Overview (4)
Born | in Southampton, Hampshire, England, UK |
Died | in Lymington, Hampshire, England, UK (following a series of strokes) |
Birth Name | Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell |
Height | 5' 7½" (1.71 m) |
Mini Bio (2)
Ken Russell tried several professions before choosing to become a film director; he was a still photographer and a dancer and he even served in the Army, but film was his destiny. He began by making several short films which paved the way for his brilliant television films of the 1960s that are acclaimed for his attention to detail and opulent visuals. His third feature film Women in Love (1969) was a triumph that made him known internationally. In the 1970s, his talent truly blossomed. Over the next two decades he would direct a succession of remarkable films, most containing the trademark flamboyance that critics generally dismiss but many find engrossing. He will forever be remembered as a controversial, visionary artist with something of a third eye for oddball dramas with captivating images and themes.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: che <che@telerama.com>
When he was age 8 he was given a 9.5 mm projector for Xmas. He graduated to 35mm together with a box of silents that had been salvaged from the liner Mauretania when she was being broken up. He attended a nautical school where he made his first short film, trained as an Air Force electrician and tried unsuccessfully to break into the world of ballet and the theatre. He then took a course in photography and soon began to sell his pictures to magazines. Having married a fellow student and turned to Catholicism he made two short films - 'Amelia and the Angel' and 'Lourdes' - with the aid of a Catholic Institute. He took them to the BBC and showed them to Huw Weldon, the director of 'Monitor', a new arts programme. He was immediately hired to replace John Schlessinger and stayed for 10 years making 34 films. The last one, 'Dance of the Seven Veils' (70), caused such an outcry, which even raised questions in Parliament, that he never worked for the BBC again.
- IMDb Mini Biography By: tonyman5
Family (1)
Spouse |
Elize Tribble Russell (2001 -
27 November 2011) (his death)
Hetty Baynes (1992 - 1999) (divorced) (1 child) Vivian Jolly (1983 - 1991) (divorced) (2 children) Shirley Russell (1956 - 1978) (divorced) (5 children) |