Peter Sasdy (born 27 May 1935 in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, Hungary) is a British film and television director. In addition to his numerous TV credits, notable among which is the

Nigel Kneale Thomas Nigel Kneale (28 April 1922 – 29 October 2006) was a Manx screenwriter who wrote professionally for more than 50 years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award, and was twice nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Scr ...

-scripted '' The Stone Tape'' (1972), he directed several horror films for

Hammer A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal (as ...

, including '' Taste the Blood of Dracula'' (1969), '' Countess Dracula'' (1971) and '' Hands of the Ripper'' (1971). Pirie, David, "New Blood", in ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

'', volume 40, issue 2 (Spring 1971): 73. Sasdy directed the 1960s TV series ''

Wuthering Heights ''Wuthering Heights'' is an 1847 novel by Emily Brontë, initially published under her pen name Ellis Bell. It concerns two families of the landed gentry living on the West Yorkshire moors, the Earnshaws and the Lintons, and their turbulent r ...

'', '' The Tenant of Wildfell Hall'' and ''

The Spoils of Poynton ''The Spoils of Poynton'' is a novel by Henry James, first published under the title ''The Old Things'' as a serial in '' The Atlantic Monthly'' in 1896 and then as a book in 1897. This novel traces the shifting relations among three people and ...

'' for BBC TV. He also directed several early episodes of the hit TV series '' Minder'', and earned a Razzie Award for his direction of the 1983 film ''

The Lonely Lady ''The Lonely Lady'' is a 1983 American drama film directed by Peter Sasdy, adapted from Harold Robbins' 1976 novel of the same name, believed to have been based on Robbins' memories of Jacqueline Susann. The film stars Pia Zadora in the title role ...

''. He directed three different adaptations of Sherlock Holmes stories: ''The Illustrious Client'', the first episode of the 1965 BBC series starring

Douglas Wilmer Douglas Wilmer (8 January 1920 – 31 March 2016) was an English actor, best known for playing Sherlock Holmes in the 1965 TV series ''Sherlock Holmes''. Early life Wilmer was born in Brentford, Middlesex, and received his education at King ...

as Sherlock Holmes and Nigel Stock as Dr. Watson; one episode (''The Case of the Blind Man's Bluff'') of '' Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson'' from 1979-1980, starring

Geoffrey Whitehead Geoffrey Whitehead (born 1 October 1939) is an English actor. He has appeared in a range of television, film and radio roles. In the theatre, he has played at Shakespeare's Globe, St Martin's Theatre and the Bristol Old Vic. Early life White ...

and

Donald Pickering Donald Ellis Pickering (15 November 1933 – 19 December 2009) was an English actor, appearing in many stage, television, film and radio roles. Early life and education Pickering was born at Newcastle upon Tyne, son of John Joseph Pickering ...

; and the 1991 TV film ''

Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady ''Sherlock Holmes and the Leading Lady'' and its sequel, ''Incident at Victoria Falls'' (1992), are a pair of TV films made in 1991 under the banner ''Sherlock Holmes the Golden Years''. Harry Alan Towers was executive producer and Bob Shayne wa ...

'', starring

Christopher Lee Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee (27 May 1922 – 7 June 2015) was an English actor and singer. In a long career spanning more than 60 years, Lee often portrayed villains, and appeared as Count Dracula in seven Hammer Horror films, ultimat ...

and

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

. Sasdy directed ''

Welcome to Blood City ''Welcome to Blood City'' is a 1977 science fiction Western film directed by Peter Sasdy and starring Jack Palance, Keir Dullea and Samantha Eggar. Plot Five strangers awake finding themselves with no memory in a world resembling the wild west ...

'' for Warner Bros., perhaps the first cinema release movie in the "virtual-reality" genre. From 1985 to 1987, he directed the

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a Broadcast license, franchise holder for a region of the British ITV (TV network), ITV television network serving Greater London, London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until th ...

production of '' The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ''. He also produced and directed

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic, and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social and ...

's ''Ending Up'' for Thames TV, which starred

John Mills Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...

and

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 was ...

References

External links

* 1935 births Living people British film directors Film people from Budapest Horror film directors Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom {{UK-film-director-stub