Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Filmdirector whoadstyle
Sir Alan Parker, who went from TV commercials to Hollywood, dies at 76
ALAN Parker, the writer and director of acclaimed movies such as The Commitments and Bugsy Malone, has died aged 76.
The double Oscar nominee’s other credits included Midnight Express, Fame, Evita, Birdy and Angela’s Ashes.
His family announced his death “following a lengthy illness” in a statement yesterday.
Film producer Lord David Puttnam last night paid tribute to his “oldest friend” and said: “I was always in awe of his talent.” And Bafta, which awarded Sir Alan an academy fellowship in 2013, said: “We are deeply saddened. He brought us joy.”
Sir Alan was born in Islington, North London, on February 14, 1944, and became an advertising copywriter in his teens.
He graduated to writing and directing commercials and in 1974, he directed BBC film The Evacuees, written by Jack Rosenthal.
It won him a Bafta for direction – the first of seven awards from the British
Academy. The first film he wrote and directed was Bugsy Malone in 1976 – a musical pastiche of gangster films with a cast of children.
His second film, 1978’s Midnight Express, won two Oscars, six Golden Globes and four Baftas.
In 1982, he directed Pink Floyd – The Wall, the feature adaptation of the band’s hit album, which became a cult classic among music fans. He was particularly well known for musical films such as Fame, The Commitments and Evita. Sir Alan once said: “If you can use music and images together, it’s very powerful.” In 1995, he was made a CBE for services to the British film industry and he was knighted in 2002. In 2015, Sir Alan revealed he was finished with the film business, admitting that “every day was a battle” with executives. He is survived by wife Lisa Moranparker, his children Lucy, Alexander, Jake, Nathan and Henry, and seven grandchildren.