julian_craster

Obituary: Francis Coleman

From orchestral conductor to television producer, and father of the late actress Charlotte Coleman

by Philip Purser
The Guardian,
Tuesday June 17 2008

In 1958 Francis Coleman, who has died aged 84, gave in to the blandishments of Granada TV's Sidney Bernstein, quit the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation job he had occupied since 1952 and moved to Britain. During the Canadian years he was responsible for some 500 programmes, ranging from a 1953 Coronation special to the acclaimed French-language Au P'tit Café.

Coleman must surely have been alone in abandoning a career as an orchestral conductor - in the early 1950s - to devote himself to broadcasting. Many of his Canadian and British productions were to draw on that musical expertise, notably profiles of Yehudi Menuhin and Georg Solti, films about Vivaldi, Verdi and Monteverdi, and performances from concert halls and opera houses.

But with Granada he was initially occupied with more everyday traffic. His name figured on the quiz show Spot the Tune (1958-60), magazine programmes, the crime series Shadow Squad and a variety show, Chelsea at Nine, emanating from the Chelsea Palace on the King's Road - which took him to London and the move to Associated Television (ATV), then the London weekend contractor.

For ATV he directed episodes of On the Braden Beat (1962-68), which mixed consumer issues and comedy and was hosted by the Canadian Bernard Braden. After that came Dinner Party (1962-63), a weird attempt to present a dinner-table chat show, presided over by the wayward Tory politician Lord (Bob) Boothby. Anticipating today's hideous reality TV, cameras and microphones were hidden, and the pretence maintained that the guests had no idea if, and when, they were on the air. Certainly the clatter of spoons or the business of being served with sprouts were real distractions. Coleman lightened and tightened up proceedings by only switching in when the port and cigars stage was reached.

Coleman was born in French-speaking Montreal to a French mother and an Irish father. From McGill University he moved on to the Quebec Conservatoire, then the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and studied conducting under Pierre Monteux at two summer schools in Maine. The work started to come in. The Royal Canadian Air Force band, choirs and travelling opera companies all called on his services. The Royal Winnipeg Ballet made him their first musical director. On the radio he conducted concerts and shows for CBC before moving into TV and then on to England.

At ATV Coleman shot 26 shorts under the title Içi la France for its schools broadcasts. He was responsible for Sir John Betjeman's first venture into commercial TV, Steam and Stained Glass (1962) but then, in 1964, BBC2 was launched, with its avowedly greater emphasis on the arts, and it duly attracted Coleman, who became senior producer, music and arts. At BBC2 he enjoyed a sustained run of programmes after his own heart, such as Shakespeare and Music, Solti on Conducting, Peter Ustinov on Peter Ustinov, and profiles of George Gershwin, Jacques Offenbach and 18th-century London.

He never pursued an executive career assiduously, but he was head of religious, children's and education programmes for London Weekend after the 1968 ITV contract reshuffle. This was followed by a move to Thames, as head of schools programmes, then as head of arts. For Thames he won a Prix Italia with his production of Britten's cantata St Nicholas. For his ATV French programmes and other projects, the French government made him a chevalier of the order of arts and letters.

Throughout, and after, his professional years he sat on many boards and advisory panels, taught in film schools, and was active in community projects in his north London homeland of Muswell Hill and Highgate. He helped rescue the Phoenix cinema in East Finchley when it faced closure - and personally ran it for a period. A Buddhist, he spoke as such on Radio 4's Thought for the Day. Engaging and amusing, his publications included Bluffer's Guides to Ballet (1969) and Opera (1971).

He was married to the actor Ann Beach, who survives him, as does Lisa, one of their two daughters. Both children became actors. The other, Charlotte, of Four Weddings and a Funeral fame, predeceased him.

Francis Arthur Coleman, musician, television producer and writer, born January 12 1924; died April 10 2008

ZipButtons

I was most disappointed with the Guardian obituary of Francis. Not because of any inaccuracies, on the contrary, I think it paints a very fair portrait of the man, his diversity and his spirit. It does rather skim over the contribution he gave to future film-makers during his time teaching at the London International Film School, But hey!

My disappointment stems from the more than two month delay in publishing an obituary of a man who was an important figure in the early days of British Television.