Colin Clark (filmmaker)
Encyclopedia
Colin Clark was a British writer and filmmaker who specialised in films for cinema and television about the arts. He was the son of the art historian Lord Clark
of Saltwood (Sir Kenneth Clark), and the younger brother of the Conservative politician and military historian Alan Clark
, with whom he was not always on good terms.
Born in London, he was educated at Eton College
and Christ Church, Oxford
. From 1951 to 1953 he did National Service as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force
.
Colin Clark's first job on leaving university was as an assistant director on the film The Prince and the Showgirl
(1957), directed by Laurence Olivier
and starring Olivier and Marilyn Monroe
, an experience Clark later turned into two books, one a set of diaries (a TV documentary version of which was also made in 2004) and the other a memoir of his alleged relationship with Monroe. Clark's time with Monroe is the basis of the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn
.
He went on to work with Olivier on The Entertainer
, Titus Andronicus
and other British stage productions.
He then worked for Granada Television
in Manchester
, initially as a floor manager and later as assistant to studio boss Denis Forman
and then head of design. Moving to New York in 1960, he was involved in setting up a PBS educational television station, Channel 13
New Jersey, with the aim of covering arts and culture in the New York region. He made a series of programmes called Art: New York, and recorded live concerts by Thelonious Monk
and Sonny Rollins
.
Clark returned to Britain in 1965 to work for Associated TeleVision
(ATV), where he made many documentary films, including series with Angus Wilson
and Bernard Levin
, as well as directing a series on art appreciation presented by his father, Sir Kenneth Clark, who had fallen out with the BBC, which had produced his earlier programmes including Civilisation. After leaving ATV in 1971 to work as an independent film producer, he made further cultural documentary films for various commercial sponsors and for the Getty Museum as well as a film in which Alastair Cooke interviewed Prince Charles. Although much of this work was for the American market, he ran the operation partly from London because costs there were lower and because, he said, there was little American tradition or experience of making documentary films.
He retired from filmmaking in 1987 to write books. He died in December 2002 in London.
Kenneth Clark
Kenneth McKenzie Clark, Baron Clark, OM, CH, KCB, FBA was a British author, museum director, broadcaster, and one of the best-known art historians of his generation...
of Saltwood (Sir Kenneth Clark), and the younger brother of the Conservative politician and military historian Alan Clark
Alan Clark
Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
, with whom he was not always on good terms.
Born in London, he was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. From 1951 to 1953 he did National Service as a pilot officer in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
.
Colin Clark's first job on leaving university was as an assistant director on the film The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl
The Prince and the Showgirl is a 1957 American film produced at Pinewood Studios starring Marilyn Monroe and co-starring Laurence Olivier who also served as director and producer.The film was released on 13 June 1957...
(1957), directed by Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
and starring Olivier and Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
, an experience Clark later turned into two books, one a set of diaries (a TV documentary version of which was also made in 2004) and the other a memoir of his alleged relationship with Monroe. Clark's time with Monroe is the basis of the 2011 film My Week with Marilyn
My Week with Marilyn
My Week with Marilyn is a British drama film directed by Simon Curtis and written by Adrian Hodges. It stars Michelle Williams, Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne, Dougray Scott, Judi Dench and Emma Watson. Based on two books by Colin Clark, it depicts the making of the 1957 film The Prince and the...
.
He went on to work with Olivier on The Entertainer
The Entertainer (play)
The Entertainer is a three act play by John Osborne, first produced in 1957. His first play, Look Back in Anger, had attracted mixed notices but a great deal of publicity. Having depicted an "angry young man" in the earlier play, Osborne wrote, at Laurence Olivier's request,about an angry middle...
, Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus
Titus Andronicus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, and possibly George Peele, believed to have been written between 1588 and 1593. It is thought to be Shakespeare's first tragedy, and is often seen as his attempt to emulate the violent and bloody revenge plays of his contemporaries, which were...
and other British stage productions.
He then worked for Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, initially as a floor manager and later as assistant to studio boss Denis Forman
Denis Forman
Sir Denis Forman is a former executive in the British film and television industry.-Career:Forman was born in 1917 at Cragielands in Dumfries and educated at Pembroke College, Cambridge. Forman had a distinguished military career during the Second World War and was wounded at Monte Cassino. After...
and then head of design. Moving to New York in 1960, he was involved in setting up a PBS educational television station, Channel 13
WNET
WNET, channel 13 is a non-commercial educational public television station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. With its signal covering the New York metropolitan area, WNET is a primary station of the Public Broadcasting Service and a primary provider of PBS programming...
New Jersey, with the aim of covering arts and culture in the New York region. He made a series of programmes called Art: New York, and recorded live concerts by Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
and Sonny Rollins
Sonny Rollins
Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins is a Grammy-winning American jazz tenor saxophonist. Rollins is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential jazz musicians. A number of his compositions, including "St...
.
Clark returned to Britain in 1965 to work for Associated TeleVision
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
(ATV), where he made many documentary films, including series with Angus Wilson
Angus Wilson
Sir Angus Frank Johnstone Wilson, CBE was an English novelist and short story writer. He was awarded the 1958 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for The Middle Age of Mrs Eliot and later received a knighthood for his services to literature.-Biography:Wilson was born in Bexhill, Sussex, England, to...
and Bernard Levin
Bernard Levin
Henry Bernard Levin CBE was an English journalist, author and broadcaster, described by The Times as "the most famous journalist of his day". The son of a poor Jewish family in London, he won a scholarship to the independent school Christ's Hospital and went on to the London School of Economics,...
, as well as directing a series on art appreciation presented by his father, Sir Kenneth Clark, who had fallen out with the BBC, which had produced his earlier programmes including Civilisation. After leaving ATV in 1971 to work as an independent film producer, he made further cultural documentary films for various commercial sponsors and for the Getty Museum as well as a film in which Alastair Cooke interviewed Prince Charles. Although much of this work was for the American market, he ran the operation partly from London because costs there were lower and because, he said, there was little American tradition or experience of making documentary films.
He retired from filmmaking in 1987 to write books. He died in December 2002 in London.