Ken Russell Biography (1927-)

Full name Henry Kenneth Alfred Russell; born July 3, 1927, in Southampton, England; son of Henry (an owner of shoe stores) and Ethel (maiden name, Smith)Russell; married Shirley Ann Kingdon (a costume designer), February 3, 1957 (divorced, 1979); married Vivian Jolly, June 10, 1984 (divorced, 1991); married Hetty Baynes (an actress); children: (first marriage) Alex, James, Victoria, Xavier, Toby; (second marriage) Molly. Addresses: Agent: Shapira & Associates, 15821 Ventura Blvd., Suite 235, Encino, CA 91436.

Nationality: British
Gender: Male
Occupation: Director, producer, writer, actor
Birth Details: July 3, 1927; Southampton, United Kingdom

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Work
Director
Peepshow, independent, 1956
Amelia and the Angel, independent, 1957
Lourdes, independent, 1958
McBryde and Coquhoun: Two Scottish Painters, 1959
Prokofiev, 1961
French Dressing, Associated British, 1963
Women in Love, United Artists, 1969
The Billion Dollar Brain, United Artists, 1970
(And producer) The Music Lovers, United Artists, 1971
(And co-producer) The Devils (short), Warner Bros., 1971
(And producer) Savage Messiah, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)/EMI, 1972
(And producer) The Boy Friend, MGM/EMI, 1972
Mahler, Goodtimes Enterprises, 1974
(And co-producer) Tommy, Columbia, 1975
Lisztomania, Goodtimes Enterprises, 1975
Valentino, United Artists, 1977
Altered States, Warner Bros., 1980
Crimes of Passion, New World Pictures, 1984
Gothic, Vestron, 1986
(And producer) Vaughan Williams, 1986
(And producer) The Lair of the White Worm, Vestron, 1988
Salome's Last Dance, Vestron, 1988
"Turandot" (Segment Eight), Aria, Miramax-Warner Bros., 1988
(And producer) The Rainbow, Vestron, 1989
Whore, Tri-Mark, 1991
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch (short), Regina Ziegler Film Production, 1994
Mindbender (also known as Uri Geller), Sunset Boulevard, 1995
"The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch," Tales of Erotica (also known as Erotic Tales), Trimark, 1996
Ken Russell "In Search of the English Folk Song," Dream Grange, 1997
(And editor and producer) Lion's Mouth, 2000
(And editor and producer) The Fall of the House of Usher, 2001
Film Appearances
A hood, Walk with the Damned, 1962
(Cameo; uncredited) Cripple, Tommy (also known as Tommy by "TheWho" and The Who's Tommy), 1975
Rex Ingram, Valentino, 1977
The Kids Are Alright, 1979
Vaughan Williams, 1986
(Uncredited) Tourist, Gothic, 1986
Kenneth, Salome's Last Dance, Vestron, 1988
King Zog, Aria, Miramax-Warner Bros., 1988
Walter, The Russia House, 1990
Waiter, Whore, Tri-Mark, 1991
The Who's Tommy, the Amazing Journey, 1993
Presenter, Ken Russell "In Search of the English Folk Song," 1997
Ken, the clown, Lion's Mouth, 2000
Dr. Calahari, The Fall of the House of Usher, 2001
Television Director
Movies
Variations on a Mechanical Theme, 1959
Portrait of a Goon, 1959
Poet's London, BBC, 1959
Gordon Jacob, BBC, 1959
Guitar Craze, BBC, 1959
Variations on a Mechanical Theme, BBC, 1959
Portrait of a Goon, BBC, 1959
Marie Rambert Remembers, BBC, 1960
Architecture of Entertainment, BBC, 1960
Cranks at Work, BBC, 1960
The Miners' Picnic, BBC, 1960
Shelagh Delaney's Salford, BBC, 1960
A House in Bayswater, BBC, 1960
The Light Fantastic, BBC, 1960
Old Battersea House, BBC, 1961
Portrait of a Soviet Composer, BBC, 1961

London Moods, BBC, 1961
Antonio Gaudi, BBC, 1961
Pop Goes the Easel, BBC, 1962
Preservation Man, BBC, 1962
Mr. Chester's Traction Engines, BBC, 1962
Elgar, BBC, 1962
(Co-director) Lotte Lenya Sings Kurt Weill, BBC, 1962
Watch the Birdie, BBC, 1963
Lonely Shore, BBC, 1964
Bartok, BBC, 1964
The Dotty World of James Lloyd, BBC, 1964
Diary of a Nobody, BBC, 1964
Always on Sunday, BBC, 1965
The Debussy Film, BBC, 1965
Don't Shoot the Composer, BBC, 1966
(And producer) Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer in the World (also known as Isadora), BBC, 1966
(And producer) Dante's Inferno (also known as Omibus, Dante's Inferno), BBC, 1967
(And producer) A Song of Summer (also known as Omnibus: Song ofSummer), BBC, 1968
The Dance of the Seven Veils: A Comic Strip in Seven Episodes on the Life of Richard Strauss, BBC, 1970
Clouds of Glory, Parts I and II, BBC, 1978
(And producer) The Planets, 1983
(And producer) "ABC of British Music," South Bank Show, London Weekly Television, 1987
Mephistopheles, 1989
A British Picture (also known as British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible), 1989
The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner, 1990
"Dusk before Fireworks," Women and Men: Stories of Seduction, HBO,1990
Prisoner of Honor, HBO, 1991
Secret Life of Sir Arnold Bax, 1992
Lady Chatterley, 1993
The Mystery of Doctor Martinu, 1993
Classic Widows, 1995
Alice in Russialand, 1995
(And producer) Dogboys (also known as Tracked), The Movie Channel, 1998
Also television director of an untitled film on Robert McBryde and RobertColquhoun, BBC, 1959.
Series
Monitor, 1958
Other Television Work
Production assistant, Dark Reflection (also known as Natural Selection), Fox, 1994
Set dresser, Dead at 21 (series), MTV, 1994
Television Appearances
Movies
Captain Patterson (uncredited), Isadora Duncan, the Biggest Dancer inthe World (also known as Isadora), 1966
Priest, Song of Summer (also known as Omnibus: Song of Summer), 1968
Sir Arnold Bax, Secret Life of Sir Arnold Bax, 1992
Sir Michael Reid, Lady Chatterly, 1992
Specials
A British Picture (also known as British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible), 1989
The Who's Tommy: The Amazing Journey, The Disney Channel, 1994
Interviewer, Classic Widows, 1995
Oliver Cromwell, A History of British Art, 1996
Episodic
Denton, 1994
Stage Director
Director of operas, including A Rake's Progress, 1982; Die Soldaten, 1983; Madame Butterfly, Spoleto, Italy, then Melbourne, Australia; La Boheme, Macenata; Faust, Vienna, Austria; and Mephisto, Rhodes, Greece, then Genoa, Italy.
WRITINGS
Screenplays
Peepshow, independent, 1956
Amelia and the Angel, independent, 1957
Lourdes, independent, 1958
(With Larry Kramer) Women in Love (based on the novel by D. H. Lawrence), United Artists, 1969
The Music Lovers, United Artists, 1971
The Devils (adapted from the play The Devils of Loudon by Aldous Huxley and the play by John Whiting), Warner Bros., 1971
Savage Messiah, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)/EMI, 1972
The Boy Friend (adapted from the musical by Sandy Wilson), MGM/EMI, 1972
Mahler, 1973
Gargantua (adapted from the satire Gargantua and Pantagruelby Rabelais), 1973
Tommy (adapted from the rock opera by Peter Townshend), Columbia,1975
Lisztomania, Goodtimes Enterprises, 1975
Valentino, United Artists, 1977
Evita (musical), 1982
Gothic, Vestron, 1987
"Turandot," Aria, Miramax-Warner Bros., 1987
The Lair of the White Worm (based on the novel by Bram Stoker), Vestron, 1988
Salome's Last Dance (based on the play Salome by Oscar Wilde), Vestron, 1988
The Rainbow, Vestron, 1989
Whore, Tri-Mark, 1991
The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch (also known as Die Unersattliche Mrs. Kirsch), 1993
Lady Chatterley (adapted from the novel Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence), 1993
Mindbender (also known as Uri Geller), Hollywood Boulevard,1995
"The Insatiable Mrs. Kirsch," Tales of Erotica (also known as Erotic Tales), Trimark, 1996
Ken Russell "In Search of the English Folk Song," Dream Grange, 1997
Lion's Mouth, 2000
The Fall of the House of Usher, 2001
Television Movies
Elgar, 1962
Diary of a Nobody, 1964
Always on Sunday, BBC, 1965
(With Melvyn Bragg) The Debussy Film, BBC, 1965
Clouds of Glory: William and Dorothy, 1978
Clouds of Glory: The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, 1978
The Strange Affliction of Anton Bruckner, 1990
Secret Life of Sir Arnold Bax, 1992
Television Specials
A British Picture (also known as British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible), 1989
Books
(With John Baxter) An Appalling Talent: Ken Russell (autobiography), [London], 1973
A British Picture: An Autobiography, Heinemann, 1989
The Lion Roars: Ken Russell on Film, Faber, 1993

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Books

Hanke, Ken, Ken Russell's Films, Scarecrow, 1984
Phillips, Gene D., Ken Russell, Twayne, 1979

Periodicals

American Film, May, 1989, pp. 11-12
Film Comment, December, 1988, pp. 52-54
Opera News, February 2, 1985, pp. 30-31

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