Michael Bakewell
Michael Bakewell | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael John Bakewell 7 June 1931 Birmingham, Warwickshire,England |
| Died | 11 July 2023(aged 92) |
| Alma mater | King's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation(s) | Radio and television producer, radio dramatist |
Michael John Bakewell(7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer.
Early life and career
[edit]Michael John Bakewell was born inBirmingham, Warwickshire,England, on 7 June 1931. His childhood was spent inSutton Coldfield,where he attendedBishop Vesey's Grammar School.After completing hisNational Servicein theRoyal Air Force,he studied English literature atKing's College, Cambridge.After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC'sThird Programme.[1]
Bakewell was best known for his work during the 1960s, when he was the first Head of Plays at the BBC, afterSydney Newmandivided the drama department into separate series, serials and plays divisions in 1963.[2]Later, Bakewell produced plays forBBC2'sTheatre 625anthology strand, includingJohn Hopkins'highly regardedTalking to a Strangerquartet of linked plays.[3][4]
Bakewell also worked in radio drama for the BBC.[5]He adapted (withBrian Sibley)The Lord of the Ringsinto a1981 radio series,and he adapted 27 ofAgatha Christie'sPoirot novelsfor broadcast between 1985 and 2007 – the major omission beingCurtain: Poirot's Last Case,the rights to which proved unattainable – and all 12Miss Marplenovels, broadcast between 1993 and 2001.[6]He was also the dubbing director for the English versions of the Japanese television seriesThe Water MarginandMonkey,which were screened by the BBC, among many ofManga VideoUK's dubs (and many dubs for bothCentral Park MediaandManga VideoUK), e.g.,Cyber City Oedo,Devilman,Dominion Tank Police,Patlabor(Manga PAL version - movies 1 and 2),Tokyo Babylon,Genocyber,Roujin Z,Angel Cop,Violence Jackand many others.[7][3]
Personal life and death
[edit]From 1955 until 1972, he was the first husband ofJoan Bakewell;the couple had two children, Matthew and Harriet.[8]In the 1960s, Joan had an eight-year affair with the playwrightHarold Pinter.[9]
Following their divorce, Michael remarried to Melissa Dundas in 1975. He lived with Melissa in East Sussex until his death on 11 July 2023, at the age of 92. He hadAlzheimer's diseaseandmacular degenerationin his later years.[1]
References
[edit]- ^abCoveney, Michael(1 August 2023)."Michael Bakewell obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved1 August2023.
- ^"Joan Bakewell: 'Elevation is rather a grand word, isn't it?'".The Independent.22 November 2010.
- ^ab"Michael Bakewell".BFI.Archived fromthe originalon 21 May 2018.
- ^"BFI Screenonline: Talking to a Stranger (1966)".Screenonline.org.uk.
- ^Raphael, Caroline (24 August 2023)."Letter: Michael Bakewell obituary",inThe Guardian.
- ^"- DIVERSITY - radio drama - michael bakewell".Suttonelms.org.uk.
- ^"BBC Programme Index".Genome.ch.bbc.co.uk.12 October 1976.
- ^Malvern, Jack (5 February 2018)."Pinter's passion in love letters to Bakewell".Thetimes.co.uk.
- ^Day, Elizabeth (22 April 2017)."Joan Bakewell tells her side of the story about her affair with Harold Pinter".Radio Times.Retrieved6 September2019.
External links
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