Sir John Denis Forman (13 October 1917 – 24 February 2013) was a Scottish executive in the British television industry long associated with the ITV contractor

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, and with various charitable and governmental bodies in the arts.

Career

Forman was born in 1917 in Cragielands, near

Moffat Moffat ( gd, Mofad) is a burgh and parish in Dumfriesshire, now part of the Dumfries and Galloway local authority area in Scotland. It lies on the River Annan, with a population of around 2,500. It was a centre of the wool trade and a spa town. ...

, in Dumfries, to the Rev Adam Forman, an Episcopalian vicar and country gentleman who later became a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister. The family lived in a house built in the

Palladian Palladian architecture is a European architectural style derived from the work of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). What is today recognised as Palladian architecture evolved from his concepts of symmetry, perspective and ...

style and were devout. Forman recounted his childhood in his memoir ''Son of Adam'' (1990, filmed as ''

My Life So Far ''My Life So Far'' is a 1999 film about a year in the life of a ten-year-old Scottish boy. It was directed by Hugh Hudson, with screenplay by Simon Donald. The film is set in 1927 and is based on the memoirs of Denis Forman, a British televis ...

'' in 1999). He was educated at

Loretto School Loretto School, founded in 1827, is an independent boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 0 to 18. The campus occupies in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland. History The school was founded by the Reverend Thomas Langhorne in 1827. ...

, Musselburgh and

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

. Forman had a distinguished military career during the Second World War and was wounded at

Monte Cassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

, losing a leg. After the war he joined the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and was its Director from 1948 to 1955. Later he was Chair of its Board of Governors, from 1971 to 1973. After his main period of work at the BFI, Forman joined the new Granada Television in 1955, an ITV contractor which went on air in the following year, being appointed by Cecil Bernstein (brother of Sidney) who was a BFI governor at the time. He was Chairman from 1974 to 1987, and Deputy Chairman of the Granada Group from 1984 to 1990. He was also Deputy Chairman of the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden, from 1983 to 1991. Throughout his career, Forman encouraged young talent and amongst others, mentored the founder of Channel 4 Sir Jeremy Isaacs and musician and businessman David Wood. At Granada Forman presided over the creation of the acclaimed series ''The Jewel in the Crown'' and such ground-breaking programmes as ''World in Action'', ''University Challenge'' and ''Family at War''.

Personal life

Forman married Helen de Mouilpied in 1948 and they had two sons, Charlie and Adam. She died in 1987. He married again in 1990, to Moni, the widow of the journalist

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker. A major figure in the post-New Hollywood era, he is considered one of the industry's most innovative filmmakers, regularly pushing the boundaries of cinematic capability w ...

. He died of a heart attack in a nursing home 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 ...

, aged 95.Granada's Sir Denis Forman dies aged 95

BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broadca ...

, 25 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.

Publications

*''Mozart’s Piano Concertos'', 1971 *''Son of Adam'' (autobiography, vol.1), 1990 *''To Reason Why'' (autobiography, vol.2), 1991 *''The Good Opera Guide'', (ed.) 1994 *''Persona Granada: Some Memories of Sidney Bernstein and the Early Days of Independent Television'' (memoir), 1997 *''The Good Wagner Guide'', 2000

References

External links

*
WW2 Experience Website detailing Forman's Military CareerAppearance on Desert Island Discs (3 March 1991)

Career

Personal life

Publications

References

External links

See also