David Tomblin, OBE (18 October 1930 – 20 July 2005) was a film and television producer,

assistant director The role of an assistant director on a film includes tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, and maintaining order on the set. They also have to tak ...

, and

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

. As a producer, he was best known for ''

The Prisoner ''The Prisoner'' is a 1967 British television series about an unnamed British intelligence agent who is abducted and imprisoned in a mysterious coastal village, where his captors designate him as Number Six and try to find out why he abruptl ...

'' TV series. As a first assistant director, he worked on a number of high-profile films, including the

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop-culture Cultural impact of S ...

and

Indiana Jones ''Indiana Jones'' is an American media franchise based on the adventures of Dr. Henry Walton "Indiana" Jones, Jr., a fictional professor of archaeology, that began in 1981 with the film '' Raiders of the Lost Ark''. In 1984, a prequel, '' Th ...

series and the 1978 ''

Superman Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...

'', and with commercially and critically successful directors including

Richard Attenborough Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, (; 29 August 192324 August 2014) was an English actor, filmmaker, and entrepreneur. He was the president of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) and the British Academy of Film and Televisio ...

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

and

Sydney Pollack Sydney Irwin Pollack (July 1, 1934 – May 26, 2008) was an American film director, producer and actor. Pollack directed more than 20 films and 10 television shows, acted in over 30 movies or shows and produced over 44 films. For his film ''Out ...

. As a director, he was best known for work on

Gerry Anderson Gerald Alexander Anderson (; 14 April 1929 – 26 December 2012) was an English television and film producer, director, writer and occasional voice artist. He remains famous for his futuristic television programmes, especially his 1960s produ ...

's productions, including '' Space: 1999''.

Early life and career

Tomblin was born in

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, England. He began working in film as a runner at the age of 14.Pirani, Adam "David Tomblin A.D. to Indy Jones", ''Starlog #86'' pp.44-46,58, September 1984. He worked on numerous productions, and (with an interruption for

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

in the

Royal Marines The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marine ...

), became a First Assistant Director in 1954. As well as films, he worked on a number of British-made TV series, including ''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

'', ''

One Step Beyond One Step Beyond may refer to: Music * ''One Step Beyond'' (Dungeon album) or the title song, 2004 * ''One Step Beyond'' (Jackie McLean album), 1963 * '' One Step Beyond...'', an album by Madness, or the title song (see below), 1979 * ''One Step ...

'', ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'', ''

The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel ''The Adventures of the Scarlet Pimpernel'' is a British television series based on the 1905 adventure novel of the same name by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. The series was created by writer Michael Hogan and produced by the Towers of London for ...

'', '' Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Presents'' and ''

The Invisible Man ''The Invisible Man'' is a science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. Originally serialized in '' Pearson's Weekly'' in 1897, it was published as a novel the same year. The Invisible Man to whom the title refers is Griffin, a scientist who has devo ...

''.

McGoohan and Anderson

After working with

Patrick McGoohan Patrick Joseph McGoohan (; March 19, 1928 – January 13, 2009) was an Irish-American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer of film and television. Born in the United States to Irish emigrant parents, he was raised in Ireland and Engla ...

on ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again b ...

'', McGoohan and Tomblin decided to set up a company to make their own series, ''

'', with story editor

George Markstein George Markstein (29 August 1926 – 15 January 1987) was a British journalist and writer of thrillers and teleplays. He was the script editor of the British series ''The Prisoner'' for the first thirteen episodes, and appeared briefly in its ti ...

. Tomblin was producer of the series, and wrote and directed several episodes. Tomblin worked as a director on Gerry Anderson's live-action productions ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...

'', ''

The Protectors ''The Protectors'' is a British television series, an action thriller created by Gerry Anderson. It was Anderson's second TV series to exclusively use live actors as opposed to marionettes (following ''UFO''), and his second to be firmly set in ...

'' and '' Space: 1999''.

Lucasfilm, ''Superman'' and ''Gandhi''

Having worked on '' The Return of a Man Called Horse'', directed by

Irvin Kershner Irvin Kershner (born Isadore Kershner; April 29, 1923November 27, 2010) was an American film director, actor, and producer of film and television. He gained notice early in his career as a filmmaker for directing quirky, independent drama films ...

, when the production unit filmed for a few days in England, Tomblin was invited by Kershner to be first assistant director on ''

The Empire Strikes Back ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back'') is a 1980 American epic film, epic space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based o ...

''. He subsequently worked as first assistant director for

Lucasfilm Lucasfilm Ltd. LLC is an American film and television production company and a subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is a business segment of The Walt Disney Company. The studio is best known for creating and producing the ''Star Wars'' and ' ...

on ''

Return of the Jedi ''Return of the Jedi'' (also known as ''Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi'' is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand. The screenplay is by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas from a story by Lucas, who ...

'' and the first three

films ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. It stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronal ...

'', ''

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ''Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom'' is a 1984 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second installment in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise, and a prequel to the 1981 film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', fea ...

'' and ''

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade ''Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade'' is a 1989 American action film, action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the Indiana Jones, ''Indiana ...

''. During production of ''Return of the Jedi'', Tomblin directed '' Return of the Ewok'', a short, never-finished film about

Warwick Davis Warwick Ashley Davis (born 3 February 1970) is an English actor. He played the title character in ''Willow'' (1988) and the ''Leprechaun'' film series (1993–2003), several characters in the ''Star Wars'' film series (1983–2019), most nota ...

who played the

Ewok The Ewoks (singular: Ewok) are a fictional species There are a number of lists of fictional species: Extraterrestrial *List of fictional extraterrestrials (by media type) *Lists of fictional alien species: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, ...

Wicket W. Warrick. Tomblin later worked with Kershner again when Kershner directed 1983's '' Never Say Never Again'', and with Spielberg on ''

Empire of the Sun ''Empire of the Sun'' is a 1984 novel by English writer J. G. Ballard; it was awarded the James Tait Black Memorial Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Like Ballard's earlier short story "The Dead Time" (published in the anthology ...

''. Tomblin often maintained multi-film working relationships with directors. He worked with

Richard Donner Richard Donner (born Richard Donald Schwartzberg; April 24, 1930 – July 5, 2021) was an American filmmaker whose notable works included some of the most financially-successful films during the New Hollywood era. According to film historian M ...

on ''

The Omen ''The Omen'' is a 1976 supernatural horror film directed by Richard Donner and written by David Seltzer. An international co-production of the United Kingdom and the United States, it stars Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, David Warner, Harvey Spencer ...

'', ''

'' and those parts of ''

Superman II ''Superman II'' is a 1980 superhero film directed by Richard Lester and written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a story by Puzo based on the DC Comics character Superman. It is the second installment in the ''Superman'' film se ...

'' directed by Donner. With Richard Attenborough, Tomblin worked on Attenborough's major multinational productions '' A Bridge Too Far'', ''

Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

'', ''

Cry Freedom ''Cry Freedom'' is a 1987 epic apartheid drama film directed and produced by Richard Attenborough, set in late-1970s apartheid-era South Africa. The screenplay was written by John Briley based on a pair of books by journalist Donald Woods. Th ...

'' and ''

Chaplin Chaplin may refer to: People * Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director * Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin Films * '' Unknown Chaplin'' (1983) * ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992) * ''Chaplin'' (2011 film), Ben ...

''. For ''Gandhi'', Tomblin supervised the reconstruction of Gandhi's funeral in Delhi, to which the general public were invited, involving the direction of 250,000 extras. With

, Tomblin worked on ''

Out of Africa ''Out of Africa'' is a memoir by the Danish people, Danish author Karen Blixen. The book, first published in 1937, recounts events of the seventeen years when Blixen made her home in Kenya, then called East Africa Protectorate, British East Afr ...

'' and ''

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

''.

Awards

Tomblin was awarded OBE in the 1994 Birthday Honours. He was presented with BAFTA's Michael Balcon Award (now known as The Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award) in 2003. With Richard Attenborough, he was named as a winner of the 1982 DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for ''

''.

Personal life

Tomblin had four children, including Lisa Tomblin, a film make-up department chief hairdresser, and Jane Tomblin, a production designer.

Filmography

IMDb IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

lists around 200 unique credits for Tomblin, but in 1982 he himself estimated he had already worked on around 500 films. Tomblin told an interviewer for a programme broadcast in 1984: "I only know that because I've just worked on a George Lucas film called ''Return Of The Jedi'', and to get permission to work in the States I had to write down every film I'd been on. I got to 478 and then decided that was probably enough to convince them that I had a reasonable amount of experience."Chris Rodley
"An interview with Jack Shampan and David Tomblin"
, ''The Prisoner TV series starring Patrick McGoohan - home page''. Retrieved 7 September 2012.

Director

# '' Return of the Ewok'' (1982) (V) # '' Space: 1999'' (4 episodes, 1975-1976) # ''

'' (1 episode, 1974) # ''

'' (2 episodes, 1970-1971) # '' Baleia! Baleia!'' (1971) # ''

'' (2 episodes, 1967-1968)

Producer

# ''

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen ''The Adventures of Baron Munchausen'' is a 1988 adventure fantasy film co-written and directed by Terry Gilliam, and starring John Neville, Sarah Polley, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Oliver Reed, Robin Williams and Uma Thurman. An interna ...

'' (1988) (line producer) # '' Return of the Ewok'' (1982) (V) (producer) # ''

'' (producer)

Assistant director

Ever After ''Ever After'' (known in promotional material as ''Ever After: A Cinderella Story'') is a 1998 American romantic period drama film inspired by the Charles Perrault fairy tale, "Cinderella". It is directed by Andy Tennant and stars Drew Barrymor ...

(1998) (second unit director) # The Man in the Iron Mask (1998/I) (first assistant director) # Hearst Castle: Building the Dream (1996) (first assistant director) #

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

(1995) (first assistant director) #

The Three Musketeers ''The Three Musketeers'' (french: Les Trois Mousquetaires, links=no, ) is a French historical adventure novel written in 1844 by French author Alexandre Dumas. It is in the swashbuckler genre, which has heroic, chivalrous swordsmen who fight f ...

(1993) (first assistant director) #

(1992) (first assistant director) #

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

(1990/I) (first assistant director) #

(1989) (first assistant director: UK) #

(1987) (assistant director) #

(1987) (first assistant director) #

(1985) (first assistant director) #

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

(1985) (assistant director) (second unit director) #

(1984) (assistant director: UK) # Never Say Never Again (1983) (first assistant director) #

(1983) (first assistant director) (second unit director) #

(1982) (first assistant director) #

Ivanhoe ''Ivanhoe: A Romance'' () by Walter Scott is a historical novel published in three volumes, in 1819, as one of the Waverley novels. Set in England in the Middle Ages, this novel marked a shift away from Scott’s prior practice of setting st ...

(1982) (TV) (assistant director) #

(1981) (first assistant director) #

(1980) (second unit director) #

(1980) (first assistant director) #

The Prisoner of Zenda ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' is an 1894 adventure novel by Anthony Hope, in which the King of Ruritania is drugged on the eve of his coronation and thus is unable to attend the ceremony. Political forces within the realm are such that, in order ...

(1979) (second unit director) #

Zulu Dawn ''Zulu Dawn'' is a 1979 American adventure war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Storey. The film was directed ...

(1979) (second unit director) #

(1978) (assistant director) (second unit director) # A Bridge Too Far (1977) (first assistant director) #

(1976) (assistant director) #

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 period drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel ''The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Starring Ryan O'Neal, Marisa Berenson, Patrick Magee, Leonard ...

(1975) (assistant director) #

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother ''The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother'' is a 1975 American musical comedy film with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear, and Leo McKern.''Variety'' film review; December 3, 1975, page 22. The film was ...

(1975) (assistant director) #

Shaft in Africa ''Shaft in Africa'' is a 1973 American blaxploitation film directed by John Guillermin, and the third film of the '' Shaft'' series, starring Richard Roundtree as John Shaft. Stirling Silliphant wrote the screenplay. The film's budget was $1.5 m ...

(1973) (second unit director) # A Warm December (1973) (first assistant director) # ''

'' (assistant director) (10 episodes, 1964-1965) (second unit director) (6 episodes, 1966) # The Liquidator (1965) (assistant director) #

The Alphabet Murders ''The Alphabet Murders'' is a 1965 British detective film directed by Frank Tashlin and starring Tony Randall as Hercule Poirot. It is based on the 1936 novel ''The A.B.C. Murders'' by Agatha Christie. Plot Albert Aachen, a clown with a unique ...

(1965) (assistant director) #

Murder Ahoy ''Murder Ahoy!'' is the last of four Miss Marple films made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that starred Margaret Rutherford. As in the previous three, the actress plays Agatha Christie's amateur sleuth Miss Jane Marple, with Charles 'Bud' Tingwell as ...

(1964) (assistant director) # Murder Most Foul (1964) (assistant director) #

Night Must Fall ''Night Must Fall'' is a play, a psychological thriller, by Emlyn Williams, first performed in 1935. There have been three film adaptations, '' Night Must Fall'' (1937); a 1954 adaptation on the television anthology series ''Ponds Theater'' sta ...

(1964) (assistant director) # The Haunting (1963/I) (assistant director) #

I Thank a Fool ''I Thank a Fool'' is a 1962 British Metrocolor crime film made by Eaton (De Grunwald Productions) and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in CinemaScope. It was directed by Robert Stevens and produced by Anatole de Grunwald from a screenplay by Karl Tunb ...

(1962) (assistant director) (as Dave Tomblin) #

Reach for Glory ''Reach for Glory'' is a 1962 British film adaptation of John Rae's 1961 novel, '' The Custard Boys'', directed by Philip Leacock. It received a United Nations Award. Plot A group of boys, evacuated during World War II from London to a coas ...

(1962) (assistant director) #

We Joined the Navy ''We Joined the Navy'' is a 1962 British comedy film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Kenneth More, Lloyd Nolan, Joan O'Brien, Derek Fowlds, Graham Crowden, Esma Cannon and John Le Mesurier. Produced by Daniel M. Angel, it was based on th ...

(1962) (assistant director) # '' Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond'' (assistant director) (13 episodes, 1961) # ''

'' (assistant director) (39 episodes, 1960-1961) #

Taste of Fear ''Taste of Fear'' is a 1961 British thriller film directed by Seth Holt. The film stars Susan Strasberg, Ronald Lewis, Ann Todd, and Christopher Lee in a supporting role. It was released in the United States as ''Scream of Fear''. Plot After ...

(1961) (assistant director) # ''

Invisible Man ''Invisible Man'' is a novel by Ralph Ellison, published by Random House in 1952. It addresses many of the social and intellectual issues faced by African Americans in the early twentieth century, including black nationalism, the relationship b ...

'' (assistant director) (21 episodes, 1959) # ''

'' (assistant director) (21 episodes, 1958-1959) # ''

The New Adventures of Charlie Chan ''The New Adventures of Charlie Chan'' is a crime drama series that aired in the United States in syndicated television from June 1957, to 1958. The first five episodes were made by Vision Productions in the United States, before production sw ...

'' (assistant director) (4 episodes, 1957-1958) # ''

Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans'', later retitled ''Hawkeye and the Last of the Mohicans'' is a 1957 historical drama television series made for syndication by ITC Entertainment and Normandie Productions. It ran for one season of 39 half-hour monochro ...

'' (assistant director) (8 episodes, 1957) # ''

'' (assistant director) (1 episode, 1956) # The Elusive Pimpernel (1950) (third assistant director) (uncredited) #

My Brother Jonathan ''My Brother Jonathan'' is a 1948 British drama film directed by Harold French and starring Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Ronald Howard and Beatrice Campbell. It is adapted from the 1930 novel ''My Brother Jonathan'' by Francis Brett Young, lat ...

(1948) (third assistant director) (uncredited)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomblin, David 1930 births 2005 deaths BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award British film directors British television directors Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Borehamwood