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Tony Garnett (3 April 1936 – 12 January 2020) was a British film and television producer, and actor. Best known for his thirteen-year association with director
Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
, his work as a producer continued into the 21st century.


Early life and career

Born Anthony Edward Lewis in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
, he lost his parents when young: his mother Ida (''née'' Poulton) died when he was five from
septicaemia Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...
following a back-street abortion, and his father Tom Lewis, a garage mechanic turned insurance salesman, committed suicide nineteen days later. Tony was raised by his maternal aunt and uncle, Emily and Harold Garnett, whose surname he adopted in his late teens (while also simplifying his forenames), and his younger brother Peter was raised by other relatives.Jason Deans and Maggie Brow
"Up the Junction's Tony Garnett reveals mother's backstreet abortion death"
''The Guardian'', 28 April 2013
Garnett attended the Central Grammar School in Birmingham and read psychology at
University College, London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget =  ...
.Maggie Brow
"Television producer Tony Garnett: 'I'm only interested in love and politics'"
''The Guardian'', 28 April 2013
By his own admission, he spent most of his time acting in their drama society and on television. Beginning as an actor, Garnett appeared in ''
An Age of Kings ''An Age of Kings'' is a fifteen-part serial adaptation of the eight sequential history plays of William Shakespeare (''Richard II'', ''1 Henry IV'', '' 2 Henry IV'', ''Henry V'', '' 1 Henry VI'', '' 2 Henry VI'', '' 3 Henry VI'' and ''Richard ...
'' (1960), the BBC's mounting of Shakespeare's eight contiguous history plays, the courtroom film ''
The Boys Boys are young male humans. Boys or The Boys may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''The Boys'' (1962 British film), a courtroom drama by Sidney J. Furie * ''The Boys'' (1962 Finnish film), a war drama by Mikko Niskanen * ''Boys'' ( ...
'' (1962), ''
Edgar Wallace Mysteries The ''Edgar Wallace Mysteries'' is a British second-feature film series mainly produced at Merton Park Studios for Anglo-Amalgamated. There were 48 films in the series, which were released between 1960 and 1965. The series was screened as ''The E ...
'' episode Incident At Midnight (1962), several television plays by David Mercer, and an episode ''Catherine'' (1964) in the ''Teletale'' series, significant for his career because it led to his first meeting with its director,
Ken Loach Kenneth Charles Loach (born 17 June 1936) is a British film director and screenwriter. His socially critical directing style and socialist ideals are evident in his film treatment of social issues such as poverty (''Poor Cow'', 1967), homelessne ...
.Lez Cook
"Garnett, Tony (1936–)"
BFI screenonline


Work with Ken Loach and others

Recruited by Roger Smith, he became an assistant story editor at the BBC, working on ''
The Wednesday Play ''The Wednesday Play'' is an anthology series of United Kingdom, British television plays which ran on BBC One, BBC1 for six seasons from October 1964 to May 1970. The plays were usually original works written for television, although dramati ...
''. The plays he worked on included the "very, very personal" ''
Up the Junction ''Up the Junction'' is a 1963 collection of short stories by Nell Dunn that depicts contemporary life in the industrial slums of Battersea and Clapham Junction. The book uses colloquial speech, and its portrayal of petty thieving, sexual encoun ...
'' (1965), directed by Loach, which features a then still illegal abortion, but he was soon under contract as a producer. The best known of his contributions to ''The Wednesday Play'' series in this role is the docudrama ''
Cathy Come Home ''Cathy Come Home'' is a 1966 BBC television play about homelessness. It was written by Jeremy Sandford, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. A 1998 ''Radio Times'' readers' poll voted it the "best single television drama" and a ...
'' (1966), again directed by Loach. Garnett in 1967 introduced Loach to writer Jim Allen, who would be one of the director's collaborators for a quarter of a century. Garnett worked with Allen too, sometimes independently of Loach (''The Lump'', 1967), but also with him on such works as Allen's ''
The Big Flame ''The Big Flame'' is a 1969 BBC television play by socialist playwright Jim Allen, produced by Tony Garnett and directed by Ken Loach. The play tells the story of 10,000 dockworkers occupying the Liverpool docks in a "work-in". Filmed in a gritt ...
'' (1969), which had been shot in February and March 1968, but was withheld from transmission by the BBC. Together with dramatist David Mercer, fellow producers
Kenith Trodd Kenith Trodd (born 1936, in Southampton) is a British television producer best known for his professional association with television playwright Dennis Potter. Early life The son of a crane driver, Trodd was raised in the Christian fundamentalist ...
and
James MacTaggart James MacTaggart (25 April 1928 – 29 May 1974) was a Scottish television producer, director and writer. He worked in London from 1961. Early life MacTaggart was born in Glasgow and served in the Royal Army Service Corps from 1946, rising to ...
, and literary agent Clive Goodwin, Garnett founded Kestrel Productions, which was conceived as an autonomous unit connected with
London Weekend Television London Weekend Television (LWT) (now part of the non-franchised ITV London region) was the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties at weekends, broadcasting from Fridays at 5.15 pm (7:00 pm from 1968 unt ...
. The arrangement led to the production of seventeen television dramas within two years. He and his colleagues, though, found the experience as limiting as they had their period at the BBC. LWT required Garnett and his colleagues to mainly use their television studio and record on video tape, only allowing them to shoot on film and on location occasionally. Despite this, as Kestrel Films, the production company had an interest in the feature films '' Kes'' (1969), based on a
Barry Hines Melvin Barry Hines, FRSL (30 June 1939 – 18 March 2016) was an English author, playwright and screenwriter. His novels and screenplays explore the political and economic struggles of working-class Northern England, particularly in his native W ...
novel, and ''
Family Life Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Ideal ...
'' (1971), from a television play by David Mercer. Both were produced by Garnett and directed by Loach. In 1969, Garnett was the producer of Loach's ''
The Save the Children Fund Film ''The Save The Children Fund Film'' is a 50-minute British documentary from 1971 directed by Ken Loach and produced by Tony Garnett. Originally known as ''In Black and White'', It was commissioned by London Weekend Television on behalf of the ch ...
''. Commissioned by the charity itself, and originally intended for screening by LWT, it was suppressed for forty years after Save the Children disowned it, and only finally screened in 2011 at
BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...
. ''
Days of Hope ''Days of Hope'' is a BBC television drama serial produced in 1975. The series dealt with the lives of a working-class family from the turmoils of the First World War in 1916 to the General Strike in 1926. It was written by Jim Allen, produced ...
'' (1975) was a four-part serial for the BBC written by Jim Allen and directed by Loach. It recounts events from
the Great War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
to the
General Strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
of 1926. A two-part ''
Play for Today ''Play for Today'' is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage ...
'', ''
The Price of Coal ''The Price of Coal'' is a two-part television drama written by Barry Hines and directed by Ken Loach first broadcast as part of the ''Play for Today'' series in 1977. Set at the fictional Milton Colliery, near Barnsley in South Yorkshire, the ep ...
'' (1977), reunited Garnett and Loach with Barry Hines, and was their response to the silver jubilee of
the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
, mixing that celebration with a fatal accident involving two miners, similar to the events of the Cadeby Main pit disaster. ''
The Spongers "The Spongers" is the 14th episode of eighth season of the British BBC anthology TV series '' Play for Today''. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 24 January 1978. "The Spongers" was written by Jim Allen, directe ...
'' (1978), written by Allen and directed by
Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (born 17 November 1945) is a British director and producer of film and television, known for the Academy Award-winning films ''The Killing Fields'' and '' The Mission''. He began his career in television, his early credits includ ...
, also used the background of the silver jubilee, this time in the context of government spending cuts in the welfare state, in particular the closure of facilities used by a child with learning difficulties. Garnett produced
G.F. Newman Gordon Frank Newman (born 22 May 1947) is an English writer and television producer. In addition to his two earlier series ''Law & Order'' and ''The Nation's Health'', each based on his books, he is known for more recent TV series including ''Jud ...
's ''
Law and Order In modern politics, law and order is the approach focusing on harsher enforcement and penalties as ways to reduce crime. Penalties for perpetrators of disorder may include longer terms of imprisonment, mandatory sentencing, three-strikes laws a ...
'' (1978), a quartet of dramas looking at the failings of the British criminal justice system. Its broadcast resulted in questions being asked in parliament. The last production from Garnett's association with Loach was the children's film, ''
Black Jack Blackjack is a popular casino-gambling card game. Black Jack or Blackjack may also refer to: Places Australia * Black Jack, Queensland, a locality in Queensland * Black Jack, a civil parish of Pottinger County, New South Wales * Black Jack H ...
'' (1979).


Later career

Garnett's later film credits include ''
Prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
'' (1980), ''
Handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...
'' (1983), ''
Earth Girls Are Easy ''Earth Girls Are Easy'' is a 1988 American science fiction musical romantic comedy film that was produced by Tony Garnett, Duncan Henderson, and Terrence E. McNally and was directed by Julien Temple. The film stars Geena Davis, Julie Brown, ...
'' (1988) and '' Beautiful Thing'' (1996). After relocating to the United States, Garnett lived by the principle "a movie should never be about what it's about" meaning that, although ''Earth Girls'' is disguised as a space comedy about aliens and ''
Follow That Bird ''Sesame Street Presents: Follow That Bird'' (or simply ''Follow That Bird'') is a 1985 American musical road comedy film directed by Ken Kwapis and written by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss. Based on the long-running popular children's televisi ...
'' (1985) is a ''Sesame Street'' style children's film, the real theme of these motion pictures is racial prejudice. In 1990, he founded
World Productions World Productions is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017. History The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...
, for which Garnett oversaw '' Between the Lines'' (1992–94) and ''
This Life This may refer to: * ''This'', the singular proximal demonstrative pronoun Places * This, or ''Thinis'', an ancient city in Upper Egypt * This, Ardennes, a commune in France People with the surname * Hervé This, French culinary chemist Arts, e ...
'' (1996–97) and other productions. In 2009, an email by Garnett was circulated within the television industry, and published online, in which he argued that the BBC's management techniques "stifle the creativity which the organisation is supposed to be encouraging". Despite his involvement in the independent production sector, a term he found misleading, Garnett was critical of it. He said that the BBC no longer has an interest in "poor people". When "occasionally they do" feature, the poor "are smirked at or derided as chavs."


Personal life and death

In 1963, Garnett married
Topsy Jane Topsy may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Topsy, a character in the novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' * Topsy, a character in the 2018 film ''Mary Poppins Returns'' * ''Topsy and Eva'', a 1928 film based on ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' * '' Topsy and Tim'' ...
Legge, whom he met while performing in amateur theatre. They had a son, Will, and later divorced. In 1978, he married Alexandra Ouroussoff, with whom he had another son, Michael; the couple divorced in 1988. He wrote a memoir, ''The Day the Music Died: A Life Behind the Lens'' in 2016. Garnett died on 12 January 2020 after a short illness."World Productions on Twitter"
World Productions on Twitter
He was survived by his partner, Victoria Childs, and his sons.


Notes


References

*


External links

*

20 October 2008
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garnett, Tony 1936 births 2020 deaths Alumni of University College London BBC television producers English film producers English television producers People from Birmingham, West Midlands British republicans