Brian Gibson (22 September 1944 – 4 January 2004) was an English film and television director.

Early life and education

Gibson was born 22 September 1944 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex. His mother, Victoria, was a shop assistant and his father was a carpenter. He had a sister, June. Gibson attended

Southend High School for Boys (To the determined, nothing is difficult) , established = 1895 (founded), 1939 (moved to current premises) , closed = , type = Grammar school , religious_affiliation = Anglican , president ...

. He attended

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The college is located in the historic city-centre of Camb ...

, where he studied medicine. He also studied History of Science at

Darwin College, Cambridge Darwin College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded on 28 July 1964, Darwin was Cambridge University's first graduate-only college, and also the first to admit both men and women. The college is named after one of the ...

. He graduated from Cambridge University.

Career

In the late 1960s, Gibson began working for the BBC, directing scientific documentaries. Gibson directed

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (born Helen Lydia Mironoff; born 26 July 1945) is an English actor. The recipient of numerous accolades, she is the only performer to have achieved the Triple Crown of Acting in both the United States and the United Kingdom. ...

in the 1979 BBC film ''Blue Remembered Hills'' and his work on that film won him a BAFTA Award for Best Director. Gibson made his feature film directorial debut with '' Breaking Glass'' (1980). In 1986, he directed '' Poltergeist II: The Other Side''. In 1989, he directed Ben Kingsley in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

television film '' Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story''. In 1990, Gibson directed the miniseries '' Drug Wars: The Camarena Story'', starring

Steven Bauer Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson; December 2, 1956) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on '' ¿Qué Pasa, USA?'' (1977–1980) and is perhaps most ...

and Benicio Del Toro. Gibson won a Primetime Emmy and a Directors Guild of America Award for directing the HBO television film '' The Josephine Baker Story'' (1991). In 1993, he directed the Oscar nominated film '' What's Love Got to Do with It'', starring

Angela Bassett Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

and Laurence Fishburne. This led to a first look deal with Touchstone Pictures. In 1996, he directed Demi Moore and

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor, comedian, and producer. In his early career, Baldwin played both leading and supporting roles in a variety of films such as Tim Burton's ''Beetlejuice'' (1988), Mike Nichol ...

in ''

The Juror ''The Juror'' is a 1996 American legal thriller film based on the 1995 novel by George Dawes Green. It was directed by Brian Gibson and stars Demi Moore as a single mother picked for jury duty for a mafia trial and Alec Baldwin as a mobster sent t ...

''. In 1998, he directed the British film '' Still Crazy'' starring Bill Nighy and Billy Connolly. Gibson served as an executive producer for '' Frida'' (2002), starring Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina. He was preparing to direct a film for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, and also collaborating on a script with his wife when he was diagnosed with cancer.

Personal life and death

Gibson had homes in London and Los Angeles. In 1990, Gibson married Lynn Whitfield. They have a daughter Grace. Their marriage ended in divorce. After their divorce he married the artist Paula Rae Gibson, with whom he had another daughter, Raphaela. Gibson died of bone cancer in London on 4 January 2004; he was 59.

Filmography

* 1974 : '' Horizon (BBC TV series)'' (ep: ''Joey'') * 1976 : ''

The Billion Dollar Bubble ''The Billion Dollar Bubble'' is a 1978 American film made for the BBC series '' Horizon'' and directed by Brian Gibson about the story of the two-billion-dollar insurance embezzlement scheme involving Equity Funding Corporation of America. Th ...

'' * 1976 : ''

Where Adam Stood ''Where Adam Stood'' is a television play by Dennis Potter, first broadcast on BBC 2 in 1976. It is a free adaptation, wholly shot on film, of Edmund Gosse's autobiographical book ''Father and Son'' (1907). Synopsis Philip Gosse, naturalist ...

'' * 1979 : ''Screenplay'' (série TV) * 1979 : ''

Gossip from the Forest ''Gossip from the Forest'' is a novel by the Australian author Thomas Keneally which deals with the negotiations surrounding the ending of World War I. Subject matter "In ''Gossip from the Forest'', Keneally offered a concentrated fictional pre ...

'' * 1979 : ''

Blue Remembered Hills "Blue Remembered Hills" is the 14th episode of ninth season of the British BBC anthology TV series '' Play for Today''. The episode was a television play that was originally broadcast on 30 January 1979. "Blue Remembered Hills" was written by De ...

'' * 1980 : '' Breaking Glass'' * 1983 : '' Kilroy Was Here'' * 1986 : '' Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' * 1989 : '' Murderers Among Us: The Simon Wiesenthal Story'' * 1990 : '' Drug Wars: The Camarena Story'' * 1991 : '' The Josephine Baker Story'' * 1993 : '' What's Love Got to Do with It'' * 1996 : ''

'' * 1998 : '' Still Crazy''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gibson, Brian 1944 births 2004 deaths Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Alumni of Darwin College, Cambridge Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from bone cancer English film directors English television directors Primetime Emmy Award winners People from Southend-on-Sea English expatriates in the United States