Douglas Gresham
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| Douglas Gresham | |
|---|---|
| Born | November, 1945 (age 63) New York City |
Douglas Gresham (born November, 1945) is a British biographer and film producer.
Gresham was born in New York City, the son of writers William Lindsay Gresham and Joy Davidman, and the stepson of author C.S. Lewis. After his parents divorced in 1952, his mother relocated to England with her two sons. Joy had become friends with Lewis through correspondence, and the friendship blossomed, eventually leading to marriage in 1956.
After Gresham's mother lost a battle with cancer in 1960, Lewis continued to raise the two boys. He had adopted Douglas and his older brother David in 1956 (The Horse and His Boy is dedicated to them both), and when Lewis died, his estate, including the rights to the enormously popular Chronicles of Narnia, went to them. Douglas Gresham admitted in a November 15, 2005, interview on NPR that he and his brother are estranged,[1] although in a December 4, 2005, interview, he did say they are in email contact.[2] While Douglas Gresham is, like Lewis and his mother, a born-again Christian,[3] David returned to the Orthodox Judaism of their mother's heritage while still a child in Lewis's home (several sources report that Lewis made an effort to find kosher food for David).[4][5][6]
Gresham hosted Focus on the Family's radio adaptations of his stepfather's most famous works, and his interest in media versions thereof was later shown again when he was named co-producer for the series of theatrical films adaptations of the The Chronicles of Narnia; he also made a cameo in the first installment as a radio newscaster. He has also written an autobiography entitled Lenten Lands which chronicles his life from childhood to middle age.
A fictionalized, boyhood Douglas Gresham is a character in the 1993 film Shadowlands, in part derived from Lenten Lands. In the film, Gresham is played by the American actor Joseph Mazzello; there is no character derived from Douglas' brother David in the film or in the stage play on which the film was based; however, both Douglas and David were portrayed as characters in the original teleplay (1985) on which the stage play was based. Shadowlands presents a highly romanticized dramatization of the relationship between Joy Gresham and C.S. Lewis.
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[edit] Further sources
[edit] Bibliography
- Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis, Macmillan (USA 1988) ISBN 0025455702
- Jack's Life:The Life Story of C.S. Lewis, Broadman and Holman (2005) ISBN 0805432469
