British director and actor David Leland has died aged 82, in response to his long-time company, Cassaroto Ramsay & Associates
The theater, movie and TV star handed away on Christmas Eve (December 24), surrounded by his household.
Leland’s profession spanned over 5 a long time. He’s recognized for writing two movies about British suburban madam Cynthia Payne, the BAFTA-nominated Private Companies in 1987 and the Cannes Movie Competition hit Want You Have been Right here.
The previous was directed by Terry Jones and starred Julie Walters, whereas Leland directed the latter himself, with Emily Lloyd starring.
Leland gained the BAFTA for Greatest Unique Screenplay for Want You Have been Right here and the movie gained the FIPRESCI prize at Cannes.
He’s additionally famous for serving as co-showrunner of Showtime collection The Borgias and for giving Pierce Brosnan his first stage alternative within the British premiere of Tennessee Williams’ The Purple Satan Battery Signal at The Spherical Home, which Leland directed.
“David Leland holds a mighty place in my coronary heart,” stated Brosnan in a tribute. “I used to be simply out of Drama Centre the place David was additionally an alumni. It was the fun of my younger lifetime to be forged as McCabe, working with David and Tennessee. David will ceaselessly be a necessary a part of my story and of all who knew and cherished him.”
Leland initially educated as an actor on the Royal Central College of Speech and Drama and was a part of a bunch of academics and college students who broke away to kind the Drama Centre London, and gained a number of credit earlier than shifting into stage administration and path on the Crucible Theatre. Right here he labored with future Monty Python stars Michael Palin and Jones, and was to direct late British comic Victoria Wooden’s first play, Expertise.
He later grew to become a screenwriter for movie and TV, on the likes of Alan Clarke’s Made in Britain (1982), Mike Newell’s Delivery of a Nation (1983) and Neil Jordan’s Mona Lisa (1986), the latter of which gained Bob Hoskins a BAFTA and acquired Oscars, Golden Globe and Writers Guild of America Award nominations.
Leland went on to direct movies such because the Liam Neeson-starrer The Massive Man and Land Ladies and directed the stage musical A Tribute to the Blues Brothers, which performed within the West Finish after which toured throughout the UK and Australia for 10 years.
On the TV facet, he directed an Emmy-winning episode of HBO miniseries Band of Brothers and have become a director and author on Showtime interval drama The Borgias, starring Jeremy Irons. He returned as joint showrunner for the second season.
Leland was a detailed buddy of Beatles star George Harrison and labored as director on the guitarist’s 1988 movie Checking Out and as director on a number of Touring Wilbur’s music movies. Following Harrison’s demise, he directed cinematic doc Live performance For George in 2003, which occurred on the Royal Albert Corridor and featured the remaining Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, in addition to Eric Clapton, Tom Petty, and lots of others. The doc gained a Grammy.
Tim Roth, who starred in Made in Britain, stated: “David was there on the very starting of this loopy journey. He modified my life, and I like him for it. I’ll hold him with me all the time.”
“David was a dream to work with,” stated Neeson, who starred in The Massive Man for Leland. “He was an actual collaborator; he genuinely cherished and admired actors. We fashioned a detailed bond. I cherished his mischievous sense of humour. You might be all the time in my coronary heart outdated buddy. See you down the highway.”
Lengthy-time buddy and early collaborator Gilliam added: “The lack of David could be very unhappy. As a buddy, and as a author/director, he was all the time solidly grounded… invariably delicate and ruthlessly trustworthy. His 1987 movie, Want You Have been Right here, remains to be one in every of my all-time favorite British movies.”
Leland is survived by his spouse, 4 daughters, son and 6 grandchildren.
