Simon George Michael Relph,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(13 April 1940 – 30 October 2016) was a British film producer and assistant film director.

Biography

Relph was born in Chelsea, London on 13 April 1940. His father,

Michael Relph Michael Leighton George Relph (16 February 1915 – 30 September 2004) was an English film producer, art director, screenwriter and film director. He was the son of actor George Relph. Films Relph began his film career in 1933 as an assista ...

was a Ealing Studios writer and producer and his mother, Doris, née Ringwood was a costume designer. He attended Bembridge School before being educated at

Bryanston School Bryanston School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English Private schools in the United Kingdom, private boarding school, boarding and day school for pupils aged 13–18) located next to the village of Bryanston, and near the ...

. After graduating from

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, where he read engineering, he became an actor like his grandfather

George Relph George Relph (27 January 1888 – 24 April 1960) was an English actor. He acted in more than a dozen films, and also many plays. He served in the British Army in the First World War, and was shot in the leg, hindering his return to acting. But ...

. By 1961, he had become an assistant director for the television show ''Ghost Squad'', leading to other assistant director roles, such as '' Doctor in Distress'', ''

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album '' War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted ...

'' and ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

''. On 14 December 1963 he married Amanda Jane Grinling, an actress, and they had two children together. In May 1979, Relph, Anne Skinner and

Zelda Barron Zelda Barron (nee Zelda Ruth Solomons, 31 March 1929 – 14 August 2006) was a British director, screenwriter, and producer known for films like ''Shag'', '' Secret Places'', and '' The Bulldance''. Barron was born in Manchester, the fifth of ...

established Skreba Films, creating ''

The Return of the Soldier ''The Return of the Soldier'' is the debut novel of English novelist Rebecca West, first published in 1918. The novel recounts the return of the shell shocked Captain Chris Baldry from the trenches of the First World War from the perspective ...

''. In 1981, he created a second independent production company,

Greenpoint Films Greenpoint may refer to: Geography * Greenpoint, Brooklyn, United States * Greenspoint, Houston, United States * Greenpoint Avenue * Greenpoint Avenue Bridge * Greenpoint Avenue station Other *Greenpoint (climbing), a technique in rock climbing ...

, creating '' The Ploughman's Lunch'' and ''

Wetherby Wetherby ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the City of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is close to West Yorkshire county's border with North Yorkshire and lies approximately from Leeds city centre, from ...

'', the latter being Relph's favourite film he produced. Relph became the first chief executive of British Screen Finance, backing fifty seven films during the five years he was in charge, going back to creating independent films. In 1997, Skreba and Greenpoint joined two other companies to make The Film Consortium, a large project backed by British government. The chairman of the

BAFTA The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA, ) is an independent trade association and charity that supports, develops, and promotes the arts of film, television and video games in the United Kingdom. In addition to its annual awa ...

Foundation Trustees, Relph was a member of the jury at the

41st Berlin International Film Festival The 41st annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 15 to 26 February 1991. The festival opened with ''Uranus (film), Uranus'' by Claude Berri. The Golden Bear was awarded to Italian film ''The House of Smiles'' directed by Marco F ...

. He also served on the Board of Governors of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

. He was appointed Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

2004 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2004 were appointments by some of the Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrations ...

for services to the

British film industry British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the 19th century. The oldest known surviving film in the world, ''Roundhay Garden Scene'' (1888), was shot in England by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Early colour ...

. He died on 30 October 2016 of pneumonia as a result of complications after minor surgery at Royal United Hospital in Bath. ]

Selected filmography

* '' Reds (film), Reds'' (1981) * ''

'' (1982) * '' The Ploughman's Lunch'' (1983) * ''

'' (1985) * ''

Comrades In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the ...

'' (1986) * '' Enchanted April'' (1991) * '' The Secret Rapture'' (1993) * '' Blue Juice'' (1995) * '' Slab Boys'' (1997) * ''

The Land Girls ''The Land Girls'' is a 1998 film directed by David Leland and starring Catherine McCormack, Rachel Weisz, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh and Ann Bell. The film is a British/French co-production based on the 1995 novel ''Land Girls'' by Ang ...

'' (1998) * ''

Hideous Kinky ''Hideous Kinky'' is an autobiographical novel by Esther Freud, daughter of British painter Lucian Freud and Bernardine Coverley and great-granddaughter of Sigmund Freud. It depicts the author's unconventional childhood in Morocco with her mot ...

'' (1998)

References

External links

*
Simon Relph, Esq, CBE Authorised biography
at Debrett's ''People of Today''
Simon Relph
at the

{{DEFAULTSORT:Relph, Simon 1940 births 2016 deaths Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British film directors British film producers Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Governors of the British Film Institute