Anthony Simmons (writer)
Anthony Simmons | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 December 1922 West Ham, Essex, England |
| Died | 22 January 2016 (aged 93) |
| Pen name | Tony Simmons |
| Occupation | novelist, short story writer, screenwriter, director |
| Nationality | British |
Anthony Simmons (16 December 1922 – 22 January 2016) was a British writer and film director. He was associated with, though separate from, the Free Cinema movement;[1] he said he was greatly influenced by Humphrey Jennings and by Michelangelo Antonioni’s movie Il Grido (1957).[2]
Early life
Simmons was born in
Career
Simmons asserted: "I wasn’t aiming to be a film director. I was a lawyer aiming to be a writer. But I felt that if I wrote films it was more immediate. It’s quicker. You haven’t got to spell out the words, you just make the image and tell the story."[3]
His documentary Sunday by the Sea (1951) won the Grand Prix at the
For several years Simmons worked in radio and made television commercials until his next feature
He also directed episodes of British television series including
Personal life
Simmons married twice. With his first wife, Sheila Phillips, he had three sons, Jonathan, Daniel and Mathew; the couple divorced. He is survived by his second wife, Maria St Clare, whom he married in 1981, and their three sons, Luke, Noah and Micah.[citation needed]
Filmography
- Sunday by the Sea – documentary short – director/writer (1951)
- Bow Bells – documentary short – director/writer (1953)
- Passing Stranger– feature – co-writer (1954)
- Time Without Pity – feature – producer (1957)
- Your Money or Your Wife – feature – director (1960)
- Four in the Morning – feature – director/writer (1965)
- The Optimists of Nine Elms – feature – director/co-writer (1973), based on his novel The Optimists of Nine Elms
- Black Joy– feature – director/co-writer (1977)
- Green Ice – feature – co-writer (1981)
- Little Sweetheart – feature – director/writer (1989)
Books written
- Simmons, Anthony (1992). A little Space for Issie Brown. ISBN 0-19-271652-2.
- Simmons, Anthony (1965). The Optimists of Nine Elms. ISBN 0-19-271652-2.
References
- ^ . Retrieved 26 August 2009.
- . Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- . Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- ^ "BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org.
- ^ . Retrieved 26 October 2009.
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: Black Joy". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 10 May 2009.
- ^ "Anthony Simmons (1922–2016)".
External links
- Anthony Simmons at IMDb
- Filmography on britfilms.com
- Anthony Simmons at the BFI's Screenonline
- Obituary - BFI
- Obituary - The Guardian
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