C.I.D. (1964) as a producer. When that series ended Baker and "The Saint" star Roger Moore formed Bamore Productions, which produced a feature spin-off of that series, The Fiction-Makers (1968), and then the Moore / Tony Curtis "crimerighting playboys" series The Persuaders! (1971). Baker later produced the series Return of the Saint (1978) and Return to Treasure Island (1986).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Additional Crew
Roy Ward Baker's first job in films was as a teaboy at the Gainsborough Studios in London, England, but within three years he was working as an assistant director. During World War II, he worked in the Army Kinematograph Unit under Eric Ambler, a writer and film producer, who, after the war, gave Baker his first opportunity to direct a film, The October Man (1947). He then went to Hollywood in 1952 and stayed for seven years, returning to Britain in 1958, when he directed one of his best films, A Night to Remember (1958). During the 1960s and 1970s, Baker directed a number of horror films for Hammer and Amicus. He also directed in British television, especially during the latter part of his career.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
A legendary figure in British film distribution of the 1960s and 1970s, Antony Balch was renowned for buying up European art/exploitation films and giving them catchy new English titles ("Weird Weirdo", "Don't Deliver Us From Evil"), as well as being responsible for the legendary sound version of Benjamin Christensen's silent documentary classic Häxan (1922), where the intertitles were replaced with a commentary by Balch's friend William S. Burroughs, with whom he started his film career with the shorts Towers Open Fire (1966) and The Cut Ups (1966), both extensions of Burroughs' writing technique. Balch's only two features were the surreal Burroughs-influenced Bizarre (1970) and the comedy Horror Hospital (1973).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Geoffrey Barkas was born on 27 August 1896 in Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for King Solomon's Mines (1937), The Lumberjack (1925) and Palaver (1926). He was married to Natalie Barkas. He died on 3 September 1979 in Esher, Surrey, England, UK.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
- Director
Arthur Barnes was born in 1886. He was an assistant director and production manager, known for The Chinese Bungalow (1930), Whispering Smith vs. Scotland Yard (1952) and The Ghost Camera (1933). He died in 1956 in Westminster, London, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Charles Barnett is known for A Daughter of the Night: Psalm 69 (1927), Memories: Psalm 46 (1927) and The Shepherd: Psalm 23 (1927).- Cinematographer
- Director
- Editor
Ivan Barnett was born on 25 January 1925 in Hastings, East Sussex, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Robbery with Violence (1958), The Fall of the House of Usher (1950) and Courtin' Trouble (1958). He was married to Susan. He died on 13 September 2013 in Treliske, Cornwall, England, UK.- Script and Continuity Department
- Director
- Additional Crew
Zelda Barron was born on 31 March 1929 in Manchester, England, UK. She was a director, known for Secret Places (1984), Bulworth (1998) and Monty Python's and Now for Something Completely Different (1971). She was married to Ron Barron. She died on 14 August 2006 in England, UK.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Joy Batchelor was born on 22 May 1914 in Watford, Hertfordshire, England, UK. She was a producer and director, known for Animal Farm (1954), New Schools (1947) and Ruddigore (1966). She was married to John Halas. She died on 14 May 1991 in London, England, UK.- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Roy Battersby was born on 20 April 1936 in Willesden, London, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Red Mercury (2005), The Home Front (1983) and Winter Flight (1984). He was married to Judy Loe and Audrey Chaney. He died on 10 January 2024 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
- Producer
- Additional Crew
A maker of unpretentious working class comedies and musicals, John Baxter had started his career as a music hall performer himself and would later gravitate toward vehicles for the charming popular WWII duo Flanagan and Allen as well as the low brow transvestite humor of Old Mother Riley. He made, however,an unusual number of studies of the hardships of the poor, such as his masterful 1941 adaptation of Walter Greenwood's Depression drama Love On The Dole. In such works, still awaiting proper rediscovery by viewers and critics, he displayed, to borrow the title of another of his films, a genuine "Common Touch" .His genuine sensitivity toward the proletariat shows in comparison how patronizing, condescending, and phony the more well known visions of the so called "little people" are in Hollywood populist successes such as those of Frank Capra.- Director
- Producer
- Actress
Buckinghamshire-born Gabrielle Amanda Beaumont was the first woman to make a groundbreaking impact in Hollywood as a prolific director of episodic prime-time television. She worked on some of the most popular TV shows of the 80s and 90s, including M*A*S*H (1972), Dynasty (1981), Cagney & Lacey (1981), Hill Street Blues (1981), Miami Vice (1984), L.A. Law (1986) and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993). She also became the first female director in charge of Star Trek episodes, working on Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) (including Booby Trap and Face of the Enemy, both ranking among the best of the series), as well as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995).
Beaumont's family was steeped in the arts and entertainment. Her father, Gabriel Toyne, was a master swordsman, an actor, poet and stunt man. Her mother, Diana Beaumont, was a leading lady in British films and an accomplished comedienne on the West End stage. A great-uncle was the noted thespian Sir Gerald du Maurier, more famous today as the author of the novel Svengali.
Gabrielle started out as a juvenile stage actress, debuting in a 1948 touring production of Peter Pan. She then spent five years with the ensemble of a repertory theatre company in London, appearing in classic plays like Billy Liar, Saint Joan and Five Finger Exercise. She had graduated to stage direction before joining the BBC as an editor, quickly working her way up the ladder to assistant director, production manager and producer. Having produced/directed and worked as occasional writer on several BBC documentaries and a couple of horror films, Beaumont travelled to Los Angeles in 1980 in search of new challenges. Hired by producer Aaron Spelling, she began her American sojourn by directing an episode of Vega$ (1978). She remained gainfully employed in Hollywood for the next two decades. Beaumont was a member of the Directors Guild of America, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Beaumont retired to Fornalutx, a municipality on the Spanish island of Mallorca where she spent the last two decades of her life. She was formerly married to the actor and writer Olaf Pooley and to the cinematographer Michael J. Davis, both of whom predeceased her.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Cinematographer
Terry Bedford was born in September 1943 in London, England, UK. Terry is a director and assistant director, known for Slayground (1983), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and The New Adventures of Robin Hood (1997).- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Born just before the century turned, Charles Bennett made his writing debut as a child in 1911, fought in France during World War I while still a teen and resumed his acting career after the war's end. In 1926 he dropped acting to concentrate on being a playwright, later turning one of his most famous plays, "Blackmail," into a screenplay for production under the direction of Alfred Hitchcock. The affiliation with "Hitch" continued into the early 1940s, by which time both Bennett and the director were working in Hollywood. He wrote for producers ranging from Cecil B. DeMille to Irwin Allen to the penny-pinching folks at AIP. "If I couldn't write, I wouldn't want to live," commented Bennett, who had projects (including a remake of "Blackmail") going right up to the time of his death.- Writer
- Director
- Editor
Compton Bennett started out as a bandleader and then became a commercial artist. He turned out a few amateur films that caught the attention of producer Alexander Korda's London Films, and they hired him in 1932 as a film editor. During World War II he directed a few instructional films for the British military and some propaganda shorts for the general public. His feature debut as a director was The Seventh Veil (1945), which was a big success. MGM took note, and he was brought to Hollywood to make films for them. The films he made there weren't particularly well-received--his most successful, King Solomon's Mines (1950), was lauded mainly for its impressive action scenes, which were in fact directed not by Bennett but by Andrew Marton, who received co-director credit--and he returned to Britain a few years later. While there he divided his time between films and television, with an occasional foray into directing theatrical productions. In 1957 he turned out two well-received films, After the Ball (1957) and The Mailbag Robbery (1957). He made his last feature in 1960 and, apart from an occasional foray into television, retired. He died in London in 1974.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Edward Bennett was born in 1950 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, UK. He is a director and writer, known for Ascendancy (1983), Bye Bye Baby (1992) and Waking the Dead (2000).- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Thomas Bentley was born on 23 February 1884 in St George Hanover Square, London, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for After Office Hours (1932), Barnaby Rudge (1915) and The Lackey and the Lady (1919). He died on 23 December 1966 in Bournemouth, England, UK.- Producer
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Monty Berman was a producer of popular action series for ITC in the 1960's and early 70's. He was born Nestor Montague Berman to Jewish parents in the poor Whitechapel district of London. After completing his education at the University College School, he joined the small Twickenham Studio as a camera assistant in 1922. Following a lengthy apprenticeship, he became a fully-fledged cinematographer with ABPC in 1935, but was able to secure assignments on just two films prior to the outbreak of World War II. During the war, he served in North Africa, Italy and Germany with the Eighth Army Film and Photographic Unit, forming a friendship with a fellow cameraman and amateur film maker named Robert S. Baker. Berman and Baker combined forces in 1948 to establish a production company for low-budget features, Tempean Films. In the course of the next thirteen years, Berman worked in the dual capacity of producer and cinematographer on more than thirty films, invariably shot on location in or around London and often featuring American stars in the twilight of their careers.
Most of their early endeavours were unambitious dramas or sub-film noir crime stories, which attracted neither critical attention, nor made much money. This began to change once Berman and Baker tapped into the horror market in an attempt to emulate the success of Hammer. Securing the services of writer Jimmy Sangster, they made several well-received films in the genre, including Blood of the Vampire (1958), The Crawling Eye (1958), Jack the Ripper (1959) (their biggest hit to date, which Berman also directed) and The Flesh and the Fiends (1960) (a variation on the Burke & Hare story). Aware of the economic potential of television, Berman concentrated exclusively on production after 1961. Having acquired the rights to Leslie Charteris's popular creation Simon Templar, Berman and Baker succeeded in securing finance via Lew Grade's ITC to produce The Saint (1962). Launching Roger Moore to stardom and endowed with a respectable budget of 30,000 pounds per episode, the series became one of the mega hits of the 60's and has long since acquired cult status.
After "The Saint", the Berman-Baker partnership came to an end. Berman subsequently worked as solo producer on another show, The Baron (1966), which worked on a similar premise, albeit with an American star. He then formed a new association with the writer Dennis Spooner, co-founding Scoton Productions in 1968. Based at Elstree, they created first The Champions (1968), a series about intelligence operatives with telepathic and various other extrasensory abilities. That was followed by two superior shows, Department S (1969) and My Partner the Ghost (1969), shot side-by-side at the same facilities, using the same crew, sets, props, and extras. Though economically made with much usage of stock footage and recycled scripts, both series fared even better over the years than at the time of their original release. One of the stars of the former, Peter Wyngarde, became something of a cult figure as the effete, but debonair adventurer/novelist Jason King. However, an attempt to centre a new spoof series based on his character proved unsuccessful and was let down by poor production values and unimaginative scripts. A subsequent endeavour, The Adventurer (1972), featuring another fading American star, Gene Barry, received an even cooler reception. As a result, Berman was unable to find further work in television. He subsequently retired from public life and refused steadfastly to give interviews or comment on his career for the remainder of his life.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Chris Bernard was born on 20 October 1955 in Liverpool, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Letter to Brezhnev (1985), Screen Two (1985) and My Parents Are Aliens (1999).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Kevin Billington was born on 12 June 1934 in England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Rise and Rise of Michael Rimmer (1970), Reflections (1984) and The Light at the Edge of the World (1971). He was married to Rachel Billington. He died on 13 December 2021 in Dorset, England, UK.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Richard Bird was born on 4 April 1895 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for Don't Take It to Heart! (1944), Mimi (1935) and Chamber of Horrors (1940). He was married to Joyce Barbour. He died in December 1979 in Northwood, London, England, UK.- Director
- Editor
- Writer
Daniel Birt was born on 23 June 1907 in Mersham, England, UK. He was a director and editor, known for The Deadly Game (1954), Ett kungligt äventyr (1956) and The Interrupted Journey (1949). He died on 15 May 1955 in London, England, UK.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
John E. Blakeley was born on 1 October 1888 in Ardwick, Manchester, England, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for Off the Dole (1935), Home Sweet Home (1945) and Holiday's with Pay (1948). He was married to Martha Isabella Moorby. He died on 20 February 1958 in Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK.- Writer
- Director
- Actor
Son of a small shopkeeper, he attended Manchester Grammar School. He later said that he made poor uses of his opportunities there. He went to work in an insurance office, but later entered Manchester University, taking a degree in History. A post-graduate year at Exeter University led to a schoolmaster's position, first at a village school in Devon, then for seven years at Millfield. During this time he wrote a dozen radio plays, which were broadcast. Encouraged by the London success of his stage play "Flowering Cherry" he left teaching for full-time writing. 1960 saw two of his plays ("The Tiger And The Horse" and "A Man For All Seasons") running concurrently in the West End.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Jack Bond was born in 1937. He is a director and producer, known for It Couldn't Happen Here (1987), Anti-Clock (1979) and Pet Shop Boys: Videography (1991).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
John Boorman attended Catholic school (Salesian Order) although his family was not, in fact, Roman Catholic. His first job was for a dry-cleaner. Later, he worked as a critic for a women's journal and for a radio station until he entered the television business, working for the BBC in Bristol. There, he started as assistant but worked later as director on documentaries, such as The Newcomers (1964). His friendship with Lee Marvin allowed him to work in Hollywood (e.g. Point Blank (1967) and Hell in the Pacific (1968)) from where he returned to the UK (e.g. Leo the Last (1970), Zardoz (1974) or Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977)). He became famous for Excalibur (1981), The Emerald Forest (1985) and his autobiographic story Hope and Glory (1987) where he tells his own experiences as a child after World War II and which brought him another Academy Award Nomination after Deliverance (1972).- Director
- Sound Department
- Editorial Department
Harry Booth was born in London, England, UK. He is known for Double Take (1972), Op de Hollandse toer (1973) and Here Come the Double Deckers! (1970).- Producer
- Director
- Writer
John Boulting was born on 21 December 1913 in Bray, Berkshire, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for I'm All Right Jack (1959), Seven Days to Noon (1950) and Private's Progress (1956). He was married to Anne Josephine Flynn, Ann Marion Ware, Jacqueline Helen Duncan and Veronica Davide Davidson. He died on 17 June 1985 in Sunningdale, Berkshire, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Roy Boulting was born on 21 December 1913 in Bray, Berkshire, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Seven Days to Noon (1950), A French Mistress (1960) and The Family Way (1966). He was married to Sandra Payne, Hayley Mills, Enid Munnik, Jean Capon and Marian Angela Warnock. He died on 5 November 2001 in Eynsham, Oxfordshire, England, UK.- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Muriel Box was born on 22 September 1905 in New Malden, Surrey [now in Kingston upon Thames, London], England, UK. She was a writer and director, known for The Seventh Veil (1945), Mr. Lord Says No (1952) and A Novel Affair (1957). She was married to Gerald Gardiner and Sydney Box. She died on 18 May 1991 in London, England, UK.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Dallas Bower was born on 25 July 1907 in London, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for The Path of Glory (1934), The Tempest/II (1939) and Julius Caesar (1938). He died on 18 October 1999 in London, England, UK.- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
- Production Manager
Philip Brandon was born on 7 December 1898 in London, England, UK. He was an assistant director and producer, known for The Fallen Idol (1948), The Missing Million (1942) and We'll Meet Again (1943). He died on 25 August 1982 in Port Charlotte, Florida, USA.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Alan Bridges was born on 28 September 1927 in Liverpool, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for American Playhouse (1980), The Hireling (1973) and The Shooting Party (1984). He was married to Ann Castle. He died on 7 December 2013 in the UK.- Producer
- Director
- Special Effects
Alan Briggs is known for Suffer Little Children (1983) and School of Shock (2017).- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Harry Bromley Davenport was born on 15 March 1950 in London, England, UK. He is a director and producer, known for Life Among the Cannibals (1999), Xtro (1982) and Erasable You (1998).- Director
- Writer
Hugh Brody is known for Nineteen Nineteen (1985), Hunters and Bombers (1990) and Big Zapper (1973). He is married to Juliet Stevenson. They have two children.- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Born in London, England to Charlotte Mary (opera singer) and George Alfred Brook. He was educated privately. Stage experience included: "Oliver Twist", "Voysey Inheritence", "If I were King", "Importance of Being Ernest", Fair and Warmer", "Over Sunday", "Clothes and the WOman", and many others. Screen experience with Graham-Cutts Company in London. He appeared in "Woman to Woman", and others. In 1924 he came to America.- Writer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Born in London, Peter was educated at Westminster, and Magdalen College Oxford. He has staged numerous productions for Birmingham Rep, Stratford Upon Avon and Broadway. In 1962 he was appointed Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, a position he held for 2 decades. His most famous stage productions have been Marat/Sade, Tempest, The Visit, Faust, The Fighting Cock, King Lear, Irma LaDouce, and House Of Flowers.- Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Kevin Brownlow was born on 2 June 1938 in Crowborough, Sussex, England, UK. He is a producer and director, known for It Happened Here (1964), American Masters (1985) and Unknown Chaplin (1983). He has been married to Virginia Keane since August 1969.- Director
- Additional Crew
- Production Manager
- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Producer/director Adrian Brunel was a major director in England during the 1920s and 1930s. He founded Minerva Films in partnership with actor Leslie Howard, but his career started to fade during World War II. He later founded the London Film Society, an organization dedicated to eliminating censorship in Britain which prevented many classic Russian films from being seen in British theaters. He was married to actress Jane Dryden.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Writer
Alex Bryce was born on 24 March 1905 in Larbert, Stirlingshire, Scotland, UK. Alex was a cinematographer and director, known for Little Miss Molly (1938), The Londonderry Air (1938) and Macushla (1937). Alex died in 1961 in South Africa.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Born in Scotland, Jack Buchanan made his stage acting debut in Britain in 1912, and on Broadway in 1924. Though he made his film debut in 1917 during the silent film era, Buchanan is probably best remembered for The Band Wagon (1953), co-starring with Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse, Nanette Fabray, James Mitchell, Oscar Levant and Robert Gist.
Suffering from spinal arthritis, Buchanan died in London four years later.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
After serving in the US Army during World War I, British-born Harold S. Bucquet entered the film business, first as an extra and then as a set designer. He became an assistant to director Allen Holubar, and later was hired as an assistant director at MGM--a studio where he was to spend the rest of his career--in the shorts department and directed screen tests. He made his first feature in 1938, Young Dr. Kildare (1938). He was entrusted with an "A" feature such as Dragon Seed (1944) every so often, but his output was mainly "B" pictures, though at MGM they were often more polished and professional than many other studios' "A" pictures. He had to leave his last film, The Green Years (1946), because of illness, and died not long afterward.- Director
- Producer
- Actor
Stuart Burge was born on 15 January 1918 in Brentwood, Essex, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Drama 61-67 (1961), Talking Heads 2 (1998) and Secret Agent (1964). He was married to Josephine Parker. He died on 24 January 2002 in Lymington, Hampshire, England, UK.- Cinematographer
- Director
- Producer
Germain Burger was born on 3 October 1900 in London, England, UK. He was a cinematographer and director, known for Devil's Rock (1938), Rose of Tralee (1942) and My Ain Folk (1945). He died on 7 October 1986 in Somerton, Somerset, England, UK.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Probably best-remembered for his turbulent personal life with Elizabeth Taylor (whom he married twice), Richard Burton was nonetheless also regarded as an often brilliant British actor of the post-WWII period.
Burton was born Richard Walter Jenkins in 1925 into a Welsh (Cymraeg)-speaking family in Pontrhydyfen to Edith Maude (Thomas) and Richard Walter Jenkins, a coal miner. The twelfth of thirteen children, his mother died while he was a toddler and his father later abandoned the family, leaving him to be raised by an elder sister, Cecilia. An avid fan of Shakespeare, poetry and reading, he once said "home is where the books are". He received a scholarship to Oxford University to study acting and made his first stage appearance in 1944.
His first film appearances were in routine British movies such as Woman of Dolwyn (1949), Waterfront Women (1950) and Green Grow the Rushes (1951). Then he started to appear in Hollywood movies such as My Cousin Rachel (1952), The Robe (1953) and Alexander the Great (1956), added to this he was also spending considerable time in stage productions, both in the UK and USA, often to splendid reviews. The late 1950s was an exciting and inventive time in UK cinema, often referred to as the "British New Wave", and Burton was right in the thick of things, and showcased a sensational performance in Look Back in Anger (1959). He also appeared with a cavalcade of international stars in the World War II magnum opus The Longest Day (1962), and then onto arguably his most "notorious" role as that of Marc Antony opposite Elizabeth Taylor in the hugely expensive Cleopatra (1963). This was, of course, the film that kick-started their fiery and passionate romance (plus two marriages), and the two of them appeared in several productions over the next few years including The V.I.P.s (1963), The Sandpiper (1965), the dynamic Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and The Taming of The Shrew (1967), as well as box office flops like The Comedians (1967). Burton did better when he was off on his own giving higher caliber performances, such as those in Becket (1964), the film adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play The Night of the Iguana (1964), the brilliant espionage thriller The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965) and alongside Clint Eastwood in the World War II action adventure film Where Eagles Dare (1968).
His audience appeal began to decline somewhat by the end of the 1960s as fans turned to younger, more virile male stars, however Burton was superb in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969) as King Henry VIII, he put on a reasonable show in the boring Raid on Rommel (1971), was over the top in the awful Villain (1971), gave sleepwalking performances in Hammersmith Is Out (1972) and Bluebeard (1972), and was wildly miscast in the ludicrous The Assassination of Trotsky (1972).
By the early 1970s, quality male lead roles were definitely going to other stars, and Burton found himself appearing in some movies of dubious quality, just to pay the bills and support family, including Divorce His - Divorce Hers (1973) (his last on-screen appearance with Taylor), The Klansman (1974), Brief Encounter (1974), Jackpot (1974) (which was never completed) and Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). However, he won another Oscar nomination for his excellent performance as a concerned psychiatrist in Equus (1977). He appeared with fellow acting icons Richard Harris and Roger Moore in The Wild Geese (1978) about mercenaries in South Africa. While the film had a modest initial run, over the past thirty-five years it has picked up quite a cult following. His final performances were as the wily inquisitor "O'Brien" in the most recent film version of George Orwell's dystopian 1984 (1984), in which he won good reviews, and in the TV mini series Ellis Island (1984). He passed away on August 5, 1984 in Celigny, Switzerland from a cerebral hemorrhage.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Anthony Bushell was born on 19 May 1904 in Westerham, Kent, England, UK. He was an actor and producer, known for The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), Five Star Final (1931) and A Night to Remember (1958). He was married to Anne Pearce-Serocold and Zelma O'Neal. He died on 2 April 1997 in Oxford, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
British writer/director Donald Cammell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1934, came from a wealthy shipbuilding family. He began his career as a painter, and by the mid-1960s was celebrated among the "Swinging London" crowd. He made his foray into the film industry when he wrote the script for The Touchables (1968), a painfully pretentious--and, seen today, very dated--tale of a rock singer kidnapped by four beautiful female fans. He followed that up with Duffy (1968), about an aging hippie who helps two brothers rob their rich father. His directorial debut came with Performance (1970), about a London gangster who hides out in the house of a strange rock star. The now cult-classic film starred Mick Jagger in one of his earliest dramatic performances. Cammell's Demon Seed (1977) was intended to be a comedy, but the studio for some reason decided to turn it into a bizarre sci-fi thriller, which didn't really satisfy anyone, Cammell least of all.
He didn't make a film for ten years after "Demon Seed", when he directed the atmospheric White of the Eye (1987), about a serial killer. His final film as director, Wild Side (1995), was a thriller that was extensively re-edited by the producers. Cammell was so incensed with the result that he had his name taken off the credits, and it was credited to the non-existent "Frank Brauner".
In April 1996 a despondent Cammell committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.- Cinematographer
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Director
Almost universally considered one of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Jack Cardiff was also a notable director. He described his childhood as very happy and his parents as quite loving. They performed in music hall as comedians, so he grew up with the fun that came with their theatrical life in pantomime and vaudeville. His father once worked with Charles Chaplin. His parents did occasional film appearances, and young Jack appeared in some of their films, such as My Son, My Son (1918), at the age of four. He had the lead in Billy's Rose (1922) with his parents playing his character's parents in the film. Jack was a production runner, or what he would call a "general gopher", for The Informer (1929) in which his father appeared. For one scene he was asked by the first assistant cameraman to "follow focus", which he said was his first real brush with photography of any kind, but he claimed that it was the lure of travel that led to him joining a camera department making films in a studio. He had, however, become impressed with the use of light and color in paintings by the age of seven or eight, and described how he watched art directors in theaters painting backdrops setting lights. His friend Ted Moore was also a camera assistant in this period when both worked in a camera department run by Freddie Young, who would also become a legendary cinematographer. He worked for Alfred Hitchcock during the filming of The Skin Game (1931).
By 1936 Cardiff had risen to being a camera operator at Denham Studios when the Technicolor Company hired him on the basis of what he told them in interview about the use of light by master painters. This led to his operating camera for the first Technicolor film shot in Britain, Wings of the Morning (1937). He finally was offered the full position of director of photography by Michael Powell for A Matter of Life and Death (1946), ironically working in B&W for the first time in some sequences. His next assignment was on Black Narcissus (1947), where he acknowledged the influence of painters Vermeer and Caravaggio and their use of shadow. He won the Academy Award for best color cinematography for this film. Jack certainly got to travel when it was decided to shoot The African Queen (1951) on location in the Congo. Errol Flynn offered Jack the chance to direct The Story of William Tell (1953) that would star Flynn. It would have been the second film made in CinemaScope had it been completed, but the production ran out of money part way through filming in Switzerland.
It has been said that Marilyn Monroe requested that Jack photograph The Prince and the Showgirl (1957). Although he had already directed some small productions, he had a critical breakthrough with Sons and Lovers (1960). He continued directing other films through the 1960s, including the commercial hit Dark of the Sun (1968), but for the most part returned to working for other directors as a very sought-after cinematographer in the 1970s and beyond. He continued to work into the new century, almost until his death. He was made an OBE in 2000 and received a lifetime achievement award at the 73rd Academy Awards.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Michael Carreras was born on 21 December 1927 in Wandsworth, London, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for Horror of Dracula (1958), The Lost Continent (1968) and What a Crazy World (1963). He died on 19 April 1994 in Chelsea, London, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Writer-director John Paddy Carstairs was born Nelson Keys, the son of actor Nelson Keys and the brother of producer Anthony Nelson Keys, in London, England, in 1910. Beginning his career as an assistant cameraman, he worked his way up to screenwriter and made his directorial debut in 1933. While never at the front rank of British directors, he consistently turned out solid, well-crafted--and, more importantly, successful--films that kept him in the director's chair for the next 29 years. In 1953 he was put at the helm of a Norman Wisdom comedy, Trouble in Store (1953), although he wasn't particularly known as a comedy director. Nevertheless, the film was a huge hit in the UK--Wisdom, like most British comics, never caught on in the US--and Carstairs became known as the go-to director for new screen comedians. He made a string of Wisdom comedies, in addition to films for such up-and-comers as Tommy Steele, Frankie Howerd, Bob Monkhouse and Ronald Shiner. While they may not have achieved critical acclaim, audiences nevertheless liked them and, for the most part, they made a potful of money.
After making The Devil's Agent (1962), a spy thriller, Carstairs left the film industry to pursue his two main passions, writing and painting. He died in London, age 60, in 1970.- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Justin Cartwright was born on 20 April 1945 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was a writer and director, known for Rosie Dixon - Night Nurse (1978), Dispatches (1987) and Look at It This Way (1992). He was married to Penny. He died on 3 December 2018 in London, England, UK.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Henry Cass was born on 24 June 1903 in Hampstead, London, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for Mr. Brown Comes Down the Hill (1965), The Glass Mountain (1949) and Give a Dog a Bone (1965). He was married to Joan Hopkins and Nancy Hornsby. He died on 15 March 1989 in Hastings, Sussex, England, UK.- Director
- Art Director
- Art Department
British director Don Chaffey began his career in the film industry in the art department at Gainsborough Pictures. He began directing in 1951, often working on films aimed at children. He branched out into television in the mid-'50s, turning out many of the best episodes of such classic series as Danger Man (1960), The Prisoner (1967) and The Avengers (1961). Although he worked in many film genres, his best work is generally acknowledged to be the crackerjack fantasy Jason and the Argonauts (1963). On the other hand, he was also responsible for the lugubrious, box-office disaster The Viking Queen (1967), one of the few productions from Hammer Films that lost money. In the late 1970s Chaffey traveled to the US and worked primarily there, often in made-for-TV movies.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Considered to be one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of Hollywood, Charlie Chaplin lived an interesting life both in his films and behind the camera. He is most recognized as an icon of the silent film era, often associated with his popular character, the Little Tramp; the man with the toothbrush mustache, bowler hat, bamboo cane, and a funny walk.
Charles Spencer Chaplin was born in Walworth, London, England on April 16, 1889, to Hannah Harriet Pedlingham (Hill) and Charles Chaplin, both music hall performers, who were married on June 22, 1885. After Charles Sr. separated from Hannah to perform in New York City, Hannah then tried to resurrect her stage career. Unfortunately, her singing voice had a tendency to break at unexpected moments. When this happened, the stage manager spotted young Charlie standing in the wings and led him on stage, where five-year-old Charlie began to sing a popular tune. Charlie and his half-brother, Syd Chaplin spent their lives in and out of charity homes and workhouses between their mother's bouts of insanity. Hannah was committed to Cane Hill Asylum in May 1903 and lived there until 1921, when Chaplin moved her to California.
Chaplin began his official acting career at the age of eight, touring with the Eight Lancashire Lads. At age 18, he began touring with Fred Karno's vaudeville troupe, joining them on the troupe's 1910 United States tour. He traveled west to California in December 1913 and signed on with Keystone Studios' popular comedy director Mack Sennett, who had seen Chaplin perform on stage in New York. Charlie soon wrote his brother Syd, asking him to become his manager. While at Keystone, Chaplin appeared in and directed 35 films, starring as the Little Tramp in nearly all.
In November 1914, he left Keystone and signed on at Essanay, where he made 15 films. In 1916, he signed on at Mutual and made 12 films. In June 1917, Chaplin signed up with First National Studios, after which he built Chaplin Studios. In 1919, he and Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith formed United Artists (UA).
Chaplin's life and career was full of scandal and controversy. His first big scandal was during World War I, at which time his loyalty to England, his home country, was questioned. He had never applied for American citizenship, but claimed that he was a "paying visitor" to the United States. Many British citizens called Chaplin a coward and a slacker. This and other career eccentricities sparked suspicion with FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover and the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), who believed that he was injecting Communist propaganda into his films. Chaplin's later film The Great Dictator (1940), which was his first "talkie", also created a stir. In the film, Chaplin plays a humorous caricature of Adolf Hitler. Some thought the film was poorly done and in bad taste. However, the film grossed over $5 million and earned five Academy Award Nominations.
Another scandal occurred when Chaplin briefly dated 22 year-old Joan Barry. However, Chaplin's relationship with Barry came to an end in 1942, after a series of harassing actions from her. In May 1943, Barry returned to inform Chaplin that she was pregnant and filed a paternity suit, claiming that the unborn child was his. During the 1944 trial, blood tests proved that Chaplin was not the father, but at the time, blood tests were inadmissible evidence, and he was ordered to pay $75 a week until the child turned 21.
Chaplin also was scrutinized for his support in aiding the Russian struggle against the invading Nazis during World War II, and the United States government questioned his moral and political views, suspecting him of having Communist ties. For this reason, HUAC subpoenaed him in 1947. However, HUAC finally decided that it was no longer necessary for him to appear for testimony. Conversely, when Chaplin and his family traveled to London for the premier of Limelight (1952), he was denied re-entry to the United States. In reality, the government had almost no evidence to prove that he was a threat to national security. Instead, he and his wife decided to settle in Switzerland.
Chaplin was married four times and had a total of 11 children. In 1918, he married Mildred Harris and they had a son together, Norman Spencer Chaplin, who lived only three days. Chaplin and Harris divorced in 1920. He married Lita Grey in 1924, who had two sons, Charles Chaplin Jr. and Sydney Chaplin. They were divorced in 1927. In 1936, Chaplin married Paulette Goddard, and his final marriage was to Oona O'Neill (Oona Chaplin), daughter of playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1943. Oona gave birth to eight children: Geraldine Chaplin, Michael Chaplin, Josephine Chaplin, Victoria Chaplin, Eugene Chaplin, Jane Chaplin, Annette-Emilie Chaplin, and Christopher Chaplin.
In contrast to many of his boisterous characters, Chaplin was a quiet man who kept to himself a great deal. He also had an "un-millionaire" way of living. Even after he had accumulated millions, he continued to live in shabby accommodations. In 1921, Chaplin was decorated by the French government for his outstanding work as a filmmaker and was elevated to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor in 1952. In 1972, he was honored with an Academy Award for his "incalculable effect in making motion pictures the art form of the century". He was appointed Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 1975 New Year's Honours List. No formal reason for the honour was listed. The citation simply reads "Charles Spencer Chaplin, Film Actor and Producer".
Chaplin's other works included musical scores that he composed for many of his films. He also authored two autobiographical books, "My Autobiography" (1964) and its companion volume, "My Life in Pictures" (1974).
Chaplin died at age 88 of natural causes on December 25, 1977 at his home in Vevey, Switzerland. His funeral was a small and private Anglican ceremony according to his wishes. In 1978, Chaplin's corpse was stolen from its grave and was not recovered for three months; he was re-buried in a vault surrounded by cement.
Six of Chaplin's films have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress: The Immigrant (1917), The Kid (1921), The Gold Rush (1925), City Lights (1931), Modern Times (1936), and The Great Dictator (1940).
Charlie Chaplin is considered one of the greatest filmmakers in the history of American cinema, whose movies were and still are popular throughout the world and have even gained notoriety as time progresses. His films show, through the Little Tramp's positive outlook on life in a world full of chaos, that the human spirit has and always will remain the same.- Writer
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Matthew Chapman was born in Cambridge, England but has lived in America for many years, first in Los Angeles then in New York. He writes and directs films but also works as a journalist and author. He has written for Harpers Magazine, Huffington Post, and National Geographic among others. His second book, "40 Days and 40 Nights - Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin, and Other Oddities On Trial in Pennsylvania" was published by Harper/Collins. It tells the story of a small town ripped apart when fundamentalism and science came in conflict and was described by Christopher Hitchens as "A book that restores faith - but faith in culture and free inquiry." He also wrote "Trials Of The Monkey - An Accidental Memoir". Published by Picador, it is an account of the Scopes Trial told in the form of a road trip Chapman took to the Tennessee town where the trial took place, along with a memoir of his childhood growing up as a descendant of Charles Darwin. The Spectator wrote of it, "The publisher's blurb nudges us in the direction of bestsellers like Bill Bryson and Paul Theroux but, while Chapman can be as funny and revealing as either in the travel sections of his book, the autobiographical element plumbs greater depths."
He has written and directed five independent movies, including the cult classic, "Strangers Kiss" starring Jennifer Jason Leigh, and most recently the thriller, "The Ledge" starring Charlie Hunnam, Liv Tyler, Terrence Howard, and Patrick Wilson. "The Ledge" was selected for the main competition at Sundance, bought by IFC, and sold to over 50 territories.
He has written several mainstream pictures, among them Consenting Adults (1992), (Dir. Alan J. Pakula, with Kevin Spacey and Kevin Kline); Color of Night (1994) (Dir. Richard Rush, with Bruce Willis) and co-wrote Runaway Jury (2003), (Dir. Gary Fleder, with Dustin Hoffman, Gene Hackman, John Cusack and Rachel Weisz). "Reaching For The Moon" with Miranda Otto and Glroia Pires, directed by Bruno Barreto
He is the founder and president of ScienceDebate.org, which advocates that presidential candidates hold a live debate solely dedicated to science and technology issues. In 2008, 2012, and 2016 all final candidates (Obama/McCain, Obama/Romney and Clinton/Trump) answered a list of science policy questions. When published online, the answers reached almost a billion people, making this the largest science policy initiative in history.
He is married to Brazilian actress, record producer and documentary film-maker, Denise Dumont, with whom he has a daughter, Anna Bella Chapman-Smith, and a stepson, Diogo Marzo.- Editor
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Michael C. Chorlton was born on 27 December 1913 in Disley, Cheshire, England, UK. He was an editor and director, known for Broken Journey (1948), Late at Night (1946) and A Matter of Life and Death (1946). He died in 1951 in Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, UK.- Art Department
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Academy Award winner Roger Christian has had an extensive film career. He won an Academy Award for set decoration on director George Lucas's Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), which began a long collaboration between the filmmakers. Christian subsequently worked with Lucas on Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) and was hand-picked by Lucas to direct the second unit on the recent Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). It was through Lucas that Christian got his first opportunity to direct a film, the short feature entitled Ángel Negro (2000), which accompanied the UK release of Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Christian followed "Black Angel" with another short, The Dollar Bottom (1981), which won the 1981 Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film. He followed that success with the thriller The Sender (1998), which received much critical acclaim and a nomination for Best Film by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
His directing credits include the 1994 Orion Pictures release _Nostradamus (1994/I)_, starring Julia Ormond and F. Murray Abraham, the HBO premiere movie The Final Cut (1995), Underworld (1996) starring Annabella Sciorra and Masterminds (1997) starring Patrick Stewart. Christian has also directed numerous high profile commercials, including worldwide campaigns for SEGA, Taco Bell, Jeep, Lancia, Fiat and Chrysler/Dodge, among others. Christian's work as an art director and production designer was highly regarded. He was nominated for an Academy Award for his art direction on Ridley Scott's Alien (1979). His other art direction credits include Life of Brian (1979), Ken Russell's Mahler (1974) and Peter Hall's Akenfield (1974). Roger also directed Battlefield Earth (2000), with John Travolta and Forest Whitaker.
Roger Christian recently wrapped production on Bandido (2004), starring Angie Everhart, for Fries Film Group. Written by Carlos Gallardo, who also wrote El Mariachi, Bandidos continues the saga of the stylish Mexican thief who remains nameless. The same character was also portrayed by Antonio Banderas in Desperado (a remake of El Mariachi). In Bandidos, Carlos Gallardo reprises the starring role as the most infamous thief in Mexico.- Editor
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Jim Clark was born on 24 May 1931 in Boston, Lincolnshire, England, UK. He was an editor and director, known for The Mission (1986), The Killing Fields (1984) and Marathon Man (1976). He was married to Laurence Méry-Clark and Jessica Andrew. He died on 25 February 2016 in the UK.- Director
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Liverpool native Alan Clarke got his start in the film business in Canada, where he studied acting and directing. Upon returning to England he got a job at ITV, then moved over to the BBC in 1969. He worked mostly in television, but he made a couple of feature films that got attention for their portrayal of the gritty and occasionally violent life of the British working class, notably Scum (1979) and Rita, Sue and Bob Too (1987), about aimless, sex-obsessed teenagers in a housing project. Another of his slice-of-life films was the hard-hitting made-for-TV movie Made in Britain (1982), with an early performance by Tim Roth as a violent, racist skinhead.
Alan Clarke died of cancer in 1990- Director
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James Kenelm Clarke was born on 5 February 1941 in Gloucestershire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Boondock Saints (1999), Got It Made (1974) and Fiona (1977). He died on 29 July 2020 in Westwick, Norfolk, England, UK.- Producer
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Jack Clayton was born on 1 March 1921 in Brighton, East Sussex, England, UK. He was a producer and director, known for The Innocents (1961), Our Mother's House (1967) and The Great Gatsby (1974). He was married to Haya Harareet, Katherine Kath and Christine Norden. He died on 26 February 1995 in Slough, Berkshire, England, UK.- Director
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Tom Clegg was born on 16 October 1934 in Lancashire, England, UK. He was a director and writer, known for McVicar (1980), Slagskämpen (1984) and Sharpe (1993). He was married to Audrey Clegg. He died on 25 July 2016 in the UK.- Writer
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Brian Clemens left school at the age of 14. After national service with the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, he worked his way up from messenger boy to copywriter at an advertising agency, writing in his spare time. One of his scripts was accepted by the BBC in 1955. He joined a production company, literally writing scripts to order. With tight deadlines and plots often based on the availability of sets, props or location, he churned out scripts for B-films and TV series.
Clemens is best remembered for his work on British television in the 1960s and 1970s, especially on Danger Man (1960), The Avengers (1961) (for which he wrote many episodes, including the pilot in 1961), The Baron (1966), The Persuaders! (1971) and creating The Professionals (1977). He also wrote for the stage; his play "Strictly Murder" was performed by a cast including Brian Capron in 2017.
Clemens was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2010 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to Broadcasting and to Drama. According to his son Samuel, the last thing he did before he died was to watch an episode of The Avengers (1961) and his last words were: "I did quite a good job".- Writer
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Dick Clement was born on 5 September 1937 in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Across the Universe (2007), Otley (1969) and Still Crazy (1998).- Director
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David Cobham was born on 11 May 1930 in Bridlington, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for Woof! (1989), Woof! (1989) and Tarka the Otter (1979). He was married to Liza Goddard and Janet Cobham. He died on 25 March 2018 in Norfolk, England, UK.- Director
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Sidney Cole was born on 31 October 1908 in London, England, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for Dick Turpin (1979), The Adventures of Robin Hood (1955) and The Man in the White Suit (1951). He died on 25 January 1998 in London, England, UK.- Writer
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Sewell Collins was born on 1 September 1876 in Denver, Colorado, USA. He was a writer and director, known for Bracelets (1931), The Devil's Maze (1929) and The Night Porter (1930). He was married to Margaret Moffatt. He died on 15 February 1934 in London, England, UK.- Director
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Peter Collinson was born on 1 April 1936 in Lincolnshire, England, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Italian Job (1969), The Long Day's Dying (1968) and Up the Junction (1968). He was married to Lisa Shane and Ann Collinson. He died on 16 December 1980 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Director
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Director Lance Comfort began his film career as a camera operator. He also worked as a sound recordist and animator, mostly in British documentaries and medical training films. His first feature was the big-budget but slow-moving Courageous Mr. Penn (1942), a biography of 18th-century political leader William Penn, starring Deborah Kerr, which was derided in some circles in the US for its many wild historical inaccuracies.
He did somewhat better with A.J. Cronin's Hatter's Castle (1942) with James Mason, which was quite successful. He went for lowbrow comedy with Old Mother Riley Detective (1943), one in the string of "drag" comedies with Arthur Lucan in his standard Old Mother Riley character. The series was successful in the UK, but was a complete bust in the US (you'd be hard-pressed to find any American film historians who have even heard of them, let alone seen them). In 1948 he produced and directed the somewhat noir-ish Gothic drama Daughter of Darkness (1948), but he blew it big-time with the disastrous reception to Portrait of Clare (1950). It lost so much money that Comfort's career never recovered from it, and the only work he could scrape up afterwards were quickie "B" pictures and episodic TV series. He made his last film in 1965 and died in Sussex, England, in 1966.- Director
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Born Kings Cross, London. At school - age of twelve developed a passion for films, which he has retained ever since. Entered employment with a documentary film company, British Films Ltd., in London's Soho, as an Assistant Film Editor. Over several years, he worked in the editing rooms of Pinewood, Shepperton, Elstree and Twickenham Studios with directors... Tony Richardson, Karel Reiz, Sandy MacKendrick, Lindsay Anderson, Dick Lester, Bryan Forbes, Joe McGrath, Michael Cacoyannis, and Richard Attenborough. Sir Richard Attenborough gave him his break to edit his first directorial film "Oh! What A Lovely War." Connor's directing break came from Amicus Films producer, Milton Subotsky, a horror film - "Tales from Beyond the Grave", that lead to a series of Edgar Rice Burroughs adventure films. Connor moved to Los Angeles 1980, directed "Motel Hell" and 'Sunset Grill'. He found himself drawn to high-profile international mini-series, "Master of The Game", "North & South Book 2", "Great Expectations", "The Old CuriosityShop", "Iran, 444 DAYS", "Frankenstein", "Blackbeard" and most recently "Marco Polo". Connor has directed some 100 + Film and Television projects. He is engaged in producing and directing feature films.- Writer
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Ray Cooney was born on 30 May 1932 in London, England, UK. He is a writer and actor, known for Run for Your Wife (2012), Not Now Darling (1973) and Not Now, Comrade (1976). He has been married to Linda Dixon since 1962. They have two children.- Director
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George A. Cooper was born on 29 April 1886 in Harlesden, London, England, UK. George A. was a director and writer, known for Tangled Evidence (1934), Sexton Blake and the Bearded Doctor (1935) and Master and Man (1929). George A. died in August 1947 in Surrey, England, UK.- Director
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Celestino Coronado was born on 20 November 1944 in Puebla de Sancho Pérez, Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. He was a director and writer, known for Hamlet (1976), A Midsummer Night's Dream (1984) and Miroirs (1974). He died on 21 July 2014 in London, England, UK.- Director
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Albert de Courville began his career as a stage director in Great Britain before turning to films in the 1930s. He directed several Jesse Mathews musicals, including There Goes the Bride (1932), and a Constance Cummings comedy, Strangers on a Honeymoon (1936). In the 1940s he journeyed to New York and got back to his theatrical roots, directing several Broadway plays.- Actor
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Throughout his years in the industry, Alex Cox, an English writer-director, has not only proven his loyalty and integrity to cult cinema, but also his love for it. This all began in 1977, when Cox dropped out of Oxford University to study Radio, Film & TV at Bristol until graduating in 1977. Seeing difficulties in the British film scene at the time, Cox first went to Los Angeles to attend film school at UCLA in 1977. Here he produced his first film, Edge City/Sleep is for Sissies.. The same year, Cox wrote a screenplay for Repo Man, which he hoped to produce for a budget of $70,000, and began seeking funding.
Sometime after, Monkees member Michael Nesmith agreed to produce Repo Man, and convinced Universal Studios to back the project with a budget of over a million dollars. The initial cinema release was limited to Chicago, followed by Los Angeles, and was short-lived. After the success of the soundtrack album, there was enough interest in the film to earn a re-release in a single cinema in New York City, but only after becoming available on video and cable. Nevertheless, it ran for 18 months, and eventually earned $4,000,000.
Continuing his fascination with punk music, Cox's next film was an independent feature shot in London and Los Angeles, following the career and death of bassist Sid Vicious and his girlfriend Nancy Spungen, initially titled Love Kills and later renamed Sid and Nancy. It was met warmly by critics and fans, though heavily criticized by some, including Pistols' frontman John Lydon, for its inaccuracies.
After this, Cox wrote and directed Straight To Hell, a neo-western starring Joe Strummer of The Clash. The film was widely panned critically, but was successful in Japan and retains a cult following.
On his next film, Cox's "Walker" followed the life of William Walker, set against a back drop of anachronisms that drew parallels between the story and modern American intervention in the area. The $6,000,000 production was backed by Universal, but the completed film was too political and too violent for the studio's tastes, and the film went without promotion. When Walker failed to perform at the box office, it ended the director's involvement with Hollywood studios, and led to a period of several years in which Cox would not direct a single film. Despite this, Cox and some critics maintain that it is his best film.
After this, Alex struggled to find work in America, and stopped writing/directing big budget films. Since then, he has written+directed many internationally funded films including Highway Patrolman, Searchers 2.0, Death And The Compass, Repo Chick and the cult classic Three Buisnessmen. Although, In 1998, Cox co-wrote "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" with Terry Gilliam, who also directed the film.