Raymond Edward Menmuir (10 September 1930 – 26 March 2016) was a British-Australian director and producer. His career included producing 44 episodes of '' The Professionals'' and directing 12 episodes of '' Upstairs, Downstairs''. He also produced an Australian version of ''The Professionals'' called '' Special Squad'' for the

Ten Network Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's UK & Australia division and is one of the five national free-to-a ...

in 1984.

Early life

Menmuir was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, as the eldest of four children to Edward Menmuir and his wife Dorothy (née Williams). Menmuir was educated at Wesley College.

Work

His first employment was as a reporter at the Perth Daily News, but he then transferred to the

Australian Broadcasting Commission The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is Australia’s principal public service broadcaster. It is funded primarily by grants from the federal government and is administered by a government-appointed board of directors. The ABC is a ...

as a radio producer. He was deeply impressed by European culture, by seeing various films at the 1953 Festival of the Arts in Perth, and then took artistic inspiration from various films including

Marcel Pagnol Marcel Paul Pagnol (, also ; ; 28 February 1895 – 18 April 1974) was a French novelist, playwright, and filmmaker. Regarded as an auteur, in 1946, he became the first filmmaker elected to the . Pagnol is generally regarded as one of France's ...

's ''Cesar'',

Vittorio de Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, four of the fil ...

's ''

Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' (), also known as ''The Bicycle Thief'', is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post-World War II Rome for his stolen bicycle, without which h ...

'', and

Mikhail Kalatozov Mikhail Konstantinovich Kalatozov ( ka, მიხეილ კალატოზიშვილი, ; 28 December 1903 – 26 March 1973), born Mikheil Kalatozishvili, was a Soviet film director of Georgians, Georgian origin who contributed to b ...

's ''

The Cranes are Flying ''The Cranes Are Flying'' (, translit. ''Letyat zhuravli'') is a 1957 Soviet war drama film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov at Mosfilm, written by Viktor Rozov, and starring Aleksey Batalov and Tatiana Samoilova. It depicts the cruelty an ...

''. This came out when he was soon directing dramas at the ABC's television drama department in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. He directed the second play to be televised,

J.B. Priestly John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

's '' The Rose and Crown'' written specifically for television, and the first play from the new (1958)

Gore Hill Gore Hill is an urban locality on the Lower North Shore of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Gore Hill is located within the southern part of the suburb of Artarmon, and the north-west of the suburb of St Leonards. History It takes its ...

complex, Barbara Vernon's ''

The Multi-Coloured Umbrella ''The Multi-Coloured Umbrella'' is a 1957 Australian stage play written by Barbara Vernon (writer), Barbara Vernon. It was produced professionally, was adapted for television and radio, and inspired two prequels. Plot The play is set at a house ...

''.

Annette Andre Annette Andre (born 24 June 1939) is an Australian actress best known for her work on British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and early career The daughter of an upholsterer, Annette Andre was born in Drummoyne, Australia ...

recalled him as "a good director, he knew what he was doing." He originally directed all sorts of programs for the ABC but in October 1959 was assigned to drama full time. Probably his greatest achievement in these years was the 5 October 1960 live production in prime time of the two-hour epic

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

play, '' The Life and Death of King Richard II'', using all three studios at Gore Hill. In 1961, Menmuir and his then wife Heidi moved to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. Menmuir directed for stage

Alan Seymour Alan Seymour (6 June 192723 March 2015) was an Australian playwright and author. He is best known for the play ''The One Day of the Year'' (1958). His international reputation rests not only on this early play, but also on his many screenplays, ...

's play, ''

The One Day of the Year ''The One Day of the Year'' is a 1958 Australian play by Alan Seymour about contested attitudes to Anzac Day. Origins The play was inspired by an article in the University of Sydney newspaper ''Honi Soit'' criticising Anzac Day and Seymour's own ...

'' at

Theatre Royal Stratford East Stratford East (formerly known as Theatre Royal Stratford East) is a 460 seat Victorian producing theatre in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham. Since 1953, it has been the home of the Theatre Workshop company, famously associated with di ...

, which started his association with many production venues. Menmuir returned to Australia in 1963 to direct ''Ballad for One Gun'' and ''The Right Thing''. His productions included: ''

Z Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'', ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'', ''

No Hiding Place ''No Hiding Place'' is a British television series that was produced at Wembley Studios by Associated-Rediffusion for the ITV (TV network), ITV network between 16 September 1959 and 22 June 1967. It was the sequel to the series ''Murder Bag'' ...

'', '' Corridors of Power'', and ''

The Duchess of Duke Street ''The Duchess of Duke Street'' is a BBC television drama series set in London between 1900 and 1925. It was created by John Hawkesworth (producer), John Hawkesworth, previously the producer of the ITV (TV network), ITV period drama ''Upstairs, ...

''. In 1974 he directed the adaptation of the ''

Lord Peter Wimsey Lord Peter Death Bredon Wimsey (later 17th Duke of Denver) is the fictional protagonist in a series of detective novels and short stories by Dorothy L. Sayers (and their continuation by Jill Paton Walsh). A amateur, dilettante who solves myst ...

'' story ''

The Nine Tailors ''The Nine Tailors'' is a 1934 mystery novel by the British writer Dorothy L. Sayers, her ninth featuring Lord Peter Wimsey. The story is set in the Lincolnshire Fens, and revolves around a group of bell-ringers at the local parish church. The ...

'' 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 ...

. In 1978, he was offered full freedom of control as producer for

London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT; now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV (TV network), ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00&nbs ...

's show, '' The Professionals''. During several returns to Australia, he was responsible for ''

Ballad for One Gun ''Ballad for One Gun'' is a 1963 Australian television film about Ned Kelly broadcast on ABC. It was originally aired 17 July 1963 in Sydney and shown at later dates in other parts of Australia. It was written by Phillip Grenville Mann. The dir ...

'' (1963) (about Ned Kelly), and '' Special Squad'' and the movie ''

Fortress A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from L ...

'' for

Crawford Productions Crawford Productions is an Australian Media (communication), media production company, focused on radio and television production. Founded in Melbourne by Hector Crawford and his sister, actress and voice artist Dorothy Crawford, the company, a ...

Personal life

In the UK, Menmuir lived in rural

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

. In his later years, Menmuir settled in Australia at Mirrabooka on the western side of

Lake Macquarie The City of Lake Macquarie is a local government area (LGA) in the Hunter Region in New South Wales, Australia. It was proclaimed a city on 7 September 1984. It is adjacent to the city of Newcastle and is part of the Greater Newcastle area. The ...

Menmuir was married twice. He and his first wife, Heidi (née Isenmann) had a daughter, Anna. He had a daughter, Fiona, and a son, Ian with his second wife, Jennifer (née Cooper) (d. 2010). His partner after this time was the actor and entrepreneur

Wendy Blacklock Wendy Blacklock (born 20 January 1932) is an Australian-born retired theatre actress and theatrical entrepreneur, radio and television actress, comedienne, producer, writer, singer, dancer and choreographer. Blacklock has appeared in numerous ...

.Obituary: Ray Menmuir 1930-2016 - ABC television pioneer who went on to direct Upstairs Downstairs and The Avengers
Storey Walton and Tom Jeffrey,

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper in ...

, 8 June 2016 Menmuir's sister was the second wife of test cricketer Arthur Morris.

Select credits

*'' Shadow of Doubt'' (1957) - TV play *'' The Rose and Crown'' (1957) - TV play *''

'' (1958) - TV play *'' Citizen of Westminster'' (1958) - TV play *'' Blue Murder'' (1959) - TV play *''

One Bright Day ''One Bright Day'' is the fourth album by Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers were a Jamaican-American reggae family group whose line-up consisted of the children of musicians, Bob Marley and Rita Marley, wh ...

'' (1959) - TV play *'' Bodgie'' (1959) - TV play *'' The Strong Are Lonely'' (1959) - TV play *'' The Life and Death of King Richard II'' (1960) - TV play *''

Close to the Roof ''Close to the Roof'' is a 1960 Australian live television play which aired on ABC. Broadcast 14 December 1960 in Sydney, it was kinescoped ("telerecorded") and shown in Melbourne on 25 January 1961 (it is not known it was also shown on ABC's stat ...

'' (1960) - TV play *''

The Dock Brief ''The Dock Brief'' (US title ''Trial and Error''; also known as ''A Case for the Jury'') is a 1962 black-and-white UK, British legal satire directed by James Hill (British director), James Hill, starring Peter Sellers and Richard Attenborough, a ...

'' (1960) - TV play *'' The Square Ring'' (1960) - TV play *'' Swamp Creatures'' (1960) - TV play *''

Turning Point A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work. Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to: Film * ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke * ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Am ...

'' (1960) - TV play *'' The Sergeant from Burralee'' (1961) - TV play *'' The Right Thing'' (1963) - TV play *''

'' (1963) - TV play *'' Thirty-One Backyards'' (1965) - TV play *''Headmaster'' (1977) (TV series) *'' The Professionals'' (1978–83) - TV series *''

Who Dares Wins ''Who Dares Wins'' (, ''O tolmón niká''; Latin: ''Qui audet adipiscitur'' ; ; ; Portuguese: ''Quem ousa vence''; German: ''Wer wagt, gewinnt''; Dutch: ''Wie niet waagt, die niet wint''; Hebrew: המעז מנצח) is a motto made popular in t ...

'' (1982) *'' Special Squad'' (1984) (TV series) *''

'' (1985) *'' C.A.T.S. Eyes'' (1986–87) (TV Series) *'' Gentlemen and Players'' (1988–89) (TV Series)

References

External links

*
NFSA - Search Results
''Raymond Menmuir'' at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting, and providing access to a national c ...

Obituary
at ''Sydney Morning Herald''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Menmuir, Raymond 1930 births 2016 deaths Australian television directors Australian television producers British television directors British television producers