MEDIATHEK

Educated Royal Belfast Academical Institution and Queen's University, Belfast, (BSc. Econ.) and London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Before entering television he made many broadcasts as an actor and narrator for BBC Northern Ireland, played Hamlet at University and directed a production of 'Tiger and the Gates' which won the 2nd National Union of Students Drama Award. He sang and danced as Prince Danilo in the Ulster Operatic Company production of 'Merry Widow' and directed productions of Marriage of Figaro, Italian Girl in Algiers, Dido and Aeneas and Cosi Fan Tutte (singing second cast Don Alfonso) for the Studio Opera Group, and acted in Summer rep ,with the West of England Theatre Company. He started television career with Ulster Television in Belfast as Programme Director 1960 - 1968. Moved to London and to London Weekend Television 1969 - 1977. He was Senior Director on LWT's network arts series Aquarius, edited by Humphrey Burton; when Humphrey left to go to the BBC he took over as Editor with Peter Hall as Presenter. During his years on Aquarius he made many full-length documentaries including:- (Seamus) Heaney in Limboland 1970, The Other Belfast 1971, Blarney & Bellini (Wexford Opera Festival), Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras) in New Orleans, the first Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Israel, the Traditional Arts of Iran with H.R.H. Empress Farah, Twyla Tharp’s ‘Eight Jelly Rolls, Edna O’Brien's Mother Ireland and Profiles of Peter Hall, the Amadeus Quartet and the City of Nuremberg. Also for LWT in 1976 from the Royal Albert Hall he directed the concert to celebrate the American Bi-Centennial with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic; in 1977 Your National Theatre, a 90 minute documentary to celebrate the opening of the theatre, featuring Olivier, Gielgud, Richardson, Tynan, Thorndike et al and narrated by Albert Finney. In 1977 for the new South Bank Show he produced and directed MacMillan's Mayerling a performance documentary about the Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden; for this programme he was awarded ITV's first (Music) Prix Italia. In 1977 Derek went freelance with colleagues and formed Landseer Film & Television Productions. Documentaries: The Hermitage in Leningrad with Peter Ustinov and Natalie Wood, the French Chanson, Northern Irish Writers, J.R.R.Tolkien, the Kirov Ballet, the Russian Church, Russell Harty's Grand Tour (x5) and profiles of Natalia Makarova, Alan Ayckbourn, James Galway, Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Franco Zeffirelli, Dame Joan Sutherland, Petula Clark, Tony Hancock, Elizabeth Frink and Bing Crosby. (Quelle: www.landseerfilms.com) / jst