John Selwyn Gilbert
Encyclopedia
John Selwyn Gilbert is a former British
television scriptwriter, director and producer.
The son of Guildhall School of Music professor and flautist
Geoffrey Gilbert
, John Selwyn Gilbert attended the Hall School
in Hampstead
from 1949 to 1956, St. Paul's School from 1956 to 1960, and the Sorbonne
in Paris
from 1960 to 1961. He graduated from Merton College, Oxford
in 1965 with a BA
in Modern History
. From 1963 to 1964 he was an Assistante at the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Milan
, and gained a Diploma in Education at the Oxford Institute of Education in 1966. Gilbert then worked for Argo Records
as an assistant on recordings by Ewan MacColl
and Peggy Seeger
and as a record producer with Tom Paley
, Shirley Collins
, The Young Tradition
and others. He recorded James Galway
, who had been a student with his father, the Allegri Quartet
and many others.
. He produced and directed classical dramas, including Woyzeck
, Six Characters in Search of an Author
, The Way of the World
and Peer Gynt
(1976) for BBC/OU Productions before moving to BBC Music and Arts in 1978 as a Producer; he produced and directed TV programmes and films about Les Noces
(with Leonard Bernstein
and The Royal Ballet), Sir Frederick Ashton
, Evelyn Waugh
and Aubrey Beardsley
(1982). His documentary
Beardsley and his Work appeared on television in the United Kingdom
in the same week as his drama Aubrey, a BBC 'Playhouse' drama in which Beardsley was portrayed by actor John Dicks. The drama followed Beardsley's life from Oscar Wilde
's arrest in April 1895, which resulted in Beardsley losing his position at The Yellow Book, to his death from tuberculosis
in 1898.
While at the BBC, Gilbert also produced an arts magazine programme called Mainstream, a programme described by The Sunday Times
TV critic as 'the worst programme in the history of television'; it is a comment Gilbert still treasures.
Between 1979-83, Gilbert made documentaries about the excavation and raising of the Mary Rose
. The first of these documentaries was cited by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Outside Broadcast when the Mary Rose was raised was nominated for a BAFTA
award. Through his involvement in the Mary Rose project Gilbert learned to dive and organized and supervised all the underwater filming. He completed 114 working dives on the Mary Rose before the hull was raised.
After leaving the BBC in 1983, Gilbert set up his own film company, JSG Productions, producing films for Channel 4
, London Weekend Television
and others until 1998. He also bought and ran a successful restaurant in Bristol
from 1988 to 1996. It was featured in the Good Food Guide
and the Guide's Editor described Gilbert as resembling 'a cross between Patrick Moore
and Keith Floyd
.'
Later, Gilbert sailed around the world and appeared in a series of BBC documentary film
s called The Ship
about a 21st century volunteer crew on a six-week journey from the east coast of Australia
to Jakarta
, Indonesia
, retracing a section of the famous first voyage of James Cook
aboard a replica of HM Bark Endeavour
. The series was broadcast in 2002, by which time Gilbert had helped to sail the Endeavour replica from Western Australia to Whitby
in Yorkshire
, around Cape Horn
.
The John Selwyn Gilbert Collection of 69 boxes of files relating to media projects Gilbert worked on from 1967 to 1986 was donated to The National Archives at Kew
. Copies of many of Gilbert's television programmes and films were donated to the British Film Institute
Production Board Library in 1996 and are available for the use of bona fide students or researchers.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television scriptwriter, director and producer.
Early years
Flautist
A flautist or flutist is a musician who plays an instrument in the flute family. See List of flautists.The choice of "flautist" versus "flutist" is the source of dispute among players of the instrument...
Geoffrey Gilbert
Geoffrey Gilbert
Geoffrey Winzer Gilbert was an English flutist.He was born in Liverpool, and came to London in to join Sir Thomas Beecham's London Philharmonic Orchestra in 1933. He was the principal flute of the LPO at the age of 19 and held this position until the outbreak of World War II in 1939, when he...
, John Selwyn Gilbert attended the Hall School
Hall School (Hampstead)
The Hall School is an independent boys' preparatory school in Belsize Park, Hampstead, London, currently teaching boys from the age of four to thirteen.-Description:The school is known for high academic standards...
in Hampstead
Hampstead
Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
from 1949 to 1956, St. Paul's School from 1956 to 1960, and the Sorbonne
Sorbonne
The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
from 1960 to 1961. He graduated from Merton College, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...
in 1965 with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Modern History
Modern history
Modern history, or the modern era, describes the historical timeline after the Middle Ages. Modern history can be further broken down into the early modern period and the late modern period after the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution...
. From 1963 to 1964 he was an Assistante at the Liceo Scientifico Leonardo da Vinci in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, and gained a Diploma in Education at the Oxford Institute of Education in 1966. Gilbert then worked for Argo Records
Argo Records
Argo Records was started in December of 1955 to accommodate some of the rapidly growing recording activity at Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo.Initially, Argo offered a...
as an assistant on recordings by Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl
Ewan MacColl was an English folk singer, songwriter, socialist, actor, poet, playwright, and record producer. He was married to theatre director Joan Littlewood, and later to American folksinger Peggy Seeger. He collaborated with Littlewood in the theatre and with Seeger in folk music...
and Peggy Seeger
Peggy Seeger
Margaret "Peggy" Seeger is an American folksinger. She is also well known in Britain, where she lived for more than 30 years with her husband, singer and songwriter Ewan MacColl.- The first American period :...
and as a record producer with Tom Paley
Tom Paley
Tom Paley is an American guitarist, banjo and fiddle player. He is best known for his work with the New Lost City Ramblers in the 1950s and 1960s.-Biography:Paley was born and raised in New York City, United States...
, Shirley Collins
Shirley Collins
Shirley Elizabeth Collins MBE is a British folksinger who was a significant contributor to the English Folk Revival of the 1960s and 1970s...
, The Young Tradition
The Young Tradition
The Young Tradition were a British folk group of the 1960s, formed by Peter Bellamy, Royston Wood and Heather Wood. They recorded three albums of mainly traditional British folk music, sung in arrangements for their three unaccompanied voices.-Biography:...
and others. He recorded James Galway
James Galway
- External links : IMGArtists.com 15 September 2008. AllAboutJazz.com 5 August 2008.*...
, who had been a student with his father, the Allegri Quartet
Allegri Quartet
The Allegri Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1953 by Eli Goren and William Pleeth.It is Britain's longest-running chamber music ensemble, sustained over six decades by successive generations of performers....
and many others.
Television career
He joined the BBC in 1969 as a Production Director to help to set up the Open UniversityOpen University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
. He produced and directed classical dramas, including Woyzeck
Woyzeck
Woyzeck is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. He left the work incomplete at his death, but it has been variously and posthumously "finished" by a variety of authors, editors and translators. Woyzeck has become one of the most performed and influential plays in the German theatre...
, Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author
Six Characters in Search of an Author is a play by the Italian writer Luigi Pirandello.The play is a satirical tragicomedy. It was first performed in 1921 at the Teatro Valle in Rome, to a very mixed reception, with shouts from the audience of "Manicomio!" .Subsequently the play enjoyed a much...
, The Way of the World
The Way of the World
The Way of the World is a play written by British playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1700 in the theatre in Lincoln's Inn Fields in London...
and Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt
Peer Gynt is a five-act play in verse by the Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, loosely based on the fairy tale Per Gynt. It is the most widely performed Norwegian play. According to Klaus Van Den Berg, the "cinematic script blends poetry with social satire and realistic scenes with surreal ones"...
(1976) for BBC/OU Productions before moving to BBC Music and Arts in 1978 as a Producer; he produced and directed TV programmes and films about Les Noces
Les Noces
Les noces by Igor Stravinsky, is a dance cantata, or ballet with vocalists.-History:The ballet was premiered on June 13, 1923 at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, by the Ballets Russes with choreography by Bronislava Nijinska...
(with Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...
and The Royal Ballet), Sir Frederick Ashton
Frederick Ashton
Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton OM, CH, CBE was a leading international dancer and choreographer. He is most noted as the founder choreographer of The Royal Ballet in London, but also worked as a director and choreographer of opera, film and theatre revues.-Early life:Ashton was born at...
, Evelyn Waugh
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh , known as Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, travel books and biographies. He was also a prolific journalist and reviewer...
and Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Beardsley
Aubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
(1982). His documentary
Documentary
A documentary is a creative work of non-fiction, including:* Documentary film, including television* Radio documentary* Documentary photographyRelated terms include:...
Beardsley and his Work appeared on television in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in the same week as his drama Aubrey, a BBC 'Playhouse' drama in which Beardsley was portrayed by actor John Dicks. The drama followed Beardsley's life from Oscar Wilde
Oscar Wilde
Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish writer and poet. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s...
's arrest in April 1895, which resulted in Beardsley losing his position at The Yellow Book, to his death from tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
in 1898.
While at the BBC, Gilbert also produced an arts magazine programme called Mainstream, a programme described by The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
TV critic as 'the worst programme in the history of television'; it is a comment Gilbert still treasures.
Between 1979-83, Gilbert made documentaries about the excavation and raising of the Mary Rose
Mary Rose
The Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a...
. The first of these documentaries was cited by the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Outside Broadcast when the Mary Rose was raised was nominated for a BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
award. Through his involvement in the Mary Rose project Gilbert learned to dive and organized and supervised all the underwater filming. He completed 114 working dives on the Mary Rose before the hull was raised.
After leaving the BBC in 1983, Gilbert set up his own film company, JSG Productions, producing films for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
and others until 1998. He also bought and ran a successful restaurant in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
from 1988 to 1996. It was featured in the Good Food Guide
Good Food Guide
The Good Food Guide is an annual guidebook to the best restaurants in the UK, published by Which?books.The Good Food Guide was first published in 1951 by Raymond Postgate, an enthusiastic gourmet, who was appalled by the standard of contemporary catering. He recruited an army of volunteers to...
and the Guide's Editor described Gilbert as resembling 'a cross between Patrick Moore
Patrick Moore
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS is a British amateur astronomer who has attained prominent status in astronomy as a writer, researcher, radio commentator and television presenter of the subject, and who is credited as having done more than any other person to raise the profile of...
and Keith Floyd
Keith Floyd
Keith Floyd was a British celebrity chef, television personality and restaurateur, who hosted cooking shows for the BBC and published many books combining cookery and travel...
.'
Later, Gilbert sailed around the world and appeared in a series of BBC documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
s called The Ship
The Ship (TV series)
-External links:* * *...
about a 21st century volunteer crew on a six-week journey from the east coast of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, retracing a section of the famous first voyage of James Cook
James Cook
Captain James Cook, FRS, RN was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer who ultimately rose to the rank of captain in the Royal Navy...
aboard a replica of HM Bark Endeavour
HM Bark Endeavour Replica
The HM Bark Endeavour Replica is a replica of , the bark commanded by Lieutenant James Cook when he charted New Zealand and discovered the eastern coast of Australia...
. The series was broadcast in 2002, by which time Gilbert had helped to sail the Endeavour replica from Western Australia to Whitby
Whitby
Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in the Scarborough borough of North Yorkshire, England. Situated on the east coast of Yorkshire at the mouth of the River Esk, Whitby has a combined maritime, mineral and tourist heritage, and is home to the ruins of Whitby Abbey where Caedmon, the...
in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
, around Cape Horn
Cape Horn
Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island...
.
The John Selwyn Gilbert Collection of 69 boxes of files relating to media projects Gilbert worked on from 1967 to 1986 was donated to The National Archives at Kew
Kew
Kew is a place in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in South West London. Kew is best known for being the location of the Royal Botanic Gardens, now a World Heritage Site, which includes Kew Palace...
. Copies of many of Gilbert's television programmes and films were donated to the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
Production Board Library in 1996 and are available for the use of bona fide students or researchers.
Selected credits
- 1989-91 Spaceship Earth - ten half hour programmes for Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(Series Producer and Director) - 1987 GEC Centenary Film (Writer/Producer/Director)
- 1985-86 The World - A Television History - a 26 part series for Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
(Director for the last eight episodes) - 1984 David Bintley - A New Ballet at Sadler's Wells - a filmed profile for LWTLondon Weekend TelevisionLondon Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
's The South Bank ShowThe South Bank ShowThe South Bank Show was a television arts magazine show, originally made by London Weekend Television , presented by Melvyn Bragg, broadcast on ITV and seen in over 60 countries worldwide — including Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United States...
(Writer/Producer/Director) - 1983 Life and Death in Ancient Egypt - a film for BBC TwoBBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
's ChronicleChronicle (UK TV series)Chronicle was a BBC Television series shown monthly and then fortnightly on BBC Two from 18 June 1966 to its last broadcast in May 1991.Chronicle focused on popular archaeology and related subjects.The BBC have made some editions available ....
series (Writer/Producer/Director) - 1982 Raising the Rose - 11 hours and 25 minutes of live outside broadcastingOutside broadcastingOutside broadcasting is the electronic field production of television or radio programmes from a mobile remote broadcast television studio. Professional video camera and microphone signals come into the production truck for processing, recording and possibly transmission...
transmission. The production team was nominated for a BAFTABritish Academy of Film and Television ArtsThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
for "Best Actuality Coverage" (Producer/Presenter) - 1982 Beardsley and his Work - a documentary linked to a play about Aubrey BeardsleyAubrey BeardsleyAubrey Vincent Beardsley was an English illustrator and author. His drawings, done in black ink and influenced by the style of Japanese woodcuts, emphasized the grotesque, the decadent, and the erotic. He was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement which also included Oscar Wilde and James A....
(Aubrey), also by Gilbert, on the same BBC channel. (Producer/Director/Writer/Narrator) - 1980 The Wreck of the Mary Rose - the first of four films about the Mary RoseMary RoseThe Mary Rose was a carrack-type warship of the English Tudor navy of King Henry VIII. After serving for 33 years in several wars against France, Scotland, and Brittany and after being substantially rebuilt in 1536, she saw her last action on 1545. While leading the attack on the galleys of a...
project for BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
's ChronicleChronicle (UK TV series)Chronicle was a BBC Television series shown monthly and then fortnightly on BBC Two from 18 June 1966 to its last broadcast in May 1991.Chronicle focused on popular archaeology and related subjects.The BBC have made some editions available ....
, which won a Certificate of Merit from the British Association for the Advancement of Science. (Writer/Producer/Director) - 1979 Frederick Ashton - an Omnibus programme about the choreographer. Won a medal from the New York Festival of Film. (Writer/Producer/Director)
Publications
- John Selwyn Gilbert and Zoë DominicZoë DominicZoë Dominic was a British dance and theatre photographer.Dominic's work as a theatre photographer began in the Royal Court Theatre around 1957, and she became known for photographing the postwar British theatre revival, including actors such as Laurence Olivier, Joan Plowright and Maggie Smith and...
, 'Frederick Ashton: a Choreographer and His Ballets' Published by Harrap (1971) ISBN 024550351X
External links
- Gilbert on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
- Gilbert on the British Film InstituteBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
website - Gilbert on U.S. Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...