Anthony Pelissier
Anthony Pelissier | |
|---|---|
| Born | Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier (1912年07月27日)27 July 1912 |
| Died | 2 April 1988(1988年04月02日) (aged 75) Eastbourne, England |
| Occupations |
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| Spouses |
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| Children | 4 |
Harry Anthony Compton Pelissier (27 July 1912 – 2 April 1988) was an English actor, screenwriter, producer and director.
Biography
[edit ]Pelissier was born in Barnet, north London,[1] and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer H. G. Pelissier (who presented Pelissier's Follies) and the actress Fay Compton. His uncle was Compton MacKenzie, who wrote Whisky Galore . He was barely a year old when his father died, and with his nineteen year-old widowed mother in pursuit of her acting career, was mostly raised by his grandmother Virginia Compton and a series of nannies. This background would inform one of his most successful films, The Rocking-Horse Winner with its plot of a neglected young boy desperate to please his worldly mother.[2]
Pelissier began acting in the 1930s. In 1935 and 1936, he was featured in Noël Coward's play cycle, Tonight at 8.30 , both in Britain and on Broadway. He also played in Coward's Set to Music (1939).That same year, in collaboration with his close friend, the actor John Mills he staged a West End revival of The Follies, the Edwardian musical revue company founded by his father H.G. Pélissier.[3] He began writing in 1937 and directing in 1949. He was the screenwriter and director of four popular films: The History of Mr Polly (1949), The Rocking Horse Winner (1950), Night Without Stars (1951), and Personal Affair , starring Gene Tierney and written by Lesley Storm. He also directed Encore (1951).[4]
He also directed Ealing's satire on television Meet Mr Lucifer (1953). He later headed the experimental production unit at the BBC.
Personal life
[edit ]Pelissier was married four times
- Penelope Dudley-Ward (m. 29 December 1939 – divorced 1944); the couple had one daughter, actress Tracy Reed (1942–2012)
- Margaret A Hyde (m. 1945), with whom he produced two daughters, Harriet (b. 1945) and Marie-Louise (b. 1949)
- Actress Monica Grey (m. in France) with whom he had one son, Joe Pelissier (b. 1963)
- Actress Ursula Howells (m. 1968 – 2 April 1988)
Death
[edit ]Pelissier died in Eastbourne, England, on 2 April 1988, aged 75. He was survived by his wife, Ursula Howells, and his four children.[4]
Selected filmography
[edit ]- Perfect Strangers (1945, writer)
- The History of Mr Polly (1949, writer and director)
- The Rocking Horse Winner (1950, writer and director)
- Night Without Stars (1951, writer and director)
- Encore (1951, director)
- Personal Affair (1953, director, credited as Anthony Pélissier)
- The Man Who Stroked Cats (1955, BBC TV film, director and co-writer)[5]
References
[edit ]- ^ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
- ^ Binns, Anthony; Pélissier, Jaudy (2022). The funniest man in London: the life and times of H.G. Pélissier (1874-1913): forgotten satirist and composer, founder of "The follies". Pett, East Sussex: Edgerton Publishing Services. ISBN 978-0-9933203-8-5.
- ^ Binns, Anthony; Pélissier, Jaudy (2022). The funniest man in London: the life and times of H.G. Pélissier (1874-1913): forgotten satirist and composer, founder of "The follies". Pett, East Sussex: Edgerton Publishing Services. ISBN 978-0-9933203-8-5.
- ^ a b "Anthony Pelissier, Actor, 75". The New York Times . Associated Press. 7 April 1988. Retrieved 7 November 2019.
- ^ "The Man who Stroked Cats". BBC Programme Index. Retrieved 22 January 2025.
External links
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