Farewell to the master
TRIBUTES POUR IN FOR FILM EXPERT NORMAN
- Barry Norman STARS have paid tribute to film critic Barry Norman, who died on Friday night aged 83.
They called the legendary BBC presenter “the master” of his industry.
Jonathan Ross said he was a “great critic” and a “lovely, lovely man”.
BBC Director-General Tony Hall said: “Barry Norman was a first-class presenter and critic. Film buffs always found his programmes essential viewing.
“He dominated broadcasting about films for a generation with wit and great knowledge. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with his family and friends.”
Barry’s daughters Samantha and Emma said their dad was “remarkable”, adding: “He had a great life, a wonderful marriage and an enviable career.”
He found nationwide fame when presenting BBC One’s Film... show in 1972, and was its longest-serving host. In 1998, after 26 years, he left to join Sky.
His agent Curtis Brown said Barry was “the defining voice of film criticism and insightful interviewing of screen legends from both sides of the camera”.
Stephen Fry tweeted: “Sad to hear of Barry Norman’s departure.”
He also highlighted his second career as a pickled onion producer, saying: “A film critic and a provider of fine pickled onions. That’s a good life.”
Fellow film critic and radio presenter Mark Kermode said: “Watching Barry Norman review films was a pleasure, an education and an inspiration.
“Wit, knowledge and wry enthusiasm. He was the master.”
During his career, Barry, from Highgate, North London, interviewed a who’s who of greats, including Martin Scorsese and Woody Allen.
He often almost came to blows with Hollywood interviewees irritated by his probing questions. Robert De Niro once stormed off set when he brought up the fact that the Raging Bull actor had wanted Tom Hanks’ starring role in Big.
Barry said: “He got up my nose, I got up his nose, he stormed out of the room and I chased after him.” He also had a spat with John Wayne after the pair argued over the Vietnam War. Barry said he “lurched out of his chair with the obvious intention of thumping me”.
And he was gently mocked on Spitting Image for his catchphrase “And why not?”
Speaking in 2001, he lamented what he saw as the rise of celebrity, saying: “When I started nearly 30 years ago, people were asked to go on television because it was felt that they could bring some sort of knowledge to what they were discussing, and because they could speak in complete sentences, which is getting increasingly rare. “I think the difference now is that people go on television because they want to be celebrities and that seems to be an empty ambition. “I do like to feel I’ve contributed something, as well as just sitting there.”
Barry had been sufferring from lung cancer. His wife Diana, who wrote historical thrillers under the name Ariana Franklin, died in 2011 aged 77. - Mark Kermode