Vale: Ken Russell
Flamboyant film director Ken Russell, who also had a prolific TV career, has died at the age of 84.
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UK Director Ken Russell, best known for his flamboyant feature films, has died aged 84. He also had a prolific television career including dramas, telemovies and documentaries.
Russell died on Sunday in his sleep.
He developed his style during his early career in television. He joined the BBC in 1959, where for the next 11 years he made pioneering arts shows for Monitor and Omnibus, including Elgar (1962), Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World (1967), and Dance of the Seven Veils (1970).
He moved into feature filmmaking with such films as Women in Love, The Music Lovers, Lisztomania and Tommy -it is these for which he will be best remembered.
He later returned to television on various projects, both dramatic and documentary including Road to Mandalay, Prisoner of Honour, Lady Chatterley, Treasure Island, Mindbender, and Dogboys.
His appetite for both adventure and publicity even saw him enter the UKÂ Celebrity Big Brother house in 2007. But he only lasted four days in the house, following an altercation with Jade Goody.
Source: The Guardian
3 Responses
1984’s ‘crime of passion’ starring kathleen turner and anthony perkins was a cult favourite as well.
Altered States was the first of his films that I saw and it left a pretty big impression on me at the time. It’s a little dated now but it’s still a bit of a classic.
Ah, I have fond memories of Lair of the White Worm, one of my first forays into weird indie cinema … RIP Ken and thanks for your one of a kind creativity.