Richard Marquand

Richard Alfred Marquand (22 September 1937 – 4 September 1987) was a Welsh film and television director active in both US and UK film productions,[1] best known for directing the 1983 space opera Return of the Jedi, the final film in the original Star Wars trilogy. He also directed the 1981 drama film Eye of the Needle, the quiet Paris set romance Until September, and the 1985 thriller Jagged Edge.

Richard Marquand
Born
Richard Alfred Marquand

(1937-09-22)22 September 1937
Cardiff, Wales
Died4 September 1987(1987-09-04) (aged 49)
Royal Tunbridge Wells, England
Occupation(s)Film and television director
Spouses
Josephine Elwyn-Jones
​
​
(m. 1960; div. 1970)​
    Carol Bell
    ​
    (m. 1981)​
    Children4, including James
    ParentHilary Marquand (father)
    RelativesDavid Marquand (brother)

    Early life

    Marquand was born in Llanishen, Cardiff, Wales. He was the son of Rachel E. (née Rees) and Hilary Marquand, an economist and Labour MP who served as Minister of Pensions and later Minister of Health under Prime Minister Clement Attlee. He is the younger brother of David Marquand, who also served as a Labour MP.

    Marquand was educated at Emanuel School, London, the University of Aix-Marseille in France and King's College, Cambridge, where he read modern languages, and where one of his tutors was E. M. Forster. During National Service he studied Mandarin and was posted to Hong Kong where he also read the news on the English language Hong Kong Television.

    Career

    By late 1966, Marquand had begun a career directing television documentaries for the BBC, where he worked on projects such as the 1972 series Search for the Nile[2] and an edition of One Pair of Eyes (1968),[3] about the novelist Margaret Drabble who had been a friend of his at Cambridge.[4] He collaborated with the celebrated foreign correspondent James Cameron on a long-running series called Cameron Country for BBC television and also with John Pilger on a series of films for ITV. In 1979, Marquand incorporated many of his documentary techniques in his biographical television movie Birth of the Beatles. He directed several films specifically for children including the 1977 Emmy winning Big Henry and the Polka Dot Kid.

    On the strength of his direction of the 1981 feature, Eye of the Needle, Marquand was hired by writer-producer George Lucas to direct Return of the Jedi.[5] In his commentary track on the DVD, Lucas explains that Marquand "had done some great suspense films and was really good with actors. Eye of the Needle was the film I'd seen that he had done that impressed me the most, it was really nicely done and had a lot of energy and suspense." For his work on the film, Marquand won a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation in 1984.[6]

    Marquand subsequently directed the 1985 courtroom thriller Jagged Edge, starring Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close.

    Personal life and death

    In 1960, Marquand married screenwriter Josephine Elwyn-Jones, the daughter of Labour MP Elwyn Jones and author and illustrator Pearl Binder. They had two children, Hannah Rachel and James Elwyn, before they divorced in 1970. James Marquand is a film editor who has also worked as a director. In 1981, Marquand married fellow film director Carol Bell, with whom he had another two children, Sam Adair and Molly Joyce. Marquand was a fan of Liverpool Football Club.[2]

    According to a 2014 Wales Online interview with his son James, Marquand wrote a screenplay for "a Welsh western" in the late 1970s at the South Wales branch of Pinewood Studios. The screenplay told the story of a young orphan girl in Victorian Mid Wales who enlists two local men to help her wreak revenge on those who killed her father; Marquand used to tell the story to his children when they were on holiday at the family's cottage near Tregaron. Marquand reportedly pitched it to Hollywood producers who expressed interest in making it into a film; however, Marquand declined the offer because the producers insisted the story be relocated to the Rocky Mountains in the United States. In the interview, James Marquand expressed interest in adapting his father's screenplay into a film.[7]

    On 30 August 1987, Marquand had a stroke at his home in Penshurst.[8] He was taken to Kent and Sussex Hospital in Royal Tunbridge Wells, where he died five days later, on 4 September, at the age of 49.[2] His last film, Hearts of Fire, starring Bob Dylan, was released posthumously.[8]

    Filmography

    Theatrical feature films
    Year Title Credited as Notes
    Director Producer Screenwriter Himself
    1978 The Legacy Yes No No No
    1979 Birth of the Beatles Yes No No No
    1981 Eye of the Needle Yes No No No
    1983 Return of the Jedi Yes No No Yes Cameo as "Maj. Marquand" and voice cameo as "EV-9D9"
    1984 Until September Yes No No No
    1985 Jagged Edge Yes No No No
    1987 Hearts of Fire Yes Yes No No Posthumous release
    1993 Nowhere to Run No No Story No Posthumous release

    Short films
    Year Title Credited as Notes
    Director Producer Writer
    1973 The Iron Village Yes No No Documentary
    Between the Anvil and the Hammer Yes No No Documentary
    1975 The Puritan Experience: Making of a New World Yes Yes Yes
    The Puritan Experience: Forsaking England Yes Yes No
    Do Yourself Some Good Yes No No Documentary

    Television films
    Year Title Credited as Notes
    Director Producer Production
    assistant    		 Himself
    1964 The Long Journey No No Yes No
    The Colony No No Yes No
    Home for Heroes? Yes Yes No No
    Birmingham '64 No Yes No No
    1970 Edward II Yes No No No Co-directed with Toby Robertson
    E.M. Forster 1879-1970 No No No Yes Documentary
    1983 Classic Creatures: Return of the Jedi No No No Yes Documentary
    From 'Star Wars' to 'Jedi': The Making of a Saga No No No Yes Documentary

    Television series
    Year Title Credited as Notes
    Director Producer Writer Himself
    1963 This Nation Tomorrow Yes No No No Mini-series, 3 episodes
    The Sky at Night Yes No No No Documentary, 2 episodes
    1963–64 Adventure Yes Yes No No Documentary, 2 episodes
    1964–65 Landmarks Yes No No No Documentary mini-series, 2 episodes
    1965 Inside America Yes No No No Mini-series, 4 episodes
    1966 Inside Ireland Yes No No No Mini-series, 2 episodes
    Women, Women, Women Yes No No No Mini-series, 2 episodes
    1967 Inside Australia Yes No No Yes Mini-series: Director (4 episodes) / Narrator (12 episodes)
    1967–70 One Pair of Eyes Yes No No No Mini-series, 4 episodes
    1968–70 Cameron Country Yes Yes No No Director (8 episodes) / Producer (episode ''Nobody Ever Asks Why'')
    1971 The Search for the Nile Yes No No No Mini-series, 2 episodes
    1971–73 Omnibus Yes Yes No No Documentary: Director (2 episodes) / Producer (episode ''That's My Little Masterpiece'')
    1975–76 Pilger Yes Yes No No Documentary: Director (4 episodes) / Producer (episode ''Zap!! The Weapon Is Food'')
    1976 NBC Special Treat Yes No Yes No Director (2 episodes) / Writer (episode ''Luke Was There'');
    1987 Omnibus No No No Yes Documentary (episode ''Getting to Dylan'')

    References
    1. "Welsh film facts". BBC. 5 March 2010. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
    2. Hays, Constance L. (6 September 1987). "RICHARD MARQUAND,MOVIEMAKER, DIES". The New York Times. p. 44.
    3. One Pair of Eyes: Margaret Drabble, BBC2, 9 March 1968, BBC Archive site
    4. Margaret Drabble "Once upon a life: Margaret Drabble", The Guardian, 5 December 2010
    5. Richard Marquand > Biography – AllMovie. Retrieved 25 September 2010.
    6. "1984 Hugo Awards". World Science Fiction Society. 26 July 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
    7. Bevan, Nathan (2 March 2014). "Star Wars Return of the Jedi director's son hopes to make film from his father's long-lost script". Wales Online. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
    8. "'Jedi' director dies following stroke". United Press International. 6 September 1987. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
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