David Greene (director)


Lucius David Syms-Greene, 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.
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, Katherine Blake, Eileen Grace Jack, Thomasina Doreen Patricia Jones, Vanessa Linsell, Lauren Rickey Greene and Kelly Greene. 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 Katherine Blake.
He died aged 82 on 7 April 2003 of pancreatic cancer, in Ojai, California.

Selected filmography

Actor

Daughter of Darkness The Small Voice The Golden Madonna The Wooden Horse Let's Have a Murder

Director (feature films)

The Shuttered Room Sebastian The Strange Affair I Start Counting The People Next Door Madame Sin Godspell London Conspiracy Gray Lady Down

Director (television films and miniseries)

Shane, episodes The Great Invasion, Part 1-2 starring David Carradine, Constance Ford, and Bradford DillmanThe People Next Door, an episode of season 2 of CBS Playhouse, starring Eli Wallach and Julie Harris, which was subsequently refilmed as a theatrical release in 1970 The Count of Monte Cristo, starring Richard Chamberlain, Kate Nelligan and Tony CurtisRich Man, Poor Man, starring Nick Nolte and Ray Milland Roots, starring Lorne Greene and Maya Angelou The Trial of Lee Harvey Oswald, starring Lorne Greene and Ben GazzaraFriendly Fire, starring Carol Burnett A Vacation in Hell, starring Priscilla BarnesRehearsal for Murder, starring Robert Preston and Lynn RedgraveMurder Among Friends, starring Sally Kellerman and Leslie NielsenFatal Vision, starring Karl Malden and Eva Marie SaintThe Guardian, starring Martin Sheen and Louis Gossett Jr.Guilty Conscience, starring Anthony Hopkins and Blythe DannerCircle of Violence, starring Tuesday Weld and River Phoenix The Betty Ford Story, starring Gena Rowlands and Josef SommerInherit the Wind, starring Kirk Douglas and Jason Robards Jr.Liberace: Behind the Music, starring Victor GarberSmall Sacrifices, starring Ryan O'Neal and Farrah FawcettThe Penthouse, starring Robin GivensIn the Best Interest of the Child, starring Meg TillyWhat Ever Happened to Baby Jane?, starring the Redgrave sisters, Lynn and Vanessa, a remake of the 1962 film of the same name.Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story, starring Lesley Ann Warren and Dennis ChristopherChildren of the Dust, starring Sidney PoitierA Season in Purgatory, starring Patrick DempseyBreach of Faith: A Family of Cops 2, starring Charles Bronson and Daniel BaldwinBella Mafia, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Nastassja Kinski, Jennifer Tilly and Dennis Farina