Barry Leslie Norman (21 August 1933 – 30 June 2017) was a British
film critic
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...
, television presenter and journalist. He presented the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
's cinema review programme, '' Film...'', from 1972 to 1998.
Early life
Born at
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...
, London, on 21 August 1933, Norman was the eldest of three children of film director Leslie Norman, and Elizabeth Norman (née Crafford).'' Who's Who 2013'' He was brother of script editor and director Valerie Norman (making him the former brother-in-law of
Bernard Williams
Sir Bernard Arthur Owen Williams (21 September 1929 – 10 June 2003) was an English Ethics, moral philosopher. His publications include ''Problems of the Self'' (1973), ''Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy'' (1985), ''Shame and Necessit ...
West Sussex
West Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Surrey to the north, East Sussex to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Hampshire to the west. The largest settlement is Cr ...
– at the time, the college did not admit the sons of tradespeople and there was a lengthy debate as to whether his father's occupation as a
film editor
Film editing is both a creative and a technical part of the post-production process of filmmaking. The term is derived from the traditional process of working with film stock, film which increasingly involves the use Digital cinema, of digital ...
was a trade or not. At age 12 he went to
Highgate School
Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is a co-educational, fee-charging, private day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate Pre-Preparato ...
, then an all-boys independent school in North London from January 1946 until July 1951. He did not go to university, opting instead to study shipping management at Islington Technical College.
Career
Norman began his career in journalism with the West London newspaper ''The Kensington News''. He later spent a period in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...
, then moving to
Salisbury
Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...
, Rhodesia (now known as
Harare
Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...
,
Zimbabwe
file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map
Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...
) where he wrote for '' The Rhodesia Herald''. In Africa he developed a hostility to the effects of
apartheid
Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...
.
When he returned to the UK, Norman became a gossip columnist for the '' Daily Sketch'', and then show-business editor of the ''
Daily Mail
The ''Daily Mail'' is a British daily Middle-market newspaper, middle-market Tabloid journalism, tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London. , it has the List of newspapers in the United Kingdom by circulation, h ...
'' until March 1971, when he was made redundant when the two papers merged. Subsequently, he wrote a column for ''
The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' and each Wednesday for ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', also contributing leader columns to the newspaper. He was one of the collaborators with Wally Fawkes on the long-running cartoon strip '' Flook''. He contributed a column to the ''
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...
'' for many years, and wrote several novels.
Norman presented
BBC1
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and Flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includ ...
's '' Film...'' programme from 1972, becoming the sole presenter the following year. The theme was a recording of Billy Taylor playing his 1952 composition " I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free". Norman's involvement was interrupted in 1982 by a brief spell presenting '' Omnibus''. After returning to the ''Film'' series in 1983, Norman became increasingly irritated by the BBC's reluctance to screen it at a regular time, and in 1998 finally accepted an offer to work for
BSkyB
Sky UK Limited (formerly British Sky Broadcasting Limited (BSkyB)), trading as Sky, is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television, broadband internet, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers ...
, where he remained for three years. Jonathan Ross took his place as the BBC programme's presenter.
In a 2013 article for the ''Radio Times'', Norman listed what he considered to be the 49 best British films of all time. The list included '' The Cruel Sea'' (1953), ''
Chariots of Fire
''Chariots of Fire'' is a 1981 historical drama, historical Sports film, sports drama film directed by Hugh Hudson, written by Colin Welland and produced by David Puttnam. It is based on the true story of two British athletes in the 1924 Summer ...
'' (1981), and ''
Skyfall
''Skyfall'' is a 2012 spy thriller film and the twenty-third in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions. The film is the third to star Daniel Craig as fictional MI6 agent James Bond and features Javier Bardem as Raoul Silva, ...
'' (2012). Norman explained: "In most cases the criteria I used was whether these films were going to last; whether new generations of cinema-goers would want to watch them in 20 years time ..Most are quite old films, but they all appeal to this generation of film-goers as much as they did when they were first made."
Norman wrote and presented a number of documentary series for the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
and ITV, including '' Hollywood Greats'' (1977–1983), ''Barry Norman's Guide to American Soaps'' (1985), ''Talking Pictures'' (1987), and ''Soaps Down Under'' in 1991.
In 1982 Norman presented '' Omnibus''.
Norman was, together with Elton Welsby, the main anchorman for
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...
's coverage of the
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...
in
Seoul
Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
.
Norman presented part of
Comic Relief
Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...
in 1990 and 1991.
Norman was for some years a regular radio broadcaster on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
. In 1974, he presented '' Today'', and was the first chairman of '' The News Quiz''. He was the original presenter of the BBC Radio 4 transport-and-travel show ''Going Places'' and of its sister travel-magazine, '' Breakaway''. Other shows included ''The Chip Shop'', an early 1980s series dedicated to the emerging home-computer industry. In 1996, he presented an interview series for
BBC Radio 5 Live
BBC Radio 5 Live is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It broadcasts mainly news, sport, Talk show, discussion, interviews and phone-ins, and is on air 24 hours a day. It is the principal BBC radio station Broadca ...
.
Norman was associated with the phrase "And why not?", which was often attributed to that of his puppet likeness on the satirical ITV show '' Spitting Image''. Norman explained to ''
Empire
An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...
'' magazine in 2014 that it had originated from a Rory Bremner sketch show on Channel 4. Norman later adopted the phrase himself, and it is the title of his 2003 autobiography.
In 2008, Norman launched a brand of
pickled onion
Pickled onions are a food item consisting of onions (cultivars of '' Allium cepa'') pickled in a solution of vinegar and salt, often with other preservatives and flavourings.Diana Narracott (born 25 August 1933) on 12 October 1957; the couple lived in Datchworth, Hertfordshire, for many years and both of their daughters (Samantha and Emma) were born there. Diana Norman died on 27 January 2011 at the age of 77. Norman's 2013 book ''See You in the Morning'' was written as a celebration of their life together.
Norman had a passion for
cricket
Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...
and wrote a book on the subject. He was a member of the MCC and enjoyed spending time at
Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...
watching cricket.
Political views
Norman was a supporter of the Liberal Democrats, having been a supporter of the Labour Party until the formation of the
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Form ...
in 1981. He named Shirley Williams as the politician he most admired.
Death
Norman died in his sleep, aged 83, on 30 June 2017, at the Lister Hospital in Stevenage having been afflicted with lung cancer in his later years. A memorial service was held at St Paul's, Covent Garden in April 2018.
Tributes
Writing in ''The Guardian'', journalist Dennis Barker and film critic
Derek Malcolm
Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (12 May 1932 – 15 July 2023) was an English film critic and historian.
Early life
Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm was born on 12 May 1932. He was the son of Douglas Malcolm (died 1967) and Dorothy Vera (died 196 ...
said that Norman "perfected a flair for talking beguilingly about cinema to a mass television audience but in a way that did not make true aficionados wince. As the presenter and critic of BBC TV’s original ''Film 72'' through to ''Film 98'', he was knowledgeable without affectation, and he did not seem overawed by the industry's leading lights." Chief ''Guardian'' film critic
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Nicholas Bradshaw (born 19 June 1962) is a British writer and film critic. He has been chief film critic at ''The Guardian'' since 1999, and is a contributing editor at ''Esquire'' magazine.
Early life and education
Bradshaw was educat ...
wrote that Norman's "enthusiasm and love for film always shone through" and he was "an accessible, unpretentious surveyor of cinema".
Mark Kermode
Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...
wrote that "watching Barry Norman review films was a pleasure, an education, and an inspiration. Wit, knowledge and wry enthusiasm. He was the Master", and Jonathan Ross, who replaced him as presenter of the BBC's ''Film...'' series, described him as "a great critic and a lovely, lovely man".
Richard Dimbleby
Frederick Richard Dimbleby (25 May 1913 – 22 December 1965) was an English journalist and broadcaster who became the BBC's first war correspondent and then its leading TV news commentator.
As host of the long-running current affairs pro ...
Award, 1981.
* Magazine Columnist of the Year, 1991.
* Commander of the
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(CBE), 1998.
Bibliography
* ''The Bumper Book of Cricket'', (2009).
* ''100 Best Films of the Century'', (1992).
*''The Bird Dog Tape'', (1992).
* ''The Mickey Mouse Affair'', (1996).
* ''And Why Not?: Memoirs of a Film Lover'' (2003).
* ''See You in the Morning'' (2013).Doubleday,
*
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
Radio Times
''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...