Alvin Rakoff
Alvin Rakoff | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Rakoff in 2021 | |
| Born | Abraham Rakoff 6 February 1927 |
| Died | 12 October 2024 (aged 97) Chiswick, London, England |
| Occupation | Director |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 2 |
| Website | alvinrakoff |
Alvin Rakoff (born Abraham Rakoff; 6 February 1927 – 12 October 2024) was a Canadian director of theatre, film, and television.
Early life and education
The son of Jewish emigrants from the Russian Empire, Rakoff was born in Toronto born on 6 February 1927.[1] He was the third of seven children of Pearl (nee Isenberg) and Samuel Rakoff, who had a shop in Kensington Market. When Rakoff was 16, after facing antisemitism, he changed his first name to Alvin, inspired by Alvin York and the film Sergeant York.[2]
After graduation from the University of Toronto, he became a journalist and began writing for the CBC's nascent television service, where Sydney Newman was head of the drama department. In 1952, he moved to London, England to work at the BBC.
Career
A BBC adaptation in 1953 of the Irwin Shaw novel The Troubled Air was his first major writing assignment for television. In 1954, his production of Waiting For Gillian won the Daily Mail's National TV Award with actors Patrick Barr and Anne Crawford also honoured. He later recreated this production in French for transmission throughout France.
In 1962, the BBC asked Rakoff to produce/direct its entry for the European-wide 'The Largest Theatre In The World' written especially for the occasion by Terence Rattigan and called Heart to Heart, with Kenneth More and Ralph Richardson. In 1964, when the new channel BBC 2 was launched Rakoff was selected to direct plays filling the first three Sunday-night drama slots (The Seekers). He won his first Emmy Award in 1967 for Call Me Daddy, which had featured Donald Pleasence, and 15 years later won it again for A Voyage Round My Father (Laurence Olivier, Alan Bates, and Jane Asher took the leads) which he produced and directed.
Rakoff's writing included Too Marvellous For Words, the story of lyricist Johnny Mercer presented at The Mill Theatre, Sonning, and King's Head Theatre, London. He had written three novels. His first, & Gillian, a romantic novel, was translated into 10 languages. His second, Baldwin Street, based on his early days in his parents' shop in Toronto, was published in 2008. The Seven Einsteins, a third novel, is a genetic thriller published in 2014. An adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep was produced in 2012.
Rakoff's theatre work ranged from Hamlet at Bristol Old Vic to a Charity Cruise performance at the Royal Albert Hall before Her Majesty the Queen, and continued with his association with The Mill Theatre, Sonning, directing productions of Separate Tables with Anthony Valentine and his own adaptation of Chandler's The Big Sleep.
In 2010, Rakoff directed A Sentimental Journey, the story of Doris Day, at Wilton's Music Hall, London, and subsequently (2012) El Portal Theatre, Hollywood.
Rakoff was also a president of the Directors Guild of Great Britain.[3]
He worked with actors including Laurence Olivier, Peter Sellers, Sean Connery, Judi Dench, Rex Harrison, Rod Steiger, Henry Fonda and Ava Gardner.[4]
Rakoff awarded Sean Connery his first leading role, and gave Alan Rickman his first job when he was a drama student.[5] Other actors he worked with early in their careers include Michael Crawford, Jeremy Irons, and Michael Caine.[6]
Death
Rakoff died at his home in Chiswick, London on 12 October 2024, aged 97.[7]
Filmography
Feature films (director)
| Year | Film |
|---|---|
| 1958 | Passport to Shame |
| 1959 | The Treasure of San Teresa |
| 1961 | World in My Pocket |
| 1964 | The Comedy Man |
| 1969 | Crossplot |
| 1970 | Hoffman |
| 1971 | Say Hello to Yesterday |
| 1979 | City on Fire |
| 1979 | King Solomon's Treasure |
| 1980 | Death Ship |
| 1981 | Dirty Tricks |
Television (director)
| Year | Title |
|---|---|
| 1953 | Holiday Girl |
| 1953 | Starlight |
| 1953 | A Place of Execution |
| 1953 | Strictly Personal |
| 1953 | The Emperor Jones by Eugene O'Neill |
| 1954 | Willie the Squouse |
| 1954 | The Lover |
| 1954 | Waiting for Gillian |
| 1955 | Waiting for Gillian (French TV version form Paris, re-titled Un Chemin Dans La Nuit) |
| 1954 | The Face of Love |
| 1954 | Return to the River |
| 1954 | The Good Partners |
| 1954 | Tyrant's Tower |
| 1954 | Teckman Biography by Francis Durbridge |
| 1955 | Three Empty Rooms by Reginald Rose |
| 1955 | The New Executive |
| 1955 | The Hole in the Wall |
| 1955 | Thunder in the Realm (Canada) |
| 1955 | The Legend of Pepito |
| 1956 | The Reclining Figure |
| 1956 | For the Defence |
| 1956 | The Condemned |
| 1956 | Epitaph |
| 1956 | The Seat of the Scornful |
| 1956 | No Man's Land |
| 1957 | Dial 999 (series, 4 episodes) |
| 1957 | The Staring Match |
| 1957 | Sunday Night Theatre: Requiem for a Heavyweight |
| 1957 | Our Town |
| 1958 | The Caine Mutiny Court Martial |
| 1958 | Breakdown |
| 1958 | Man in the Corner |
| 1959 | Velvet Alley |
| 1959 | The Ransom of Red Chief (USA) |
| 1959 | The Dark Side of the Earth |
| 1960 | The Leather Jungle |
| 1960 | A Town Has Turned to Dust |
| 1960 | Come In Razor Red |
| 1961 | Joker's Justice |
| 1961 | The Room by Harold Pinter |
| 1961 | A Reason for Staying |
| 1962 | Heart to Heart by Terence Rattigan ("The Largest Theatre in the World", European Union television drama entry) |
| 1962 | A Quiet Game of Cards |
| 1962 | Call Me Back |
| 1963 | The Remarkable Incident at Carsons Corners |
| 1964 | The Seekers |
| 1964 | The Blackpool Trilogy |
| 1965 | Court Martial (series) |
| 1966 | You'll Know Me by the Stars in My Eyes |
| 1966 | The Move After Checkmate |
| 1966 | The Sweet War Man |
| 1967 | The Girl |
| 1967 | The Man Who Understood Women |
| 1967 | Call Me Daddy (Emmy Award) |
| 1968 | Murder |
| 1971 | A Kiss Is Just a Kiss |
| 1971 | Summer and Smoke |
| 1972 | Blur & Blank via Cleckheaton |
| 1972 | A Man About a Dog |
| 1972 | The Adventures of Don Quixote |
| 1973 | Shadow of a Gunman |
| 1973 | Harlequinade |
| 1974 | Cheap in August |
| 1974 | Jan & Tony, "Rooms" |
| 1974 | How to Impeach A President (USA) |
| 1974 | A Brisk Dip Sagaciously Considered |
| 1974 | Shall We Have a King? (USA) |
| 1975 | Husband to Mrs Fitzherbert |
| 1975 | The Nicest Man in the World |
| 1975 | The October Crisis (Canada) |
| 1975 | Lulu Street (Canada) |
| 1975 | The Liberty Tree |
| 1976 | The Killers |
| 1976 | In Praise of Love |
| 1976 | Mrs Amsworth |
| 1976 | The Promise |
| 1976 | The Dame Of Sark |
| 1977 | The Kitchen |
| 1978 | Romeo & Juliet |
| 1980 | The Quiet Days of Mrs Stafford |
| 1981 | The Breadwinner |
| 1982 | Disraeli |
| 1982 | A Voyage Round My Father |
| 1983 | Firework For Elspeth |
| 1983 | Mr Halpern & Mr Johnson |
| 1983 | A Talent for Murder |
| 1984 | The First Olympics, Athens 1896 |
| 1985 | Paradise Postponed |
| 1989 | Haunting Harmony |
| 1990 | Gas & Candles |
| 1991/1992 | Sam Saturday |
| 1992 | The Best Of Friends |
| 1997 | A Dance to the Music of Time |
Writing (television, films, books)
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | The Troubled Air | adaptor (TV) |
| 1953 | A Flight of Fancy | writer (TV) |
| 1953 | Our Town | adaptor (TV) |
| 1954 | Waiting for Gillian | co-adaptor (TV) |
| 1958 | The Caine Mutiny Court Martial | adaptor (TV) |
| 1970 | Say Hello To Yesterday | writer (film) |
| 1973 | A Man About Dog | adaptor (TV) |
| 1973 | Shadow Of A Gunman | adaptor (TV) |
| 1978 | City On Fire | co-writer (film) |
| 1991/92 | Sam Saturday | creator (TV series) |
| 1996 | & Gillian | (novel, Little Brown) |
| 2001/02 | Too Marvelous For Words | writer (musical) |
| 2008 | Baldwin Street | (novel, Bunim & Bannigan, New York) |
| 2012 | The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler | (stage adaptation) |
| 2014 | The Seven Einsteins | (novel, Author House) |
Stage credits
| Year | Title | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Hamlet | Bristol Old Vic, Bristol | |
| 1982 | Celia Johnson Theatre Fund Performance | Aldwych Theatre, London | |
| 1984 | Cruise Charity Gala Performance | Royal Albert Hall, London | |
| 1995 | Stage Struck | The Mill at Sonning, Berkshire | |
| 2001–02 | Too Marvelous For Words | The Mill at Sonning, Berkshire | Also writer |
| 2002 | Too Marvelous For Words | King's Head Theatre, London | |
| 2004 | I Remember You | The Mill at Sonning, Berkshire | |
| 2005 | Separate Tables | ||
| 2007 | Same Time Next Year | ||
| 2009 | A Sentimental Journey | ||
| 2011 | Wilton's Music Hall, London | ||
| Edinburgh Festival Theatre, Edinburgh | |||
| El Portal Theater, Los Angeles | |||
| The Big Sleep | The Mill at Sonning, Berkshire |
References
- ↑ Jerry Roberts (June 5, 2009). Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors. Scarecrow Press. p. 467. ISBN 978-0-8108-6378-1.
- ↑ "BBC director Alvin Rakoff reflects on the journey from Toronto's Kensington Market to a long career in show business". Canadian Jewish News. 5 December 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
- ↑ Ntim, Zac (2024-10-17). "Alvin Rakoff Dies: Veteran Canadian Filmmaker Was 97; Judi Dench & Stephen Fry Share Tributes". Deadline. Retrieved 2026-05-27.
- ↑ "Alvin Rakoff". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ↑ "Alvin Rakoff". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ↑ "Alvin Rakoff". IMDb. Retrieved 2023-05-03.
- ↑ Yossman, K. J. (2024-10-17). "Alvin Rakoff, Canadian Director of Laurence Olivier Starrer 'A Voyage Round My Father,' Dies at 97". Variety. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
External links
- Alvin Rakoff at IMDb
- Alvin Rakoff discography at Discogs