Bryan Forbes

Bryan Forbes CBE (born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English filmmaker, theatre director, novelist, and actor, described as a "Renaissance man" and "one of the most important figures in the British film industry".

He wrote and/or directed several critically acclaimed films from the 1960s through the 1980s, including Whistle Down the Wind (1961), The L-Shaped Room (1962), Séance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), King Rat (1965), The Raging Moon (1971), The Stepford Wives (1975), and The Slipper and the Rose (1976). He also scripted several films directed by others, such as The League of Gentlemen (1960), The Angry Silence (1960), Only Two Can Play (1962), Hopscotch (1980), and Chaplin (1992). He was also head of production for EMI Films for a time.

Forbes' directorial debut Whistle Down the Wind was nominated for several BAFTA Awards, including Best Film and Outstanding British Film in 1962. Four of his other films were also nominated for BAFTA Awards, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for The Angry Silence.