} Christopher Muir (1931 - 2022) was an Australian director and producer, notable for his work in TV in the 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s he was head of ABC Television drama.

Biography

Most of his early childhood was spent in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, but he returned to

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

upon the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He joined the ABC in 1949 at the recommendation of his headmaster upon completing his schooling at Melbourne Grammar School. Initially working as a messenger boy, he soon became a general trainee, and by 1954 he was a radio announcer. In 1955 the ABC seconded him to Paris to study television. He returned to Melbourne for the inauguration of ABC television in 1956. The ensuing decade saw him become a pioneer of television drama and music productions, often screened live-to-air during prime time on the ABC. In an interview about the ABC's live TV drama he said "We producers had a buzz around us wherever we went but we also faced a lot of criticism. I thought 60 percent of what we did was okay and 40 percent I thought was dreadful. I recall doing several one-act plays by Australians but nothing memorable. There was no firm commitment to local material and we felt it was fascinating for viewers to see things like Chekov and some of the world's best drama."

Annette Andre Annette Andre (born 24 June 1939) is an Australian actress best known for her work on British television throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Early life and early career The daughter of an upholsterer, Annette Andre was born in Drummoyne, Australia, ...

said "he was very intelligent and more experienced. He wasn’t easy, but he could get a performance out of an actor." He left in the early 70s to work in theatre, but soon returned. In 1982 he was appointed head of drama at the ABC. Uncomfortable with the politics of the role and changes taking place within the organisation, Muir left the ABC in 1987 after 38 years there.

Personal life

He was married to German Australian actress and theatre director

Elke Neidhardt Elke Cordelia Neidhardt Member of the Order of Australia, AM (5 July 194125 November 2013) was a German Australian actress and opera and theatre director. She appeared in theatre, television and feature films in Germany, Austria, France and Aust ...

, with whom he had a son, Fabian.

Select credits

*''Seeing Stars'' (1957) (variety) *''

Killer in Close-Up ''Killer in Close-Up'' was a blanket title covering four live television drama plays produced by the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1957 and 1958. It could be seen as the first anthology series produced for Australian television. Producti ...

'' (1957) (TV play) - producer *''

The Duke in Darkness ''The Duke in Darkness'' is a 1942 play by Patrick Hamilton. A psychological drama set during the French Wars of Religion, it was first staged on 7 September 1942 at the Royal Lyceum Theatre in Edinburgh. It ran for 72 performances (8 October � ...

'' (1957) (TV play) - producer *''

Amahl and the Night Visitors ''Amahl and the Night Visitors'' is an opera in one act by Gian Carlo Menotti with an original English libretto by the composer.Menotti, Gian-Carlo: ''Amahl and the Night Visitors (piano-vocal score)'', G. Schirmer, Inc., 1997. It was commission ...

'' (1957) (TV opera) - producer *''

Last Call In a Bar (establishment), bar, a last call (last orders) is an Wiktionary:announcement, announcement made shortly before the bar closes for the night, informing patrons of their last chance to buy alcoholic beverages. There are various means to ...

'' (1958) (TV play) - producer *'' Outpost'' (1959) (TV play) - director *''

Black Chiffon ''Black Chiffon'' is a play in two acts written by Lesley Storm. Starring Flora Robson, the play premiered at the Westminster Theatre in London's West End on 3 May 1949, running for over 400 performances. The play debuted on Broadway on 27 Septem ...

'' (1959) (TV play) - producer *''

Antony and Cleopatra ''Antony and Cleopatra'' (First Folio title: ''The Tragedie of Anthonie, and Cleopatra'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play was first performed, by the King's Men, at either the Blackfriars Theatre or the Globe Theatre in around ...

'' (1959) (TV play) - director *'' Till Death Do Us Part'' (1959) (TV play) - producer *'' Dinner with the Family'' (1959) (TV play) - producer *'' Albert Herring'' (1959) (TV play) - producer *'' The Astronauts'' (1960) (TV play) - producer *'' Uncle Martino'' (1960) (TV play) - producer *''

Eye of the Night ''Eye of the Night'' is a 1960 Australian television play. It was written by Kay Keavney and directed by Christopher Muir. It was broadcast live on the ABC from Melbourne on the night of Wednesday 24 February. In Sydney on the same night the ABC ...

'' (1960) (TV play) - director *'' The Bartered Bride'' (1960) (TV opera) - director *''

Waters of the Moon ''Waters of the Moon'' is a 1951 stage play by N. C. Hunter which originally ran for two years at the Theatre Royal Haymarket from 1951 to 1953. It was adapted into a 1961 TV play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. This version ...

'' (1961) (TV play) - director *'' The Bloodless Sand'' (1961) (TV ballet) - director *''

The First Joanna ''The First Joanna'' is a 1943 play by Dorothy Blewett that was adapted for radio and television. Plot An English girl called Joanna marries an Australian wine-grower and moves to his family home in South Australia. She does not like it and is abo ...

'' (1961) (TV play) - producer *'' Sylvia'' (1961) (TV ballet) - producer *''

The Rivals ''The Rivals'' is a comedy of manners by Richard Brinsley Sheridan in five acts which was first performed at Covent Garden Theatre on 17 January 1775. The story has been updated frequently, including a 1935 musical and a 1958 List of Maverick ...

'' (1961) (TV play) - director *'' Quiet Night'' (1961) (TV play) - producer *''

Marriage Lines ''Marriage Lines'' is a British television sitcom first broadcast between 1963 and 1966. The series gave Richard Briers and Prunella Scales, its lead stars, a significant boost in their careers. At first titled ''The Marriage Lines'', the progr ...

'' (1962) (TV play) - director, producer *''

Martine Martine is a feminine given name and a surname. Given name * Martine Aubry (born 1950), French politician * Martine Audet (born 1961), Canadian poet * Martine Aurillac (born 1939), French politician * Martine Baay-Timmerman (born 1958), Dutch po ...

'' (1961) (TV play) - producer *''

Boy Round the Corner ''Boy Round the Corner'' is an Australian film which aired in 1962. Broadcast live on ABC, it was set in Sydney but produced in Melbourne. Australian TV drama was relatively rare at the time. The archival status of the film is not known, given th ...

'' (1962) (TV play) - producer *''

Fury in Petticoats ''Fury in Petticoats'' is a 1962 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was directed by Christopher Muir. It was based on a play which had been filmed by British TV the year before. Although fictional, the plot ...

'' (1962) (TV play) - producer *'' The Ambitious Servant Girl'' (1962) (TV opera) - producer *''The Prodigal Son'' (1962) (TV opera) - producer *''

The Teeth of the Wind ''The Teeth of the Wind'' is a 1962 television play broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It was written by John Cameron who had written '' Outpost'' (1959) which had screened on American television. It was shot in Melbourne and ...

'' (1962) (TV play) - producer *''

She'll Be Right She'll be right (often followed by a friendly term of address such as ''mate'') is a frequently used idiom in Australian and New Zealand culture that expresses the belief that "whatever is wrong will right itself with time", which is considered to ...

'' (1962) (TV play) - producer *'' One in Five'' (1963) (TV ballet) - producer *'' Man of Destiny'' (1963) (TV play) - producer *'' A Piece of Ribbon'' (1963) (TV play) - producer *''

The White Carnation ''The White Carnation'' is a 1953 play by English playwright R. C. Sherriff. Its premiere production had a cast led by Ralph Richardson, but it was not revived until a 2013 Finborough Theatre production featuring Aden Gillett and Benjamin Whitro ...

'' (1963) (TV play) - producer *''Bastien and Bastienne'' (1963) (TV opera) - producer *'' Robert Pomie Ballet'' (1963) (TV series) - producer *''

The Physicists ''The Physicists'' (german: Die Physiker) is a satiric drama/ tragic comedy written in 1961 by Swiss writer Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The play was mainly written as a result of the Second World War and many advances in science and nuclear technology ...

'' (1964) (TV play) - director, producer *''

Six Characters in Search of an Author ''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...

'' (1964) (TV play) - director, producer *''

Luther Luther may refer to: People * Martin Luther (1483–1546), German monk credited with initiating the Protestant Reformation * Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), American minister and leader in the American civil rights movement * Luther (give ...

'' (1964) (TV play) - director, producer *''

Nude with Violin ''Nude with Violin'' is a play in three acts (later revised into two acts) by Noël Coward. A light comedy of manners, the play is a satire on " Modern Art", criticism, artistic pretension and the value placed on art. It is set in Paris in 195 ...

'' (1964) (TV play) - producer *''

Peter Grimes ''Peter Grimes'', Op. 33, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Montagu Slater based on the section "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's long narrative poem '' The Borough''. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional ...

'' (1964) (TV opera) - producer *'' The Bloodless Sand'' (1964) (TV play) - producer *'' Everyman'' (1964) (TV play) - producer *'' The Tower'' (1965) (TV play) - director, producer *''She'' (1967) (TV ballet) - director *'' Libido'' (1973) - executive producer *''

Lucky Colour Blue ''Lucky Colour Blue'' is an Australian TV series which first screened on the ABC in 1975. It was a sequel to 1973 television series ''A Taste for Blue Ribbons''. ''Lucky Colour Blue'' was produced by Christopher Muir and written by Virginia Duig ...

'' (1975) (TV series) - producer *'' Andra'' (1976) (TV series) - producer *'' Golden Pennies'' (1985) (TV mini series) - executive producer *''Great Expectations the Untold Story'' (1988) - executive producer

References

External links

*
Christopher Muir
at

National Film and Sound Archive The National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA), known as ScreenSound Australia from 1999 to 2004, is Australia's audiovisual archive, responsible for developing, preserving, maintaining, promoting and providing access to a national co ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muir, Christopher Australian film directors Australian television directors 1931 births 2022 deaths