Richard John Gregson (5 May 1930 – 21 August 2019) was a British talent agent, film producer and screenwriter.

Career

Gregson spent his early career working in America, alongside stars such as

Robert Redford Charles Robert Redford Jr. (born August 18, 1936) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the List of awards and nominations received by Robert Redford, recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Awards, Academy Award from four nomi ...

, Julie Christie,

Alan Bates Sir Alan Arthur Bates (17 February 1934 – 27 December 2003) was an English actor who came to prominence in the 1960s, when he appeared in films ranging from the popular children's story '' Whistle Down the Wind'' to the " kitchen sink" dram ...

and

Gene Hackman Eugene Allen Hackman (born January 30, 1930) is an American retired actor and former novelist. In a career that has spanned more than six decades, Hackman has won two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, two BAFTAs ...

and director John Schlesinger. He married the American actress Natalie Wood on 30 May 1969. The couple filed for divorce on 4 August 1971, and the divorce was finalised in April of the following year. Together they had one child, the actress

Natasha Gregson Wagner Natasha Gregson Wagner ( Gregson; born September 29, 1970) is an American actress. She is the daughter of film producer Richard Gregson and actress Natalie Wood. She has appeared in films including '' Lost Highway'' (1997), '' Two Girls and a Gu ...

, born 1970. Gregson was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Awards, Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Be ...

at the 33rd Academy Awards for his work on '' The Angry Silence'' with his elder brother Michael Craig and Bryan Forbes. Among his clients were

Joe Janni Joseph Janni (21 May 1916 – 29 May 1994) was a British film producer best known for his work with John Schlesinger. He was born into a Jewish family in Milan, Italy and became interested in filmmaking while at university. He emigrated to Engl ...

, John Schlesinger and

.Brian McFarlane, ''An Autobiography of British Cinema'', Metheun 1997 p. 246-248

Personal life

He was born in India to Violet Hanson, a granddaughter of Reginald Hanson, who was Lord Mayor of London from 1886 to 1887, and her second husband, Captain Donald Gregson, formerly of the 3rd Indian Cavalry. In 1933, his uncle, Charlie Hanson, drowned, somewhat questionably, in the River Thames. Gregson's parents divorced in 1944 and his mother remarried; she lived until the age of 100. In 2012, he published a memoir titled ''Behind the Screen Door: Tales from the Hollywood Hills''. Gregson had three children – Sarah, Charlotte and Hugo – by his first wife Sally, whom he divorced in 1967. He had a daughter Natasha by his second wife Natalie Wood. He was married to the British author Julia Gregson from 1984 until his death in 2019. The couple had one daughter, Poppy. On 21 August 2019, his daughter, Natasha Gregson Wagner, announced his death from Parkinson's disease in Wales, on her mother's tribute Instagram account, also sharing a photo of him and her together taken earlier in the year. He was 89 years old.

Select credits

* '' The Angry Silence'' (1960) – co-writer * '' Downhill Racer'' (1969) – producer

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gregson, Richard 1930 births 2019 deaths British film producers British screenwriters British talent agents Male actors from Pune