Sydney Newman
- Known for
- Production
- Born
- April 1, 1917
- Died
- October 30, 1997 (aged 80)
- Birthplace
- Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Biography
Sydney Cecil Newman, OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State. During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, he worked first with the Associated British Corporation (ABC, now Thames Television), before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular television programmes, the spy-fi series The Avengers and the science-fiction series Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play. The Museum of Broadcast Communications describes Newman as "the most significant agent in the development of British television drama." His obituary in The Guardian declared that "For ten brief but glorious years, Sydney Newman ... was the most important impresario in Britain ... His death marks not just the end of an era but the laying to rest of a whole philosophy of popular art." In Quebec, as commissioner of the NFB, he attracted controversy for his decision to suppress distribution of several politically sensitive films by French Canadian directors. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Penitentiary
Movie · Producer
Utilities
Movie · Associate Producer
Tea Party
Movie · Producer
The Trial of Dr. Fancy
Movie · Producer
Festival
TV · Producer · 32 eps
The Hard Knock
Movie · Producer
The Fishing Match
Movie · Producer
Night Conspirators
Movie · Producer
Afternoon of a Nymph
Movie · Producer
Out of This World
TV · Producer · 1 ep
Danger! Men Working
Movie · Producer
Honeymoon Postponed
Movie · Producer
The Rose Affair
Movie · Producer
The Ship That Couldn't Stop
Movie · Producer
Tune On the Old Tax Fiddle
Movie · Producer
Pathfinders to Venus
TV · Producer · 8 eps
Lord Arthur Savile's Crime
Movie · Producer
I'll Have You to Remember
Movie · Producer
After the Funeral
Movie · Producer
A Night Out
Movie · Producer
Where I Live
Movie · Producer
My Representative
Movie · Producer
Pathfinders to Mars
TV · Producer · 6 eps
Pathfinders in Space
TV · Producer · 7 eps
Target Luna
TV · Producer · 6 eps
Counter-Attack
TV · Producer · 7 eps
The Scent of Fear
Movie · Producer
After the Show
Movie · Producer
The Bird, the Bear and the Actress
Movie · Producer
The Thought of Tomorrow
Movie · Producer
Hot Summer Night
Movie · Producer
Doctor Kabil
Movie · Producer
I Can Destroy the Sun
Movie · Producer
Flight Into Danger
Movie · Supervising Producer
The Canadian Howdy Doody Show
TV · Producer · 2 eps
Space Command
TV · Supervising Producer · 13 eps
Screaming Jets
Movie · Producer
Inside Newfoundland
Movie · Producer
Talent Showcase
Movie · Producer
Struggle for Oil
Movie · Producer
Passport to Canada
Movie · Producer
A Capital Plan
Movie · Producer
Summer Is for Kids
Movie · Producer
Red Runs the Fraser
Movie · Producer
Inside The Atom
Movie · Producer
Choral Concert
Movie · Producer
It's Fun to Sing
Movie · Producer
Pay-Off In Pain
Movie · Producer
Science in Bloom
Movie · Producer
Canada Dances
Movie · Producer
Johnny at the Fair
Movie · Producer
Careers and Cradles
Movie · Producer
Montreal by Night
Movie · Producer
Ski Skill
Movie · Producer
The New North
Movie · Producer
Suffer Little Children
Movie · Producer
Fighting Sea-Fleas
Movie · Producer
Trans-Canada Express
Movie · Producer
Banshees Over Canada
Movie · Producer