Thomas Clyde (24 June 1917 – February 1999) was a British film producer. He was the grandson of William Pancoast Clyde, head of the

Clyde Steamship Company Clyde Steamship Company was a steamship transportation company connecting New York City to Florida as well as routes to Boston and Providence, Cuba, New Orleans, and various Keys. William P. Clyde organized the company in 1874 and acquired various ...

, and the younger brother of William Pancoast “Little Billy” Clyde, the Olympic skier. He was the father of actor and musician

Jeremy Clyde Michael Jeremy Thomas Clyde (born 22 March 1941) is an English actor and musician. During the 1960s, he was one-half of the folk duo Chad & Jeremy (with Chad Stuart), who had little success in the UK, but were an object of interest to American ...

Early life

Tommy Clyde was born 24 June 1917, the second son of William Pancoast Clyde, Jr. and Dora Taylor Clyde, in Battle, Sussex, England.Ancestry.com. ''London, England, Church of England Births and Baptisms, 1813–1917'' atabase on-line Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. He was baptized 9 August 1917 at

St Jude's Church, Kensington St Jude's Church, Courtfield Gardens, Kensington, London, was designed by architects George Godwin and Henry Godwin, and built between 1867–70; the tower and spire were constructed in 1879. It was built on the northern portion of Captain Robert ...

. His parents divorced when he was young, and he was raised by his mother, who married Allan G. Kyle in 1925. Clyde was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

where he met Valerian Wellesley, grandson of the 4th Duke of Wellington. He and Wellesley would become close friends while continuing their studies 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 ...

, and Clyde eventually began to date Wellesley's younger sister,

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

. In the 1930s, Clyde rode “successfully” in several point-to-point

Steeplechase Steeplechase may refer to: * Steeplechase (horse racing), a type of horse race in which participants are required to jump over obstacles * Steeplechase (athletics), an event in athletics that derives its name from the steeplechase in horse racing ...

races.

Career

Clyde served in the

Royal Horse Guards The Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (The Blues) (RHG) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. Raised in August 1650 at Newcastle upon Tyne and County Durham by Sir Arthur Haselrigge on the orders of Oliver Cr ...

, serving in the 2 HCR (Household Cavalry Regiment). He retired from the Royal Army with the rank of captain, then worked in London as a film producer, working on the following films: * '' The Intruder'' (1953, Location Manager) * ''

The Colditz Story ''The Colditz Story'' is a 1955 British prisoner of war film starring John Mills and Eric Portman and directed by Guy Hamilton. It is based on the 1952 memoir written by Pat Reid, a British army officer who was imprisoned in Oflag IV-C, Colditz ...

'' (1955, Production Manager) * '' The Hostage'' (1956, Producer) * ''

Chase a Crooked Shadow ''Chase a Crooked Shadow'' ( ''Sleep No More'') is a 1958 British suspense film starring Richard Todd, Anne Baxter and Herbert Lom. Michael Anderson directed ''Chase a Crooked Shadow'', the first film produced by Associated Dragon Films, a bus ...

'' (1958, Producer: in Association with) * ''

Moment of Danger ''Moment of Danger'' (also known as ''Malaga'') is a 1960 British crime drama film starring Trevor Howard, Dorothy Dandridge and Edmund Purdom. It was filmed in Europe in the late months of 1959. The film is based on the novel by , and it was ...

'' (1960, Producer) * ''

Follow That Horse! ''Follow That Horse!'' is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Alan Bromly from a screenplay by William Douglas-Home. It stars David Tomlinson, Cecil Parker, Richard Wattis, Mary Peach and Dora Bryan. Various parties including scientists and ...

'' (1960, Producer) * ''

Guns of Darkness ''Guns of Darkness'' is a 1962 British drama film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring David Niven, Leslie Caron and James Robertson Justice. It is based on the 1960 novel ''Act of Mercy'' by Francis Clifford, which was retitled ''Guns of D ...

'' (1962, Producer) * '' Work is a 4-Letter Word'' (1968, Producer) * ''

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 ...

'' (1973, Executive Producer)

Personal life

On 24 October 1939, Clyde announced his engagement to Elizabeth Wellesley, the only daughter of the 7th Duke of Wellington. They married on 18 November 1939 at St. Peter's Church, Vere Street, London with Elizabeth's brother, Valerian Wellesley, as best man. In October 1959, Elizabeth was awarded a divorce decree on the grounds of adultery, and was granted custody of the couple's youngest son. The couple remained “close and supportive friends” until Clyde's death. Tommy and Elizabeth Clyde had three sons: * Michael Jeremy Thomas “Jeremy” Clyde (born 22 March 1941), actor and musician * Robin Clyde (19 April 1943 – 13 February 1950) * William Jonathan “Jonathan” Clyde (born 27 May 1949) Clyde married actress

Mary Peach Mary Peach (born 20 October 1934) is a South African-born British film and television actress, who was married to the screenwriter and director Jimmy Sangster until his death in 2011. Biography Peach was born in Durban. After being nominated ...

on 18 May 1961 at the

Chelsea Registry Office Kensington and Chelsea Register Office is an office for the registration of births, deaths, marriages and civil partnerships located in Chelsea Old Town Hall in Chelsea, London. It has hosted the weddings of many notable people. According to ''T ...

, London. They met on the set of the 1960 film ''

'', which Clyde produced. The couple separated in the 1980s and later divorced. Tommy and Mary had two children: * Andrew Clyde (born February 1963) * Joanna Clyde (born 1965)

Death

Clyde died in Wandsworth, London in February 1999, at the age of 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clyde, Thomas 1917 births 1999 deaths British film producers People educated at Eton College Alumni of the University of Oxford Royal Horse Guards officers People from Battle, East Sussex