Ken Russell was an English film director lauded for his controversial films, especially ‘Women in Love’
@Film Director, Family and Childhood
Ken Russell was an English film director lauded for his controversial films, especially ‘Women in Love’
Ken Russell born at
Russell married four times in his lifetime. The first was to Shirley Kingdom in 1958. The marriage lasted for exactly two decades and produced five children, four sons and a daughter.
He married Vivian Jolly in 1984. The two separated in 1991 and had a son and a daughter from the relationship.
In 1992, Russell married Hetty Baynes. The couple was blessed with a son. They parted ways in 1997.
Ken Russell was born on July 3, 1927 in Southampton, England, to Ethel and Henry Russell. He was the first of the two sons born to the couple. His father was a shoe shop owner.
He had an unusual childhood. His father was temperamental and showed erratic behaviour, while his mother was mentally ill. Young Russell spent much of his happy times in theatres, watching cinema.
He gained his education from private schools in Walthamstow and later attended Pangbourne College. He studied photography at Walthamstow Technical College.
As a child, Ken Russell intended to become a ballet dancer. As time passed, he however, chose to join the Royal Air Force and Merchant Navy instead. After having served in the army, Russell switched back to his first love - ballet. He pursued a career in ballet and photography for a short duration.
He continued to work as a freelance photographer until 1959. Meanwhile, he also made several amateur films and documentaries. It was these documentaries that secured him a job in the BBC.
From 1959 to 1970, he directed art documentaries and tele-films for Monitor and Omnibus. In the 1960s came his best bit for television with his works gaining prominent success. ‘Elgar’, ‘The Debussy Film’, ‘Isadora Duncan, The Biggest Dancer in the World’, ‘Song of Summer’ and ‘Dance of the Seven Veils’ were some of his best directed works.
While working for television, Russell made his tryst in films. He made his film debut in 1964 with ‘French Dressing’. It was a comedy that was loosely based on Robert Vadim’s ‘And God Created Women’. The film was barely noted and became a critical and commercial failure.
Following his debut debacle, Russell did not lose his spirit and made another film, ‘Always on Sunday’. A biopic, it centred on the life of Henri Rousseau, a French native painter. He followed it with ‘Dante’s Inferno’. In 1967, Russell came up with commercial cinema in ‘Billion Dollar Brain’.
Known for his highly controversial style and flamboyance, Russell’s best bit in cinema came in 1969 with the release of the most successful film of his career, ‘Women in Love’. The film gained several Academy Award nominations and became one of the classic films of the era. Till date, it is referred to as the signature film by Russell that delved on 1960s sexual revolution and bohemian politics. He followed its success with several other notable films including ‘The Devils’, ‘Tommy’ and ‘Altered States’.
Ken Russell was one of the most talked-about English film directors who came to prominence for his controversial-in-content flicks. Mostly revolving around the themes of sexuality and religion, Russell portrayed on the big screen the less-articulated societal facts, almost brazenly. He is also known for directing a string of biopics on the lives of famous artists, painters, composers and so on. These creative adaptations were also unusual at the time, as not many directors made their foray into this less-treaded genre of film-making. Russell’s interest in filmmaking started when he pursued his short-term career in photography. A freelance documentary photographer, his amateur films secured him a job in BBC thus sealing his fate for a career in television and films. After a stint of television documentaries and series, he tried his hand at filmmaking. Though his initial attempt was a failure, he earned fame with his 1969 film ‘Women in Love’. Thus, started a successful career journey which witnessed the release of films like ‘The Devils’, ‘Tommy’, ‘Altered States’, biopics on Elgar, Delius, Tchaikovsky, Mahler, and Liszt and so on. Later in his career, Russell jumped in front of camera, making cameo appearances. Russell also penned a number of books on filmmaking later in his career. If one has to sum Russell’s life in a word or two, he could be labelled as the ‘equally loved and hated’ director of English film industry, loved for his audacity to touch the unexplored genre and hated for shamelessly portraying the dark side of it.
Information | Detail |
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Birthday | July 3, 1927 |
Died on | November 27, 2011 |
Nationality | British |
Famous | Film Director, Film & Theater Personalities, Directors |
Spouses | Shirley Ann Kingdon (1956–1978; divorced) |
Childrens | Molly Russell, Victoria Russell |
Birth Place | Southampton, United Kingdom |
Gender | Male |
Sun Sign | Cancer |
Born in | Southampton, United Kingdom |
Famous as | Film Director |
Died at Age | 84 |