Director Michael Apted has died at the age of 79 (Ian West/PA)
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Filmmaker Michael Apted was no stranger to a Hollywood blockbuster, but his enduring legacy will be the Up documentary series – an intimate, profound insight into Britain’s social history.
Originally planned as a one-off for Granada Television, producers in the early 1960s plucked a group of children from various backgrounds in a bid to examine the enduring strength of the country’s class structure.
A cast member in Michael Apted’s Up documentary series has paid tribute to the director as a “beacon of light” after his death aged 79.
Tony Walker, an actor and London taxi driver, was selected for the project from an East End primary school in 1963 and went on to become one its best-known characters.
He stayed a close friend of Apted, attending screenings of his later films, including James Bond feature The World Is Not Enough in 1999, and his granddaughter remains friends with Apted’s son.
Tony Walker (Aldo Arcilla/PA)
Walker, 65, originally from Bethnal Green in east London, told the PA news agency: “A beacon of light has gone out in the film industry this week with the passing of Michael.
A cast member in Michael Apted’s Up documentary series has paid tribute to the director as a “beacon of light” after his death aged 79.
Tony Walker, an actor and London taxi driver, was selected for the project from an East End primary school in 1963 and went on to become one its best-known characters.
He stayed a close friend of Apted, attending screenings of his later films, including James Bond feature The World Is Not Enough in 1999, and his granddaughter remains friends with Apted’s son.
Tony Walker (Aldo Arcilla/PA)
Walker, 65, originally from Bethnal Green in east London, told the PA news agency: “A beacon of light has gone out in the film industry this week with the passing of Michael.
Director Michael Apted has died aged 79, his agent has said.
The British filmmaker was known for the Up series of documentaries which followed the lives of 14 children since 1964, as well as directing Coal Miner’s Daughter and Gorillas In The Mist.
He also directed the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough, which starred Pierce Brosnan.
(Yui Mok/PA)
Apted also directed a number of episodes of Coronation Street in the 1960s.
Thomas Schlamme, president of the Directors Guild of America (DGA), paid tribute to Apted in a statement, saying: “Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of esteemed director, longtime DGA leader and my friend Michael Apted.