Richard Brian Fawkes (31 July 1944 – 7 January 2020) was an English writer 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 ...

Early years

Fawkes was educated at the Royal Masonic School, Bushey, then spent eighteen months as an instructor at the

Outward Bound Outward Bound (OB) is an international network of outdoor education organisations that was founded in the United Kingdom by Lawrence Holt in 1941 based on the educational principles of Kurt Hahn. Today there are organisations, called schools, i ...

School in Kenya with

Voluntary Service Overseas VSO is a not-for-profit international development organization charity with a vision for "a fair world for everyone" and a mission to "create lasting change through volunteering". VSO delivers development impact through a blended volunteer model c ...

. A graduate of the University of Wales Lampeter (BA English Honours), he joined 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 ...

as a general trainee in 1967.

Career

Leaving the BBC in 1971, he joined a commercials production company before going freelance as an Assistant Director for such people as

Ridley Scott Sir Ridley Scott (born 30 November 1937) is an English film director and producer. He directs films in the Science fiction film, science fiction, Crime film, crime, and historical drama, historical epic genres, with an atmospheric and highly co ...

, Tony Scott, Hugh Hudson, Cliff Owen and Jack Gold. His many film credits as a director include the award-winning

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 ...

series ''Tom Keating on Painters'', ''Circle Within the Square'' (which won a prize at the Mesa Festival, Florida) and ''The Original Three Tenors'', a documentary about Caruso,

Gigli ''Gigli'' ( ) is a 2003 American romantic comedy crime film written, co-produced, and directed by Martin Brest, and starring Ben Affleck, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Bartha, Al Pacino, Christopher Walken, and Lainie Kazan. Brest and producers di ...

and

Björling Björling is a Swedish surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anna-Lisa Björling (1910–2006), Swedish opera singer and actress * Carl Fabian Björling (1839–1910), Swedish mathematician and meteorologist * Carl Georg Björling (18 ...

presented by Nigel Douglas. His stage credits include ''Waltzing in the Clouds'' (Covent Garden Festival) and ''A Dog's Life'', a one-man show with

John Leeson John Francis Christopher Ducker (born 16 March 1943), known professionally as John Leeson, is an English actor. He is known for portraying Bungle in ''Rainbow'' and voicing K9 in ''Doctor Who'' and spin-offs '' The Sarah Jane Adventures'' a ...

('the voice of K9’), plus the operas ''The Yeomen of the Guard'' (for Opera

Holland Park Holland Park is an area of Kensington, on the western edge of Central London, that lies within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and largely surrounds its namesake park, Holland Park. Colloquially referred to as 'Millionaire's Row', ...

), ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'', ''

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

'' and ''Verbum Nobile'' by Moniuszko. He wrote the librettos for ''Survival Song'' (nominated for an

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of West End Theatre Aw ...

) and '' Biko'', both with music by Priti Paintal. He is the author of nine books including a history of Welsh National Opera, ''Notes From a Low Singer'' (the autobiography of operatic bass Michael Langdon which he ghosted), ''The Classical Music Map of Britain'' and ''Opera on Film''. His ''History of Opera'' and ''History of Classical Music'', both for Naxos Audiobooks, won Talkie Awards. He has written plays for the stage, television and radio, and, for Radio 2, series on

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

and

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and Pop music, pop singer and actor, credited with having brought rock and roll to France. During a career ...

. He was a regular columnist for ''

Classical Music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

'' magazine and the longest serving columnist for ''Opera Now'' magazine.

1944 births 2020 deaths People from Camberley 20th-century English writers Alumni of the University of Wales, Lampeter