Stephen Whittaker
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Stephen Whittaker (28 June 19477 February 2003) was a British
actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
and
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
. He worked largely in British film and television, and attended Henley-in-Arden School in Warwickshire before further training as an actor at London's
Corona Academy Corona Theatre School (formerly Corona Academy) was founded in 1950 as a performing arts academy, operating in the region of west London. After the retirement of its owner, Rona Knight, it reopened as Ravenscourt Theatre School in 1989. Histor ...
. He began his career aged 17, as a "bad boy" in the film '' To Sir With Love'' (1966), and in the classic
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
'' Doctor Who'' adventure ''
The Web of Fear ''The Web of Fear'' is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. The serial is set on the ...
'', as a soldier battling
Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''
London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England. The ...
. In 1985 Whittaker took a director's training course, and directed a short training film which he sent to
John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...
(who had directed him in ''
Yanks ''Yanks'' is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, and starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn and Tony Melody. The film is set during the Second World War in Northern England and features no combat scen ...
''). Schlesinger suggested him to producer
Mark Shivas Mark Shivas (24 April 1938 – 11 October 2008) was a British television producer, film producer and executive. Shivas was born in Banstead in Surrey. His father was an English teacher; his mother was a librarian. He attended Whitgift School i ...
as director for
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's drama trilogy ''What If It's Raining?'', written by
Anthony Minghella Anthony Minghella, (6 January 195418 March 2008) was a British film director, playwright and screenwriter. He was chairman of the board of Governors at the British Film Institute between 2003 and 2007. He won the Academy Award for Best Directo ...
. This was the beginning of a directing career of prestigious TV and film work. Shortly before Whittaker's death, writer
Julian Fellowes Julian Alexander Kitchener-Fellowes, Baron Fellowes of West Stafford, (born 17 August 1949) is an English actor, novelist, film director and screenwriter, and a Conservative peer of the House of Lords. He is primarily known as the author of se ...
spoke of him as, "the most exciting director in the industry." In 2001 he filmed his final project ''
The Rocket Post ''The Rocket Post'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by Stephen Whittaker and starring Ulrich Thomsen, Shauna Macdonald, Kevin McKidd and Patrick Malahide. It is set on a remote Scottish island during the late 1930s. The arrival of Germ ...
'', a romantic drama set on a remote Scottish island. The film had severe funding problems, and was eventually released in 2006, three years after his death. The credits bear a dedication to his memory. Whittaker died following complications from a routine surgery.


Director

* ''What If It's Raining'' (1985) (TV) * ''
Eurocops ''Eurocops'' is a European television crime TV-series produced between 1988 and 1992. It is a co-production between seven European TV stations in which each station produced a number of episodes which were then pooled, dubbed and otherwise adapt ...
: Hunting the Squirrel'' (1988) (TV), crime drama written by Billy Hamon, starring
John Benfield Jonathan Edmund Fulford "John" Turner (9 November 1951 – 16 June 2020), better known by his stage name John Benfield, was a British character actor. Biography Benfield appeared in 75 television episodes or films starting in 1981 with small p ...
* ''
Portrait of a Marriage ''Portrait of a Marriage: Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson'' is the 1973 biography of writer and gardener Vita Sackville-West compiled by her son Nigel Nicolson from her journals and letters. Synopsis The book relates to Sackville-West ...
'' (1990) (TV) * ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot ''Poirot'' (also known as ''Agatha Christie's Poirot'') is a British mystery drama television programme that aired on ITV from 8 January 1989 to 13 November 2013. David Suchet starred as the eponymous detective, Agatha Christie's fictional Her ...
'' (1 episode, 1992) - "
Death in the Clouds ''Death in the Clouds'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company on 10 March 1935 under the title of ''Death in the Air'' and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in ...
" (1992) TV episode * ''
Inspector Morse Detective Chief Inspector Endeavour Morse, GM, is the eponymous fictional character in the series of detective novels by British author Colin Dexter. On television, he appears in the 33-episode drama series '' Inspector Morse'' (1987–2000), ...
'' (1 episode, 1993) - " The Day of the Devil" (1993) TV episode * ''Closing Numbers'' (1993) * ''Killing Me Softly'' (1995) (TV) * '' Hearts and Minds'' (1995) (TV) * '' Stone Cold'' (1997) Producer Andy Rowley BBC ''
Scene Scene (from Greek σκηνή ''skēnḗ'') may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Scene (subculture), a youth subculture from the early 2000s characterized by a distinct music and style. Groups and performers * The Scene who reco ...
'' * ''Tangier Cop'' (1997) ... aka Heartbreak City * ''Stone, Scissors, Paper'' (1997) (TV) * ''A Life for a Life'' (1998) (TV) * ''
Grafters ''Grafters'' was a British drama–comedy programme originally broadcast in the UK on ITV from 27 October 1998 to 20 December 1999 for 16 episodes over two series. ''Grafters'' relates the lives of the Purvis brothers Joe ( Robson Green) and ...
'' (1998) TV mini-series (unknown episodes) * ''Grafters II'' (1999) TV mini-series * ''
Dalziel and Pascoe Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and Detective Sergeant, later Detective Inspector, Peter Pascoe are two fictional Yorkshire detectives featuring in a series of novels by Reginald Hill. Characterisation and style Dalziel is ...
'' (1 episode, 2000) - "A Sweeter Lazarus" (2000) TV episode producer Andy Rowley * ''
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'' (2001) (TV) * ''
Sons and Lovers ''Sons and Lovers'' is a 1913 novel by the English writer D. H. Lawrence. It traces emotional conflicts through the protagonist, Paul Morel, and his suffocating relationships with a demanding mother and two very different lovers, which exert c ...
'' (2003) (TV) * ''
The Rocket Post ''The Rocket Post'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by Stephen Whittaker and starring Ulrich Thomsen, Shauna Macdonald, Kevin McKidd and Patrick Malahide. It is set on a remote Scottish island during the late 1930s. The arrival of Germ ...
'' (2004)


Actor

* ''
Out of the Unknown ''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
'' (1966, 1 episode) .... Harold * ''
To Sir, with Love ''To Sir, with Love'' is a 1967 British drama film that deals with social and racial issues in an inner city school. It stars Sidney Poitier and features Christian Roberts, Judy Geeson, Suzy Kendall and singer Lulu making her film debut. Ja ...
'' (1967) .... Schoolboy * '' Doctor Who'' (1968, episode: ''
The Web of Fear ''The Web of Fear'' is the partly missing fifth serial of the fifth season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 3 February to 9 March 1968. The serial is set on the ...
'') .... Craftsman Weams * ''
Up the Junction ''Up the Junction'' is a 1963 collection of short stories by Nell Dunn that depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction. The book uses colloquial speech, and its portrayal of petty thieving, sexual encoun ...
'' (1968) .... Alf (uncredited) * ''
Chastity Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...
'' (1969) .... Eddie * ''
Strange Report ''Strange Report'' is a British television crime drama series starring Anthony Quayle as Adam Strange. It was produced by ITC Entertainment and first broadcast in 1969 on ITV In the United States, NBC broadcast ''Strange Report'' between 8 Ja ...
'' (1969, 1 episode) .... The Office Boy * ''Bury Me an Angel'' (1972) .... Killer (as Stephen Wittaker) * ''
I Escaped from Devil's Island ''I Escaped from Devil's Island'' is a 1973 exploitation film about an escape attempt from Devil's Island. Roger Corman and Gene Corman produced this grim adventure saga which was made to cash in on the release of '' Papillon''. Plot summary P ...
'' (1973) .... Leper Count * ''Dinosaur'' (1975) * '' The Great Gundown'' (1977) .... Laredo * ''
Yanks ''Yanks'' is a 1979 drama film directed by John Schlesinger, and starring Richard Gere, Vanessa Redgrave, William Devane, Lisa Eichhorn and Tony Melody. The film is set during the Second World War in Northern England and features no combat scen ...
'' (1979) .... Merchant seaman * '' The Keep'' (1983) .... S.S. Commando * ''
Blott on the Landscape ''Blott on the Landscape'' is a novel by Tom Sharpe which was first published in 1975. The book was adapted into a 6-part Blott on the Landscape (TV series), television series of the same name for BBC television in 1985. Plot The story revolves ...
'' (1985, 1 episode) .... Orderly (final appearance)


External links


Obituary in ''The Guardian''website
*


References

British male television actors British film directors 1947 births 2003 deaths British male film actors {{UK-film-director-stub