Peter Collinson (1 April 1936 – 16 December 1980) was a
British film director probably best known for directing the 1969 movie
The Italian Job.
Life and career
Peter Collinson was born in
Cleethorpes,
Lincolnshire in 1936. His parents, an actress and a musician, separated when he was 2 years old; he was raised by his grandparents. From ages 8 to 14 he attended the
Actor's Orphanage in
Chertsey,
Surrey where he had the chance to write and act in many plays.
Noel Coward, who was president of the orphanage at the time, became his godfather and helped him to obtain jobs in the entertainment industry.
In 1954 he was called up for
national service and served two years in
Malaya during the
Malayan Emergency.
His early television work included time as a floor manager for the
BBC and directing for
ATV at Elstree studios where he met
Michael Klinger who would offer him the director role on his first film,
The Penthouse. Collinson also worked with
Telefís Éireann, the
Republic of Ireland's national TV station, and in 1963 he won a
Jacob's Award for his production,
The Bomb."Presentation of television awards and citations",
The Irish Times, 4 December 1963
He emigrated with his wife Hazel and family from the
UK to the
United States in the mid-1970s.
Although Collinson was lauded as a talented director, he was also known as a rather sadistic authoritarian towards his actors. He directed
William Holden and
Rick Schroder in the 1980 movie
The......
Read More