Henric Hirsch (13 November 1923 – March 1999) was a Hungarian-Romanian theatre and television director.
Initially an experienced theatre director in Hungary, Hirsch fled to England to seek refuge following the
Hungarian Revolution of 1956
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...
. There, he continued to direct for theatre but sought to move into television. After completing the BBC's directors course, his first assignment was directing a 1964 edition of TV anthology series ''
First Night
First Night is a North American artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors ...
''.
TV work and ''Doctor Who''
This was seen by producer
Verity Lambert
Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer.
Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of ...
, who in turn offered Hirsch the opportunity to direct ''
Doctor Who
''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''
Season 1 Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012
* ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012
See also
*
*
* Season 2 (disambiguation)
* Season 4 (disambiguat ...
finale ''
The Reign of Terror'' (after the intended director
Gerald Blake was unable to commit). The experience was not a pleasant one for Hirsch. His background being in the theatre, he struggled, finding the production more gruelling than his previous TV work, not being particularly interested in the material he had to work with and having difficulties forging good working relationships with the cast members, in particular leading actor
William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his portrayal of the First Doctor, first incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, ...
, who had an intolerance of foreigners and was impatient with inexperienced directors. This led to Hirsch falling ill and being found collapsed from nervous exhaustion outside the studio before episode 3 was due to be filmed.
[The Reign Of Terror , A Brief History Of Time (Travel) - Shannon Patrick Sullivan](_blank)
/ref> Production assistant Timothy Combe was placed in charge until a replacement director could be found; documentation indicates that John Gorrie
John B. Gorrie (October 3, 1803 – June 29, 1855) was a Nevisian-born American physician and scientist, credited as the inventor of mechanical refrigeration.
Early life
Born on the Island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies t ...
oversaw production of the third episode, though Gorrie has no memory of the event. It is even debated that Mervyn Pinfield
Mervyn Pinfield (28 February 1912 – 20 May 1966) was a British television producer and director who worked for the BBC during the 1950s and 1960s. By the time Pinfield joined the BBC to work in live drama at Alexandra Palace in the early ...
may have in fact directed the third instalment. Hirsch recovered to direct episodes 4–6, where he found the production smoother and tensions eased between him and Hartnell.
Overall, as a result of this bad experience, Hirsch left the BBC and returned to work in the theatre. However, he would direct TV plays for anthology series such as ''The Wednesday Play
''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramati ...
'' and ''Theatre 625
''Theatre 625'' is a British television drama anthology series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC2 from 1964 to 1968. It was one of the first regular programmes in the line-up of the channel, and the title referred to its production and ...
'' as well as ITV shows including episodes of soap operas ''Crossroads
Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to:
* Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet
Film and television Films
* ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa
* ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...
'' and ''Emmerdale Farm
''Emmerdale'' (known as ''Emmerdale Farm'' until 1989) is a British soap opera that is broadcast on ITV1. The show is set in Emmerdale (known as Beckindale until 1994), a fictional village in the Yorkshire Dales. Created by Kevin Laffan, '' ...
'' in 1973. In addition, he tried his hand at acting, appearing in a 1966 instalment of '' The Spies''.
Theatre work & Translations
As a translator, Hirsch translated Ion Luca Caragiale
Ion Luca Caragiale (; commonly referred to as I. L. Caragiale; According to his birth certificate, published and discussed by Constantin Popescu-Cadem in ''Manuscriptum'', Vol. VIII, Nr. 2, 1977, pp. 179-184 – 9 June 1912) was a Romanian playw ...
's ''The Carnival Story'' from Rumanian into English, performed by 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 ...
for the first time in 1969, the production of which he also directed. Working as an assistant to theatre director Frank Hauser, Hirsch helped to translate Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...
's comedy ''The Wolf'' into English. This production starred Edward Woodward
Edward Albert Arthur Woodward, OBE (1 June 1930 – 16 November 2009) was an English actor and singer. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he began his career on stage. Throughout his career, he appeared in productions ...
, Judi Dench
Dame Judith Olivia Dench (born 9 December 1934) is an English actress. Regarded as one of Britain's best actresses, she is noted for her versatile work in various films and television programmes encompassing several genres, as well as for her ...
and Leo McKern
Reginald "Leo" McKern, Order of Australia, AO (16 March 1920 – 23 July 2002) was an Australian actor who appeared in numerous British, Australian and American television programmes and films, and in more than 200 stage roles. His notabl ...
and initially began at the Oxford Playhouse
Oxford Playhouse is a theatre designed by Edward Maufe and F.G.M. Chancellor. It is situated in Beaumont Street, Oxford, opposite the Ashmolean Museum.
History
The Playhouse was founded as ''The Red Barn'' at 12 Woodstock Road, North Oxfor ...
in 1973 before transferring to the Apollo Theatre
The Apollo Theatre is a Grade II listed West End theatre, on Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London. , Queen's Theatre and New London Theatre
The Gillian Lynne Theatre (formerly New London Theatre) is a West End theatre located on the corner of Drury Lane and Parker Street in Covent Garden, in the London Borough of Camden. The Winter Garden Theatre formerly occupied the site until 196 ...
.
Following this, Hirsch appears to have retired from theatre and TV, as it seems that there are no further credits with his name after this period. From 1976, he spent the next two decades dividing his time between the United Kingdom and Australia (due to his wife coming from down there).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Henric
1923 births
1999 deaths
Romanian expatriates in Hungary
Romanian emigrants to the United Kingdom