Bryan Forbes

Biography

Date of Birth 22 July 1926, Stratford, London, England, UK Birth Name John Theobald Clarke Spouse Nanette Newman (27 August 1955 - present) 2 children Constance Smith (10 February 1951 - 1955) (divorced) Trivia Children: Emma Forbes and Sarah Forbes. Father-in-law of actor John Standing, although he is only eight years his senior. Author of several novels beginning in 1972 with "Distant Laughter". Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1975, but has been in remission for almost thirty years. He put his subsequent remission down to a gluten-free diet and a loving wife (BBC News 2004). Collaborated with composer John Barry on many of the films he directed starting in 1962 with The L-Shaped Room. He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to the Arts in the 2004 Queen's Birthday Honours List. An Associate Member of RADA. Left RADA before graduating after he was refused permission to take on professional acting roles to supplement his income. Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985". Pages 345-349. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988. Donated his production files to The Margaret Herrick Library at the Fairbanks Centre for Motion Picture Study. Turned down the chance to direct the first James Bond movie, Dr. No (1962), because he thought it was going to be "just another bang bang movie." Served with Roger Moore in the British Army of Occupation in Germany in 1947. His salary as Head of Production/Managing Director EMI-MGM Elstree was reported by The Times (March 26th 1971) as £35,000 p.a. The same article reported that at this time he could have been earning up to £150,000 per film had he continued his own successful career as actor/screenwriter/producer/director. Educated at West Hammersmith Secondary School, Hammersmith, Middlesex, England. Established Allied Film Makers (AFM) in 1959 along with Richard Attenborough, Guy Green, Basil Dearden, Michael Relph and Jack Hawkins. AFM acted as a producers co-operative in conjunction with The Rank Organisation which provided 10% of the costs (but no artistic control). The first collaboration was 'The League of Gentleman' premiered in 1960 and the sixth most successful box office film of 1960. A plaque to honour his career was unveiled at Elstree Studios, Borehamwood on 3rd February 2008. In addition to Forbes and his wife Nanette Newman, Richard Attenborough, one of Forbes' oldest friends, made a surprise guest appearance. This was the first visit by Forbes, the former Head of Production/Managing Director EMI-MGM Elstree, for many years. Together with his long-time friend and collaborator Richard Attenborough, he established Beaver Films Limited, an independent production company which went on to produce three of their most respected films; The Angry Silence (1960), Whistle Down the Wind (1961) and Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964). The name "Beaver" was apparently the invention of their wives, Nanette Newman and Sheila Sim. Today, the now Lord Attenborough, lives at Beaver Lodge. In 1942 he became a "question master" on the BBC Radio quiz program, Junior Brains Trust. Joined Capitol Radio (London) as a director in 1973. Read the address at a small gathering of friends remembering the life of Jane Baxter (1909-96) at her local church in Wimbledon. She had made a specific request in her will that no formal memorial service should be held. He is President of the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. Bryan Forbes owned and operated a small book shop in the village of Virginia Water circa 1968-1971. Directed 3 actresses to Oscar nominations: Leslie Caron (Best Actress, The L-Shaped Room (1962)), Kim Stanley (Best Actress, Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964)), Edith Evans (Best Actress, The Whisperers (1967)). Of his script in The League of Gentlemen (1960), in which Forbes also played a major role, Wall Street Journal critic David Mermelstein said (in 2011) that "with the exception of the Coen Brothers, no one writes screenplays like that anymore". Personal Quotes An actor must have arrogance, conceit...I would never have made it as an actor, but I still have conceit. If you treat the production of films like the production of shoes, you end up with Hush Puppies. I may not have come up the hard way, but I have come up the whole way. I was a writer who became an actor who became a screenwriter who became a director. (2007) Salary The Small Back Room (1949) £100 Bryan Forbes, CBE (born John Theobald Clark on July 22, 1926 in London) is an English film director, actor and writer. Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts but did not complete his studies. After military service from 1945 to 1948, he played numerous supporting roles in British films as well as appearing on the stage, but was forced to change his name by British Equity as there was already another John Clark ("Just William") in its membership. He began also to write for the screen, receiving his first full credit for The Cockleshell Heroes in 1955. Another noted screenplay of his from this period was for The League of Gentlemen in 1959 in which he also acted. He formed a production company with his frequent collaborator Richard Attenborough in 1959, which went on to make The Angry Silence in 1960, a screenplay by Forbes in which Attenborough took the lead role, and both shared production responsibilities. He followed this up in 1961 with his directorial debut Whistle Down the Wind, again produced by Attenborough. In 1964, Forbes wrote and directed Seance on a Wet Afternoon, for which he won a 1965 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America, for Best Foreign Film Screenplay. He wrote, produced and directed further movies in Britain throughout the 1960s as well as travelling to Hollywood to make King Rat in 1965. In 1969 he was appointed chief of production and managing director of the film studio Associated British (EMI), but the experience was not a success and he resigned the post in 1971. After this experience his film output reduced, although he did enjoy success as the director of The Stepford Wives (1974), The Slipper and the Rose (1976) and International Velvet (1978).