Peter Medak (born Medák Péter, 23 December 1937) is a Hungarian-born

film director A film director controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfilment of that vision. The director has a key role in choosing the cast members, p ...

and

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 ...

of British and American productions.

Early life

Born 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 Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, he was the son of Elisabeth (née Diamounstein) and Gyula Medak, a textile manufacturer. His family was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

. In 1956, he fled his native country for the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

due to the Hungarian Uprising. There he embarked on a career in the film industry, starting as a trainee and gradually rising to the position of film director.

Career

Medak was signed to direct

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

s for MCA

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

in 1963. In 1967, he signed with

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

to make feature films. His first such film was '' Negatives'' (1968). Some of his most notable other works are '' The Ruling Class'' (1972), '' The Changeling'' (1980), '' The Krays'' (1990) and ''

Let Him Have It ''Let Him Have It'' is a 1991 British drama film directed by Peter Medak and starring Christopher Eccleston, Paul Reynolds, Tom Courtenay and Tom Bell. The film is based on the true story of Derek Bentley, who was convicted of the murder of a p ...

'' (1991). Medak has also directed a number of TV episodes and films, including '' The Feast of All Saints'' (a

mini-series A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...

), '' Homicide: Life on the Street'', ''

The Wire ''The Wire'' is an American Crime film, crime drama Television show, television series created and primarily written by author and former police reporter David Simon. The series was broadcast by the cable network HBO in the United States. ''The ...

'' and ''

Carnivàle ''Carnivàle'' () is an American television series set in the United States Dust Bowl during the Great Depression of the 1930s. The series, created by Daniel Knauf, ran for two seasons between 2003 and 2005. In tracing the lives of disparate ...

''.

Personal life

His marriage to his first wife, Katherine LaKermance, with whom he had two children, ended when she died in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1972. He had two further children with his second wife, British actress

Carolyn Seymour Carolyn Seymour is an English actress, best known for portraying the role of Abby Grant in the BBC series '' Survivors'' (1975), and Queen Myrrah in the '' Gears of War'' franchise. Career Born Carolyn von Benckendorf in Buckinghamshire to an ...

, from whom he was later divorced. Medak's third wife was

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

singer

Julia Migenes Julia Migenes (born March 13, 1943) is an American soprano working primarily in musical theatre repertoire. She was born on the Lower East Side of New York (Manhattan) to parents of Irish and Puerto Rican descent. (Her stepfather was of Greek ...

; the marriage lasted from 1988 to 2003.

Partial filmography

* '' Negatives'' (1968) * ''

A Day in the Death of Joe Egg A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (1972) * '' The Ruling Class'' (1972) * '' The Third Girl From the Left'' (1973) * ''

Ghost in the Noonday Sun ''Ghost in the Noonday Sun'' is a 1974 British comedy film directed by Peter Medak starring Peter Sellers, Anthony Franciosa and Spike Milligan. The film suffered a difficult production due to Sellers's erratic behavior and was not theatrically ...

'' (1974) * ''

The Odd Job ''The Odd Job'' is a 1978 British comedy film starring Monty Python member Graham Chapman. It tells the story of a man named Arthur Harris (Chapman) who is recently abandoned by his wife. He becomes so depressed that he hires an "odd job man" ...

'' (1978) * '' The Changeling'' (1980) * '' The Babysitter'' (1980) * ''

Zorro, The Gay Blade ''Zorro, The Gay Blade'' is a 1981 American swashbuckling comedy western film from 20th Century Fox, produced by C.O. Erickson and George Hamilton, directed by Peter Medak, that stars Hamilton, Lauren Hutton, Ron Leibman, and Brenda Vaccaro. The ...

'' (1981) * ''

Cry for the Strangers John Saul (born February 25, 1942) is an American author of suspense and Horror fiction, horror novels. Most of his books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List, ''New York Times'' Best Seller List. . Biography Born in Pasadena, ...

'' (1982) * ''

Hart to Hart ''Hart to Hart'' is an American mystery television series that premiered on August 25, 1979, on ABC. The show stars Robert Wagner and Stefanie Powers as Jonathan and Jennifer Hart, respectively, a wealthy couple who lead a glamorous jetset lifes ...

'' (1982) * ''

Faerie Tale Theatre Faerie Tale Theatre (also known as Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre) is an American live-action fairytale fantasy drama anthology television series of 27 episodes, that originally aired on Showtime from September 11, 1982 until November 14, 19 ...

'' (1984) ** Episode 3.03 "

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan vil ...

" ** Episode 3.05 " Snow White and the Seven Dwarves" ** Episode 4.02 "

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" ( da, Snedronningen) is an original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'' (''Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samli ...

" ** Episode 4.07 "

The Emperor's New Clothes "The Emperor's New Clothes" ( da, Kejserens nye klæder ) is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.A ...

" ** Episode 6.03 " The Dancing Princesses" * ''

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, su ...

'' (1985) ** Episode 1.09 "

Dead Woman's Shoes "Dead Woman's Shoes" is the first segment of the ninth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the television series '' The Twilight Zone''. It is a remake of " Dead Man's Shoes", an episode of the original ''Twilight Zone''. It stars Helen ...

" * ''

The Men's Club ''The Men's Club'' is a 1986 American drama film directed by Peter Medak, based on the novel of the same name by Leonard Michaels. It stars Roy Scheider, Harvey Keitel, Frank Langella, Treat Williams, David Dukes and Richard Jordan. It is no ...

'' (1986) * ''The Metamorphosis, a Study: Nabokov on Kafka'' (1989) * '' The Krays'' (1990) * ''

'' (1991) * ''

Romeo Is Bleeding ''Romeo Is Bleeding'' is a 1993 neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Peter Medak, written and produced by Hilary Henkin, and starring Gary Oldman, Lena Olin, Annabella Sciorra, Juliette Lewis, and Roy Scheider. It follows a psychosexual cat-a ...

'' (1993) * ''

Pontiac Moon ''Pontiac Moon'' is a 1994 adventure film directed by Peter Medak, and produced by Robert Schaffel and Youssef Vahabzadeh. The film stars Ted Danson as Washington Bellamy, a "pigheaded" science teacher in a small town of California, as well as M ...

'' (1994) * '' The Hunchback'' (1997) * ''

Species II ''Species II'' is a 1998 American science fiction horror thriller film directed by Peter Medak. The film is a sequel to ''Species'' (1995) and the second installment in the ''Species'' series. The film stars Michael Madsen, Natasha Henstridge, ...

'' (1998) * ''

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

'' (2000) * '' The Feast of All Saints'' (2001) (TV mini-series) * ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, C ...

'' (2007) ** Episode "

The Washingtonians "The Washingtonians" is the twelfth episode of the second season of ''Masters of Horror'', directed by Peter Medak. The episode is based on the short story written by Bentley Little. It details a man discovering a shocking secret about George Wa ...

" * ''

'' (2002) ** Episode 1.03 "

The Buys "The Buys" is the third episode of the The Wire (season 1), first season of the HBO original series ''The Wire''. The episode was written by David Simon from a story by David Simon & Ed Burns and was directed by Peter Medak. It originally aired on ...

" *''

'' (2003) ** Episode 1.04 "Black Blizzard" * ''

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

(2004) ** Episodes 1.6 " The Socratic Method" *''

Sex and Lies in Sin City ''Sex and Lies in Sin City: The Ted Binion Scandal'' is a 2008 Lifetime Television film starring Johnathon Schaech, Marcia Gay Harden, Matthew Modine, and Mena Suvari. Premise The film details the events surrounding the death of Las Vegas casino ...

'' (2008) *''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited hig ...

'' (2009) ** Episode 2.06 "Peekaboo" *''

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

'' (2013) ** Episode 1.04 "Œuf" ** Episode 2.03 "Hassun" *'' Dating Game Killer'' (2017) *'' The Ghost of Peter Sellers'' (2018)

References

External links

* *
Peter Medak
at Britmovie.co.uk {{DEFAULTSORT:Medak, Peter 1937 births English-language film directors Hungarian emigrants to the United Kingdom Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian Jews Hungarian refugees People from Budapest Living people Science fiction film directors