John Daly (16 July 1937 – 31 October 2008) was a British film producer.

Personal life

John Daly was born in South East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He attended St Joseph's

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

school in Camberwell. Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Jonathan, Julian, and Timothy.

Career

Music

With David Hemmings, Daly formed

Hemdale Film Corporation Hemdale Film Corporation, known as Hemdale Communications after 1992, was an independent American-British film production company and distributor. The company was founded in London in 1967 as the Hemdale Company by actor David Hemmings and John D ...

in 1967. Hemdale had many diverse entertainment business interests, and grew rapidly in the 1970s by managing bands such as Yes,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

, as reported in Billboard Magazine, 2 September 1972, and many other well-known UK artists. The company also acquired the worldwide stage rights for

Lionel Bart Lionel Bart (1 August 1930 – 3 April 1999) was a British writer and composer of pop music and musicals. He wrote Tommy Steele's " Rock with the Caveman" and was the sole creator of the musical ''Oliver!'' (1960). With ''Oliver!'' and his wor ...

's musical '' Oliver!'', along with producing '' Grease'' starring

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...

Film

Hemdale began producing, financing and distributing its own full-length feature films, becoming a leading independent film company in Britain with films such as '' Melody'', ''

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

'', ''

The Triple Echo ''The Triple Echo'' (also known as ''Soldier in Skirts'' in its U.S. release) is a 1972 British drama film directed by Michael Apted starring Glenda Jackson, Brian Deacon and Oliver Reed, and based on the 1970 novella by H.E. Bates. It was sho ...

'' and ''

Images An image is a visual representation of something. It can be two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or somehow otherwise feed into the visual system to convey information. An image can be an artifact, such as a photograph or other two-dimensiona ...

'' by Robert Altman. Hemdale gave career starts to actors such as Keanu Reeves, Denzel Washington, and

Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles in films encompassing a variety of genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and th ...

. It also worked with directors including James Cameron ('' The Terminator''); Oliver Stone ('' Salvador'', ''

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

''); Mick Jackson ('' The Bodyguard'');

Martin Campbell Martin Campbell (born 24 October 1943) is a New Zealand film and television director based in the United Kingdom. He is known for having directed '' The Mask of Zorro'' as well as the James Bond films '' GoldenEye'' and '' Casino Royale''. He ...

(''

James Bond The ''James Bond'' series focuses on a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, eight other authors have ...

'' and ''

The Legend of Zorro ''The Legend of Zorro'' is a 2005 American Western swashbuckler film directed by Martin Campbell, produced by Walter F. Parkes, Laurie MacDonald and Lloyd Phillips, with music by James Horner, and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. ...

'');

Michael Apted Michael David Apted, (10 February 1941 – 7 January 2021) was a British television and film director and producer. Apted began working in television and directed the '' Up'' documentary series (1964–2019). He later directed '' Coal Miner's ...

('' Coal Miner's Daughter''); Robert Altman (''

'');

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' an ...

(''

The Falcon and the Snowman ''The Falcon and the Snowman'' is a 1985 American spy drama film directed by John Schlesinger. The screenplay by Steven Zaillian is based on the 1979 book ''The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage'' by Robert Lin ...

''),

Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty ('' Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessn ...

('' Hidden Agenda'');

Harold Becker Harold Becker (born September 25, 1928) is an American film and television director, producer, and photographer from New York City, associated with the New Hollywood movement and best known for his work in the thriller genre. His body of work ...

(''

The Boost ''The Boost'' is a 1988 American drama film directed by Harold Becker and based on the book '' Ludes: A Ballad of the Drug and the Dream '' by Ben Stein. It stars James Woods, Sean Young, John Kapelos, Steven Hill, June Chandler and Amanda Blake ...

''); Gillian Armstrong (''

High Tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables c ...

''); Tim Hunter (''

River's Edge ''River's Edge'' is a 1986 American crime drama film directed by Tim Hunter, written by Neal Jimenez, and starring Crispin Glover, Keanu Reeves, Ione Skye Leitch, Daniel Roebuck and Dennis Hopper. It follows a group of teenagers in a Norther ...

'') and James Foley (''

At Close Range ''At Close Range'' is a 1986 American neo-noir crime drama film directed by James Foley, based on the real life rural Pennsylvania crime family led by Bruce Johnston Sr. which operated during the 1960s and 1970s. It stars Sean Penn and Christop ...

''). Under Daly, Hemdale made over 100 films, grossing over $1.5 billion. In 2004, Daly produced, co-wrote and directed '' The Aryan Couple'', starring Oscar winner

Martin Landau Martin James Landau (; June 20, 1928 – July 15, 2017) was an American actor, acting coach, producer, and editorial cartoonist. His career began in the 1950s, with early film appearances including a supporting role in Alfred Hitchcock's ''North ...

, which received numerous awards at international film festivals. Daly also directed ''The Box Collector'' for Corsan Productions.

Sport

In 1974,

Don King Donald King (born August 20, 1931) is an American boxing promoter, known for his involvement in several historic boxing matchups. He has been a controversial figure, partly due to a manslaughter conviction and civil cases against him, as well a ...

was trying to promote "

The Rumble in the Jungle George Foreman vs. Muhammad Ali, billed as ''The Rumble in the Jungle'', was a heavyweight championship boxing match on October 30, 1974, at the 20th of May Stadium (now the Stade Tata Raphaël) in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of t ...

" heavyweight boxing match between George Foreman and Muhammad Ali. He turned to Daly, who together with Video Techniques Inc. (of which King was a director), were the official co-promoters. In 1994, Daly conceived the High Noon in Hong Kong boxing event, investing at least $800,000 of his own money, but it was cancelled at the last minute after Barry Hearn withdrew his boxers when no purses was forthcoming. "My end of the deal was kept," Daly argued. "I had to arrange the stadium, air fares and all the pre-fight promotional expenses, which I did, but the purses were not part of my obligation."

Business interests

Daly's company Hemdale acquired an ownership interest in a TV company, its own film studios, and an off-track betting company chain of shops. From 2003, Daly acted as Chairman, CEO and President of Film and Music Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. In May 2008, he took a leave of absence from his executive duties. He remained chairman until his death.

Death

John Daly, 71, died on 31 October 2008 of cancer. He was survived by his daughter, Jenny, and four sons, Michael, Jonathan, Julian and Timothy.

Awards

On behalf of his companies, Daly achieved 21

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nominations and 13 wins, including consecutive Best Picture wins for ''

'' and ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' ( it, L'ultimo imperatore) is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the final Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted ...

'' (as executive producer, shared with the film's producer

Jeremy Thomas Jeremy Jack Thomas, CBE (born 26 July 1949) is a British film producer, founder and chairman of Recorded Picture Company. He produced Bernardo Bertolucci's ''The Last Emperor'', which won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2006 he rec ...

), an unequaled achievement in independent filmmaking. Throughout his forty-year career, Daly won numerous awards at the Golden Globes, the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

, the

Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

, the Independent Spirit Awards and the Houston Film Festival, along with many other prizes.

References

External links

*
Producer John Daly dies at 71, Oscar winners 'Platoon,' 'Emperor' among credits
Variety, 1 November 2008 {{DEFAULTSORT:Daly, John 1937 births 2008 deaths English film producers 20th-century English businesspeople