James Cellan Jones
| James Cellan Jones | |
|---|---|
| Born |
13 July 1931 Swansea, Wales |
| Alma mater | St John's College, Cambridge University |
| Occupation | Television director and producer |
| Years active | 1960–2001 |
| Known for |
The Forsyte Saga (1967) Fortunes of War (1987) |
| Title | Head of Plays, BBC Television |
| Term | 1976–1979 |
| Predecessor | Christopher Morahan |
| Successor | Keith Williams |
| Children |
Simon Cellan Jones Rory Cellan-Jones |
Alan James Gwynne Cellan Jones (born 13 July 1931) is a British television and film director. Since 1963, he has directed over 50 diverse television series and films, specializing in dramas.
He is particularly associated with the "Classic Serial" during the golden age of BBC drama, and some of his most notable work has been in televising late 19th-century and 20th-century British literary works. Two of his most ambitious and successful directorial adaptations are the miniseries The Forsyte Saga (1967) and Fortunes of War (1987); and he is also noted for his award-winning productions of Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (1974) and Harnessing Peacocks (1993).
Cellan Jones has been Head of Plays at BBC Television, Chairman of BAFTA, and Chairman of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.
James Cellan Jones was born in 1931 in Swansea, Wales. Born into a family of doctors, he studied natural sciences at St John's College, Cambridge University, where he received his BA in 1952, later raised to an MA in 1978.
Cellan Jones's true interest was acting and directing, however, and he began working at BBC Television in 1955 as a callboy, and rose steadily to become a production manager. In 1960 he began directing for the BBC, and by 1965 was directing several major productions a year there. In 1967 he directed seven episodes of the award-winning miniseries adaptation of The Forsyte Saga, and his other period dramas have included numerous adaptations of works by Henry James and George Bernard Shaw. In the 1970s he directed two notable historical biographical sagas: the award-winning miniseries Jennie: Lady Randolph Churchill (1976), and the 13-episode miniseries The Adams Chronicles (1976), about the American Adams political family.
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