Sydney Newman

Sydney Newman

Born: April 1, 1917
Died: October 30, 1997
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Sydney Cecil Newman, OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State.

During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, he worked first with the Associated British Corporation (ABC, now Thames Television), before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular television programmes, the spy-fi series The Avengers and the science-fiction series Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play.

The Museum of Broadcast Communications describes Newman as "the most significant agent in the development of British television drama." His obituary in The Guardian declared that "For ten brief but glorious years, Sydney Newman ... was the most important impresario in Britain ... His death marks not just the end of an era but the laying to rest of a whole philosophy of popular art."

In Quebec, as commissioner of the NFB, he attracted controversy for his decision to suppress distribution of several politically sensitive films by French Canadian directors.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Movies for Sydney Newman...

Creation of the Daleks
Title: Creation of the Daleks
Character: Himself (archive footage)
Released: January 31, 2006
Type: Movie
Featured on the "Doctor Who: The Beginning" box set and tells the story of the Creation of the Daleks.
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Doctor Who: Origins
Title: Doctor Who: Origins
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: January 30, 2006
Type: Movie
A 55-minute documentary, detailing the creation of Doctor Who, including a rare interview with creator Sydney Newman, and new interviews with producer Verity Lambert, directors Waris Hussein and Richard Martin, actors William Russell and Carole Ann Ford, title sequence designer Bernard Lodge, and TARDIS sound effect creator Brian Hodgson
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The Magical Eye
Title: The Magical Eye
Character: Self
Released: January 1, 1989
Type: Movie
Features clips from 21 documentary and animation film classics, interviews with NFB filmmakers past and present, and incisive commentary from film critics and historians on the role and influence of the NFB during its first half century of existence.