David Greene

British director, actor
The basics

Quick Facts

IntroBritish director, actor
A.K.A.Lucius David Syms-Greene
A.K.A.Lucius David Syms-Greene
PlacesUnited Kingdom
wasFilm director Screenwriter Film producer Actor Film actor Television director
Work fieldFilm, TV, Stage & Radio
Gender
Male
Birth22 February 1921, Manchester, Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom
Death7 April 2003Ojai, Ventura County, California, USA (aged 82 years)
Star signPisces
Awards
Primetime Emmy Award 
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special1979
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series1969
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series1976
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series1977
The details

Biography

Lucius David Syms-Greene (born Lucius David Syms Brian Lederman; 22 February 1921 – 7 April 2003), known as David Greene, was a British television and film director, and actor.

Early life and career

David Greene was born in Manchester, England, and originally trained as a journalist, working for the Walthamstow Guardian. In the Second World War he served in the merchant navy but was invalided out in 1941. He became Publicity Manager for the Everyman Theatre in London before deciding to become an actor. After training at RADA, he further perfected his craft at the renowned repertory theatre, the Oxford Playhouse, where he worked under the director Peter Ashmore. Greene began public performances in 1948, including roles at the Old Vic. He moved into British films in the same year, including some minor "classics" such as The Wooden Horse (1950).

In 1953 Greene emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where he worked in television production with the CBC, including on the acclaimed 1956 television play Flight into Danger. He later moved on to Hollywood, California, United States. Most of his initial films as a director, however, were made and produced back in Britain, and it was only in the mid-1970s that he became firmly established in Hollywood as a filmmaker for television.

Personal life

Greene was married seven times: Margaret Lane (1941–48), Katharine Blake (1948–59), Eileen Grace Jack (1959–70), Thomasina Doreen Patricia Jones (1972–73), Vanessa Linsell (1975–81), Lauren Rickey Greene (1981–2001) and Kelly Greene (2003). Greene was divorced from five of his seven wives. His marriage to Thomasina ended in her death and his seventh ended in his own death of pancreatic cancer three days later. He had one child each with Vanessa Linsell, Thomasina Jones, Eileen Grace Jack and Katharine Blake.

He died aged 82 on 7 April 2003 of pancreatic cancer, in Ojai, California.

Selected filmography

Actor

  • Daughter of Darkness (1948)
  • The Small Voice (1948)
  • The Golden Madonna (1949)
  • The Wooden Horse (1950)
  • Let's Have a Murder (1950)
  • The Dark Light (1951)

Director (feature films)

  • The Shuttered Room (1967)
  • Sebastian (1968)
  • The Strange Affair (1968)
  • I Start Counting (1969)
  • The People Next Door (1970)
  • Madame Sin (1972)
  • Godspell (1973) (nominated for the Golden Palm at the Cannes Film Festival)
  • London Conspiracy (1974) (co-directed with James Hill; released in Italy)
  • Gray Lady Down (1978)
  • Hard Country (1981)

Director (television films and miniseries)

The contents of this page are sourced from Wikipedia article on 06 Jun 2024. The contents are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license.