David Parkinson Obituaries

2 weeks ago | bfi.org.uk | David Parkinson Obituaries |David Parkinson |Adam Nayman |Andy Medhurst

A combination of good looks and impeccable control meant that Richard Chamberlain, who died two days before his 91st birthday, was never quite afforded his due as an actor. The son of an alcoholic shop fittings salesman, he was born in Beverly Hills (“the wrong side of Wilshire Boulevard”) on 31 March 1934. Having hidden the fact he was gay to serve in the US military in post-war Korea, he later returned to Los Angeles to study with blacklisted actor Jeff Corey.

Oct 18, 2024 | bfi.org.uk | David Parkinson Obituaries |David Parkinson |Dan Callahan |Michal Leszczylowski

Canadian-born Alvin Rakoff, who has died at 97, worked at the dawn of television, helped discover Sean Connery, and directed films including the cult horror Death Ship. 18 October 2024It’s a shame that Alvin Rakoff, the Canadian director who has died at the age of 97, should have waited until his 10th decade to write his memoirs.

Sep 30, 2024 | bfi.org.uk | David Parkinson |Lillian Crawford |Bertolt Brecht |David Parkinson Obituaries

“That girl has a magic,” Kenneth Williams confided to his diary while appearing in Peter Shaffer’s twinned 1962 plays The Private Ear and The Public Eye opposite Maggie Smith. He also noted that Smith had “a deftness of touch in comedy that makes you really grateful”. But Smith herself, who has died aged 89, had mixed feelings about her gift. “I got pigeonholed in humour,” she told The Guardian in 2004. “If you do comedy, you kind of don’t count.