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Michael Imison (born in
Hoylake
Hoylake is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. Historically part of Cheshire, the Domesday ...
, Cheshire, 9 February 1935) is a retired
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
television director
A television director is in charge of the activities involved in making a television program or section of a program. They are generally responsible for decisions about the editorial content and creative style of a program, and ensuring the prod ...
and
literary agent. He directed several productions for the BBC in the 1960s, including ''
Doctor Who'', and subsequently served as the
story editor on the second series of the science-fiction anthology programme ''
Out of the Unknown
''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
''.
Early life and education
Imison attended
Exeter College at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
.
BBC career
Imison began his career at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
working for the Script Department. Initial successes included directing ''Magnyfcence'' by
John Skelton at the
Tower Theatre,
Canonbury
Canonbury is a residential area of Islington in the London Borough of Islington, North London. It is roughly in the area between Essex Road, Upper Street and Cross Street and either side of St Paul's Road.
In 1253 land in the area was granted to ...
in May 1963.
Under contract as a director at the BBC, Imison directed ''
Compact
Compact as used in politics may refer broadly to a pact or treaty; in more specific cases it may refer to:
* Interstate compact
* Blood compact, an ancient ritual of the Philippines
* Compact government, a type of colonial rule utilized in British ...
'' and a serial adaptation of
Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novell ...
's ''
Buddenbrooks
''Buddenbrooks'' () is a 1901 novel by Thomas Mann, chronicling the decline of a wealthy north German merchant family over the course of four generations, incidentally portraying the manner of life and mores of the Hanseatic bourgeoisie in th ...
''.
His final directorial assignment for the BBC was the ''
Doctor Who'' serial ''
The Ark'' (1966), which starred
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 incarnation of the Doctor in '' Doctor Who'' from 1963 to 1966. In film, Hartnell notably appeared in '' Bri ...
as the
First Doctor
The First Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor William Hartnell.
Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time ...
. Although his contract as a staff director was not renewed following the completion of the serial,
[Voice-over commentary on the BBC DVD " The Ark" (1966, 2011)] Imison remained at the BBC and acted as story editor on the second series of ''
Out of the Unknown
''Out of the Unknown'' is a British television science fiction anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and broadcast on BBC2 in four series between 1965 and 1971. Most episodes of the first three series were a dramatisation of a science f ...
'' under producer
Irene Shubik
Irene Shubik (26 December 1929 – 26 September 2019) was a British television producer and story editor, known for her contribution to the development of the single play in British television drama. Beginning her career in television at AB ...
.
Literary agent
Later in his career, Imison became a literary agent. His company represented
Noël Coward and
Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (10 June 191130 November 1977) was a British dramatist and screenwriter. He was one of England's most popular mid-20th-century dramatists. His plays are typically set in an upper-middle-class background.Geoffrey Wan ...
, among many other playwrights. He also helped previously unknown dramatists such as
David Edgar (''
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby
''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...
'') and
Bernard Pomerance
Bernard Pomerance (September 23, 1940 – August 26, 2017) was an American playwright and poet whose best known work is the play '' The Elephant Man''.
Biography
Pomerance was born in Brooklyn, New York City in 1940. He studied at the Univers ...
(''
The Elephant Man
Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890), often erroneously called John Merrick, was an English man known for having severe deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "the Elephant Man" and then we ...
'') to international success. It has now been incorporated into Alan Brodie Representation Ltd.,
Other work
Imison founded and chaired the
Noël Coward Society, worked for the
British Humanist Association
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent "people who seek to live good lives without religious or superstitious b ...
,
and also founded and chaired the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society when he was the undergraduate director of the Oxford University Theatre Group, known for its late-night revues which launched the careers 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 two ...
and
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore CBE (19 April 193527 March 2002) was an English actor, comedian, musician and composer. Moore first came to prominence in the UK as a leading figure in the British satire boom of the 1960s. He was one of the four writ ...
among others.
Personal life
Imison was married to the educator Dame
Tamsyn Imison and lives in
Suffolk.
References
External links
* http://www.shillpages.com/howe/b-h1.htm
* https://web.archive.org/web/20060624184234/http://www.bbccharterreview.org.uk/first_phase_responses/I/imison_michael.rtf
* http://www.clubdesmonstres.com/monoids.jpg
* https://web.archive.org/web/20030921084420/http://www.humanism.org.uk/site/cms/contentviewarticle.asp?article=1160
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imison, Michael
1935 births
Living people
Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford
British television directors
People from Southwold