Don Leaver (27 September 1929 – 13 December 2015) was a television director and producer, with a career spanning from 1960 to 2000. He was known for ''

The Avengers Avenger, Avengers, The Avenger, or The Avengers may refer to: Arts and entertainment In the Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes ** Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes o ...

'', '' A Fine Romance'', '' A Touch of Frost'' and '' Prime Suspect'', but directed or produced many other TV dramas. Leaver was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England, his mother dying in childbirth. His father Edward was a chauffeur so Leaver was brought up mainly by his grandmother in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

. After training as an actor at the

Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art Webber may refer to: *Webber, Kansas, a US city *Webber Township, Jefferson County, Illinois, USA *Webber Township, Lake County, Michigan, USA *Webber International University, in Babson Park, Florida, USA *Webber (surname) Webber (/ˈwɛbər/) i ...

he quickly moved into TV production before being invited to direct by Sydney Newman, then with the

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franchise holder

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. He directed ''

'' having already directed its original star,

Ian Hendry Ian Mackendrick Hendry (13 January 1931 – 24 December 1984) was a British actor. He worked on several British TV series of the 1960s and 1970s, including the lead in the first series of '' The Avengers'' and '' The Lotus Eaters'', and played ...

, in '' Police Surgeon''. As well as directing and then going on to produce episodes for a large number of TV dramas he also directed TV adverts. Leaver directed the first series of the TV police procedural series '' Prime Suspect'', for which he won a BAFTA, having been nominated 3 times before without winning.

References

External links

* 1929 births 2015 deaths British television directors {{UK-tv-bio-stub