Jo Durden-Smith (24 December 1941 – 10 May 2007) was a British documentary film maker. His work included ''
The Doors Are Open'', ''
The Stones in the Park
''The Stones in the Park'' was a free outdoor festival held in Hyde Park on 5 July 1969, headlined by the Rolling Stones and featuring Third Ear Band, King Crimson, Screw, Alexis Korner's New Church, Family and the Battered Ornaments, in fro ...
'', ''
Johnny Cash at St Quentin'', and, later, television work ''Russian Godfathers'' on the
Russian oligarchs
Russian oligarchs ( Russian: олигархи, romanized: ''oligarkhi'') are business oligarchs of the former Soviet republics who rapidly accumulated wealth in the 1990s via the Russian privatisation that followed the dissolution of the Soviet ...
.
His books included ''Who Killed George Jackson?'' (1976), about the death of imprisoned activist
George Jackson.
Life
John "Jo" Anthony Durden-Smith was born in
Pinner
Pinner is a London suburb in the London borough of Harrow, Greater London, England, northwest of Charing Cross, close to the border with Hillingdon, historically in the county of Middlesex. The population was 31,130 in 2011.
Originally a med ...
,
Middlesex
Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...
, to parents who were doctors (his father was a surgeon and his mother a radiologist).
He was educated at
Haileybury and at
Merton College, Oxford, where he read Classics.
He worked for ''
World in Action
''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...
'',
Granada TV
ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was its ...
's documentary team, where his rock films were made.
Subsequently, he lived in New York, and then Moscow. He was a columnist for ''
The Moscow Times
''The Moscow Times'' is an independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking tourists and expatriates s ...
'' until 1997.
His younger brother was the actor
Richard Durden
Mark Richard Durden-Smith (born 8 February 1944), known as Richard Durden, is an English actor, with a range of television, film and stage credits.
Personal life
Durden-Smith was educated at Haileybury and Imperial Service College and Merton ...
and his half-brother was the broadcaster
Neil Durden-Smith.
Books
*''Who Killed George Jackson?'' (1976)
*''Sex and the Brain'' (1983) with Diane DeSimone
*''Russia: a long-shot romance'' (1994)
*''Mafia'' (2002)
*''100 most infamous criminals'' (2003)
*''The Essence of Buddhism'' (2004)
*''Nostradamus and Other Prophets and Seers'' (2005)
See also
*''
A Horse Called Nijinsky''
Notes
External links
London ''Times'' obituary''Daily Telegraph'' obituaryBFI filmography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durden-Smith, Jo
1941 births
2007 deaths
British documentary filmmakers
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford