Bryan Forbes
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Bryan Forbes CBE |
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| Born |
John Theobald Clarke 22 July 1926 Stratford, West Ham, Essex, England, UK |
| Died | 8 May 2013 (aged 86) Virginia Water, Surrey, England, UK |
| Occupation | Actor Screenwriter Film producer Film director Author |
| Spouse(s) |
Constance Smith (m. 1951–55) (divorce) Nanette Newman (m. 1955–2013) (his death); 2 daughters |
| Children | Sarah Standing Emma Forbes |
Bryan Forbes, CBE (/fɔːrbz/; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist, described as a "Renaissance man" and "one of the most important figures in the British film industry". Best known as the director of the film The Stepford Wives (1975), he wrote and directed several other critically acclaimed films, including Whistle Down the Wind (1961), Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), and King Rat (1965). He also scripted several films directed by others, such as The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960) and Only Two Can Play (1962).
Forbes was born John Theobald Clarke in Stratford, London, on 22 July 1926 in Queen Mary's Hospital, Stratford, West Ham, Essex. His father was a salesman and he grew up at 43 Cranmer Road, Forest Gate, West Ham, where he attended West Ham Secondary School and Horncastle Grammar School after he was evacuated during World War II to Porthleven in Cornwall to the vicar Canon Edward Thornton Gotto and his wife. A schoolfriend at West Ham was artist Albert Herbert.Lionel Gamlin of the BBC took him on as the host of Junior Brains Trust, and invented Clarke's pseudonym of Bryan Forbes.
Forbes trained as an actor at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art from age 17, but completed only three terms. He did four years of military service in the Intelligence Corps and Combined Forces Entertainment Unit, during which time he started to write short stories. After completing his military service in 1948, following British Equity rules, he was obliged to change his name to avoid confusion with actor John Clark. Forbes began to act, appearing on stage and playing numerous supporting roles in British films, in particular An Inspector Calls (1954) and The Colditz Story (1955).
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