Sir John Denis Forman (13 October 1917 – 24 February 2013) was a Scottish executive in the British television industry long associated with the ITV contractor

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

, and with various charitable and governmental bodies in the arts.

Career

Forman was born in 1917 in Cragielands, near

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town ...

, in Dumfries, to the Rev Adam Forman, an Episcopalian vicar and country gentleman who later became a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

minister. The family lived in a house built in the Palladian style and were devout. Forman recounted his childhood in his memoir ''Son of Adam'' (1990, filmed as '' My Life So Far'' in 1999). He was educated at Loretto School,

Musselburgh Musselburgh (; sco, Musselburrae; gd, Baile nam Feusgan) is the largest settlement in East Lothian, Scotland, on the coast of the Firth of Forth, east of Edinburgh city centre. It has a population of . History The name Musselburgh is O ...

and Pembroke College, Cambridge. Forman had a distinguished military career during the Second World War and was wounded at Monte Cassino, losing a leg. After the war he joined the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and was its Director from 1948 to 1955. Later he was Chair of its Board of Governors, from 1971 to 1973. After his main period of work at the BFI, Forman joined the new

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

in 1955, an ITV contractor which went on air in the following year, being appointed by Cecil Bernstein (brother of

Sidney Sidney may refer to: People * Sidney (surname), English surname * Sidney (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Sidney (footballer, born 1972), full name Sidney da Silva Souza, Brazilian football defensive midfielder * ...

) who was a BFI governor at the time. He was Chairman from 1974 to 1987, and Deputy Chairman of the

Granada Group Granada plc (previously called Granada Ltd, Granada Group plc, and Granada Media plc) was a British conglomerate best known as the parent from 1954 to 2004 of the Manchester-based Granada Television. The company merged with Carlton Communicati ...

from 1984 to 1990. He was also Deputy Chairman of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal ...

Covent Garden, from 1983 to 1991. Throughout his career, Forman encouraged young talent and amongst others, mentored the founder of Channel 4 Sir Jeremy Isaacs and musician and businessman David Wood. At Granada Forman presided over the creation of the acclaimed series ''The Jewel in the Crown'' and such ground-breaking programmes as ''World in Action'', ''University Challenge'' and ''Family at War''.

Personal life

Forman married Helen de Mouilpied in 1948 and they had two sons, Charlie and Adam. She died in 1987. He married again in 1990, to Moni, the widow of the journalist

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post- New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability ...

. He died of a heart attack in a nursing home in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, aged 95.Granada's Sir Denis Forman dies aged 95

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...

, 25 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.

Publications

*''Mozart’s Piano Concertos'', 1971 *''Son of Adam'' (autobiography, vol.1), 1990 *''To Reason Why'' (autobiography, vol.2), 1991 *''The Good Opera Guide'', (ed.) 1994 *''Persona Granada: Some Memories of Sidney Bernstein and the Early Days of Independent Television'' (memoir), 1997 *''The Good Wagner Guide'', 2000

References

External links

*
WW2 Experience Website detailing Forman's Military CareerAppearance on Desert Island Discs (3 March 1991)

Career

Personal life

Publications

References

External links

See also