Robin Bextor

Robin Bextor
Born Robin J. Bextor[1]
11 October 1958
Hammersmith, England
Alma mater University of Reading
Occupation Film director, producer, author
Spouse(s) Janet Ellis (1977–1984) (divorced)
Polly Mockford (1989–present)
Children Sophie Ellis-Bextor
Dulce Bextor
Maisy Bextor
Bertie Bextor

Robin J. Bextor (born 11 October 1958)[2] is an English film and television producer and director. He is the father of the dance-pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.[3]

Early life and education

After education at Shene Grammar School in Richmond, Surrey, England, and at the University of Reading, he joined Thames Television and then the BBC, where he produced and directed documentaries, including the RTS award winning film on blind parents and entertainment programmes,[4] including That's Life!.[5] During this time he also made pop promotion videos for such bands as Bad Manners,[3] Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant and Bucks Fizz.

Career

In the early 1990s, he became head of arts at TWI before joining the Man Alive group.

He directed Edward on Edward, a documentary in which Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, told about King Edward VIII.[6]

As director of programmes for Ardent, he steered the company to its first profit, but left to pursue other projects, including films with Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, and Paul McCartney.

He has since made programmes with his daughter, the singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor; the French duo Air;[7] The Damned;[3] The Stranglers; and UB40.[7][8] He directed the cult short film Norfolk Coast,[9] featuring Susannah York and Jean Jacques Burnel. He is majority shareholder of the Soho post production business Vivid, responsible for programmes on the England Football team, Test cricket and Fulham FC as well as many arts subjects.}

He has won the Columbus ("Chris") award for The British Schindler,[10] shown on ITV in 2005, a BAFTA and the New York Film Festival best documentary award.

Robin also directed his daughter's now out of print DVD Watch My Lips.

Bextor has also had a successful career as a writer, writing for newspapers and magazines and the book to accompany the TV series Crown and Country. The relationships built working with Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton over many years led to the publication of Paul McCartney Now & Then in 2004,[3] and Eric Clapton Now & Then in 2006.[11] He is also a director of Glyndebourne Productions in East Sussex specialising in films about opera and a board member of the Brighton based theatre company dreamthinkspeak.

In 2013 he directed a six part TV series on London with specials on the London Underground, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. He also wrote The Story of the London Underground published that same year. (GU2) The following year he produced and directed Glyndebourne:the Untold History (90 mins) for BBC TV. He also wrote and directed a four part music series The Sound of the 60's, and a book of the series published the same year.

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Search 1984 to 2006 – Birth, Marriage and Death indexes". Findmypast.com. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  2. ↑ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index, England & Wales
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Bextor, Robin; Barrow, Tony; McCartney, Paul (2004). Newby, Julian, ed. Paul McCartney Now & Then. Milwaukee, NY: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-634-06919-2. LCCN 2004100968. (Short biography of Robin Bextor on p.9)
  4. ↑ Robin Bextor at the Internet Movie Database
  5. ↑ That's Life! at the Internet Movie Database
  6. ↑ Edward on Edward at the Internet Movie Database
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Peter - A Study For A Portrait Of A Serial Killer". Retrieved 5 May 2011. (See: Cast and Crew: Sanjay Kumar)
  8. ↑ UB40: Homegrown in Holland at the Internet Movie Database
  9. ↑ "Norfolk coast". Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  10. ↑ "The Arts". p. 12. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  11. ↑ Bextor, Robin (1 Jan 2006). Eric Clapton Now & Then. UK: Carlton Books Ltd. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-84442-531-0.