Mark Shivas (24 April 1938 – 11 October 2008) was a British television producer, film producer and executive.
Shivas was born in Banstead in Surrey. His father was an English teacher; his mother was a librarian. He attended
Whitgift School
("He who perseveres, conquers")
, established =
, closed =
, type = Independent school
, religious_affiliation = Church of England
, president =
, head_label = Head Master
, head = Christopher Ramsey
, c ...
in Croydon and read law at
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
.
Shivas wrote for the student magazine ''Oxford Opinions''. After abandoning a legal career, he co-founded the magazine ''Movie'' (1961–64) which used the French publication ''
Cahiers du Cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' as its model,.
[Geoffrey McNa]
"UK producer Mark Shivas dies age 70"
''Screen Daily'', 14 October 2008 He was assistant editor (1962–64), and also contributed interviews and articles to ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
He began his television career at
Granada Television
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 it ...
in 1964 as an assistant to the head of the story department and later worked on the company's ''Cinema'' series as a producer and presenter. In 1969 he joined the BBC's drama department, and became one of the corporation's most successful and prolific producers. The costume drama ''
The Six Wives of Henry VIII'' (1970), was nominated for three
Emmy Award
The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
s in 1972.
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter (17 May 1935 – 7 June 1994) was an English television dramatist, screenwriter and journalist. He is best known for his BBC television serials '' Pennies from Heaven'' (1978), ''The Singing Detective'' (198 ...
's ''
Casanova
Giacomo Girolamo Casanova (, ; 2 April 1725 – 4 June 1798) was an Italian adventurer and author from the Republic of Venice. His autobiography, (''Story of My Life''), is regarded as one of the most authentic sources of information about the c ...
'' (1971) was another success.
Other productions he oversaw included the anthology series ''
Black and Blue
''Black and Blue'' is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records.
This album was the first recorded after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit ...
'' (1973), which included the play ''
Secrets
Secrecy is the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups who do not have the "need to know", perhaps while sharing it with other individuals. That which is kept hidden is known as the secret.
Secrecy is often controvers ...
'' by
Michael Palin
Sir Michael Edward Palin (; born 5 May 1943) is an English actor, comedian, writer, television presenter, and public speaker. He was a member of the Monty Python comedy group. Since 1980, he has made a number of travel documentaries.
Palin w ...
and
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones (1 February 1942 – 21 January 2020) was a Welsh comedian, director, historian, actor, writer and member of the Monty Python comedy team.
After graduating from Oxford University with a degree in English, Jones and ...
. Critics disliked Shivas's production of ''
The Borgias'' (1981) for the BBC; it suffered in comparison with the contemporary ''
Brideshead Revisited
''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
'' on ITV.
Shivas was
head of drama at the BBC from 1988 to 1993; he then moved to the
BBC Films
BBC Film (formerly BBC Films) is the feature film-making arm of the BBC. It was founded on 18 June 1990, and has produced or co-produced some of the most successful British films of recent years, including ''Truly, Madly, Deeply'', '' Alan Part ...
, and was executive producer of twenty films. In later years, he returned to producing as a freelancer. Some of his most noted later productions included the second series of
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett (born 9 May 1934) is an English actor, author, playwright and screenwriter. Over his distinguished entertainment career he has received numerous awards and honours including two BAFTA Awards, four Laurence Olivier Awards, and tw ...
's ''
Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talkin ...](_blank)
'' monologues in 1998 and the 2003
espionage
Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...
drama ''
Cambridge Spies
''Cambridge Spies'' is a four-part British drama miniseries written by Peter Moffat and directed by Tim Fywell, that was first broadcast on BBC Two in May 2003 and is based on the true story of four brilliant young men at the University of Cambr ...
''.
Shivas died from lung cancer.
[Philip Purser, Alan Bennett and Ronald Harwood]
Obituary: Mark Shivas
''The Guardian'', 16 October 2008
References
External links
*
filmed
BAFTA event, March 2009
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shivas, Mark
1938 births
2008 deaths
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
BBC executives
BBC television producers
People educated at Whitgift School