Harley Cokeliss (born Harley Louis Cokliss, February 11, 1945) is an American director, writer and producer of film and television.

Early life

Originally brought up in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, he moved to

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

in 1966 to study at the

London Film School London Film School (LFS) is a film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, neighbouring Soho, a hub of the UK film industry. It is the oldest film school in the UK.

, and spent the majority of his career in the UK.

Career

Cokeliss started making documentaries for British television in 1970, including the first filmed version of

J. G. Ballard James Graham Ballard (15 November 193019 April 2009) was an English novelist, short story writer, satirist, and essayist known for provocative works of fiction which explored the relations between human psychology, technology, sex, and mass med ...

's story ''Crash!''. Papers relating to the film ''Crash!'' are available at the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the Britis ...

(Add MS 89171/1). Cokeliss's initial treatment and Ballard's draft script for ''Crash!'' are published in ''Crash: The Collector's Edition,'' ed. Chris Beckett. Cokeliss later graduated to making feature films, serving as

second unit director Second unit is a discrete team of filmmakers tasked with filming shots or sequences of a production, separate from the main or "first" unit. The second unit will often shoot simultaneously with the other unit or units, allowing the filming stag ...

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 space opera film directed by Irvin Kershner from a screenplay by Leigh Brackett and Lawrence Kasdan, based on a sto ...

'' before helming films like ''

Battletruck ''Battletruck'' (also known as ''Warlords of the 21st Century'' in the U.S. and '' Destructors'' in Italy) is a 1982 New Zealand post-apocalyptic science fiction action film co-written and directed by Harley Cokliss and starring Michael Beck, A ...

'', '' Black Moon Rising'', and '' Malone''. He wrote and directed the 1988 horror film '' Dream Demon''.Chibnall, Steve; Petley, Julian (2002). British Horror Cinema. Routledge. p. 6. He has directed episodes of various television series, including '' The New Adventures of Robin Hood'', '' CI5: The New Professionals'', and '' Xena: Warrior Princess''.

Filmography

Film

*''Chicago Blues'' (1970) – producer and director *''Six Reels of Film to Be Shown in Any Order'' (1971) – assistant director *''The Battle of Billy's Pond'' (1976) – director and writer *'' The Glitterball'' (1977) – director and writer *'' That Summer!'' (1979) – director *''

'' (1980) – studio second unit director *'' Warlords of the 21st Century'' (1982) – director *'' Black Moon Rising'' (1986) – director *'' Malone'' (1987) – director *'' Dream Demon'' (1988) – director and writer *'' Pilgrim'' (2000) – director and writer *'' Paris Connections'' (2010) – director

Television

* ''Crash!'' (1971) – BBC

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

based on

's '' The Atrocity Exhibition'' * '' Hercules: The Legendary Journeys'' (1994–95) – director; 3 episodes *'' Xena: Warrior Princess'' (1995) – director; 1 episode *'' The New Adventures of Robin Hood'' (1997) – director; 3 episodes *''The Ruby Ring'' (1997) – director; television film *'' CI5: The New Professionals'' (1999) – director; 2 episodes *'' Dark Knight'' (2000) – director and writer; 2 episodes *'' The Immortal'' (2001) – director; 2 episodes *''An Angel for May'' (2002) – director; television film

References

External links

* * *website: http://harleycokeliss.co.uk/ 1945 births Living people Male actors from San Diego American male film actors Writers from San Diego Film producers from California Film directors from California Alumni of the London Film School {{US-tv-bio-stub