Robert Sidaway (actor)

Robert Sidaway (born 24 January 1942) is a writer, producer, director and actor working in film, television and theatre.

As a producer, writer and director for film and television his credits include Rainbow, Nouvelle-France, Best Of British and The Wonder.

As a stage actor appeared in seven West End productions, numerous provincial and international tours, including Number 10 and The Magistrate both with Alastair Sim.

As a screen actor performed in film and television, including two Doctor Who series: as Avon in The Savages and Captain Jimmy Turner in The Invasion.

Early life

Sidaway was born in Wolverhampton, the son of industrialist Ronald "Bill" Sidaway, Chairman and Managing Director of Ductile Steels, and Beryl Cynthia Webb.

He was educated at Tettenhall College, Wolverhampton and Trent College, Derbyshire.

Acting Career & Theatre Production

Sidaway commenced his theatrical career in repertory at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton in 1958 and at the Oxford Playhouse in 1959 before he studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and graduated with honours in March 1962.

Subsequently appeared in numerous UK provincial and international productions, including at the Chesterfield Civic Theatre (1962), Pitlochry Festival Theatre (Scotland) (1963), Flora Robson Playhouse (Newcastle upon Tyne) (1964), The Leatherhead Theatre (1966), Theatre Royal, Windsor (1966), Richmond Theatre (1966), O’Keefe Centre (Toronto) (1967) and Chichester Festival Theatre (1969).

West End Productions as Actor

• A Public Mischief by Kenneth Horne, directed by Harold French, with George Cole, Amanda Barrie, Charles Lloyd-Pack and Elspeth March. Originally opened at the Theatre Royal, Newcastle upon Tyne on 19 April 1965 before transferring to the St Martin's Theatre, London ^[1]
• Number 10 by Ronald Millar, directed by David Scase, with Alastair Sim, Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray and John Gregson. Opened at the Strand Theatre, London in August 1967 before touring in Canada in October 1967

Robert Sidaway (centre) in Number 10 with Alastair Sim

• The Magistrate by Arthur Wing Pinero, directed by John Clements, with Alastair Sim, Patricia Routledge, Michael Aldridge, Renée Asherson and Robert Coote. Originally opened at the Chichester Festival Theatre on 21 May 1969 before transferring to the Cambridge Theatre, London on 18 September 1969
• Abelard and Eloise by Ronald Millar, directed by Robin Phillips, with Diana Rigg, Keith Michell, Timothy West and Elspeth March. Originally opened at the Wyndham's Theatre, London on 19 May 1970
• The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Glen Byam Shaw, with Michael Denison, Dulcie Gray, Alfred Lynch, Norman Wooland and Hayley Mills. Opened at the Criterion Theatre, London on 10 November 1970

Television and Film Productions as Actor

• ITV Play of the Week (The Gentle Assassin) (1962)
• Tales of Mystery (The Call) (1962)
• It Happened Like This (The Diamond Hairslide) (1962)
• Bold As Brass (1963)
• Suspense (Protection) (1963)
• No Hiding Place (The Gamblers) (1963)
• Emergency – Ward 10 (1964)
• Sergeant Cork (The Case of the Hangman’s Noose) (1964)
• Out of the Unknown (The Midas Plague) (1965)
• Doctor Who (The Savages) (1966)
• Emergency – Ward 10 (1967)
• The Further Adventures of the Musketeers (The Last Enemy) (1967)
• The Avengers (All Done with Mirrors) (1968)
• Doctor Who (The Invasion) (1968)

Robert Sidaway with director Douglas Camfield during the filming of the Doctor Who story The Invasion in 1968.

• A Nice Girl Like Me (1969)
• Villains (His Dad Named Him After the General) (1972)
• Crossroads (1973)
• The Optimist (Kid’s Stuff) (1983)
• Joy Division (2006)
• Chuck the Eco Duck (2009)

Theatre Production

During the early 1970s, Sidaway worked in public relations and marketing for London theatre managements, in particular for producer John Gale, and from 1972 he was involved in No Sex Please, We're British at London’s Strand Theatre. It became the world's longest running comedy play.

Sidaway subsequently moved into theatre production and produced and presented such productions as:

• Darling Mr. London written by Anthony Marriott and Bob Grant, directed by Anthony Wiles and starring David Jason, Bob Grant and Valerie Leon (UK tour) (1975)
• Birds Of A Feather (UK tour) (1975)
• Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (UK tour) (1975)
• The Loudest Tears In Town starring Rodney Bewes and Gemma Craven (Thorndike Tehatre, Leatherhead) (1976)
• Anastasia (pre-London tour and West End season) (1976)

Anastasia was written Marcelle Maurette and Guy Bolton, directed by Tony Craven and starred Nyree Dawn Porter, Peter Wyngarde, Elspeth March, David Nettheim and David Griffin. It toured selected UK theatres before opening at the Cambridge Theatre, London on 15 October 1976.

Writer / Producer for Film & Television

Sidaway’s first film production work was for the Central Office of Information on documentaries and weekly news programmes. He also wrote television drama series for both BBC and ITV, including Crossroads.

In 1977 Sidaway co-created and co-produced the documentary series The Game Of The Century, World Cup ‘78 which consisted of six one hour programmes. It was first shown on BBC1 commencing on 23 April 1978.^[2] He also co-wrote (with Bob Wilson) the accompanying book based on the series.^[3]

Two further sports documentary series followed, The Game of The Century, World Cup ’82 (BBC) and A Choice of Champions (CBS), made for the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Between 1981-84 Sidaway produced and co-wrote The Optimist, a silent comedy series for Channel 4 (UK). The pilot was independently financed and shot in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 1981 and was susbsequently commissioned for a further six episodes by Cecil Korer, Programme Purchaser and Commissioning Editor for Light Entertainment at Channel 4. The first season was shot entirely in Los Angeles and was previewed on Channel 4’s opening night (2 November 1982). The series commenced on 14 April 1983, following which a second series of six episodes was commissied and filmed on location in London in 1984. The episode "The Fall Of The House Of Esher" was nominated for the Rose d'Or, Montreux in 1985.^[4][5]

In 1985 Sidaway co-produced the Irish location shoot for the American soap Search for Tomorrow for NBC. At this time he was working extensively in Los Angeles on film and television projects.

The Optimist was co-produced with Charisma Films and until 1987 Sidaway was Head Of Production for Charisma, developing films such as Sellers On Sellers, based on the life of Peter Sellers and Extra Time (later written as United).

Best Of British & Winchester Pictures

In 1986 Sidaway produced the one hour special Around The World In Seven Minutes And Four Times On Saturday, about the Pathé News and Movietone News cinema newsreels and their lead commentators Bob Danvers-Walker and Leslie Mitchell.^[6][7]

He subsequently formed Best of British Films & Television Limited and for four years co-created, co-wrote and produced 67 half-hours of Best Of British (BBC 1), a history of British film narrated by John Mills and Anthony Quayle which commenced on April 22, 1987.^[8] He also co-wrote a book based on the first series which looked at the classic films of the Rank Organisation.^[9]

In 1990 he co-created, co-wrote and produced 13 episodes of The World Of Hammer for Channel 4, a history of Hammer Film Productions narrated by Oliver Reed.^[10] The company also produced documentaries and video specials, including Genesis - A History, a ninety-minute co-production with BBC on the music band Genesis, and Wicked Willie, the animated series.^[11]

During 1989 Sidaway formed Winchester Pictures, a rights and development company for feature films and TV movies, and wrote and developed remakes of Hell Drivers, The Day The Earth Caught Fire and Four Sided Triangle as well as supervising development of Legacy, a film based on the sci-fi thriller “Quatermass and the Pit”.

During 1992-93 he worked at Twentieth Century Fox on The Day The Earth Caught Fire with co-producer with Ezra Swerdlow.

Having founded Winchester Pictures in 1989, Sidaway took Winchester Entertainment to the Alternative Investment Market in 1994 and was Head Of Production for the public company.

During 1994-95 Sidaway produced and co-wrote Rainbow, the family entertainment feature film starring Bob Hoskins, Dan Aykroyd, Jacob Tierney and Terry Finn. Shot on location in Montreal from September to December 1994, this was the first theatrically distributed all digital feature film. The film was made in association with Sony High Definition at Sony Pictures Studios in Los Angeles and was released during 1996. He also co-wrote the novel based on the original screenplay.^[12]

Independent Productions

During 1995 Sidaway co-founded “The International Football Hall Of Fame” to develop and finance a unique football concept, worldwide media business and Manchester-based visitor attraction. Developed in association with Granada Media Group and Mirror Group Newspapers, the first election took place in 1997-98.

During 1999-2000 he co-wrote the TV series Dark Knight (Channel 5) and developed further film projects.

Production of film "Nouvelle France with Jean Beaudin (director) and Robert Sidaway (producer)

Between 2000 and 2008, some of the films on which Sidaway was Producer or Executive Producer included:

Nouvelle France starring Gérard Depardieu, Irène Jacob, Vincent Pérez, Tim Roth and Jason Isaacs; My First Wedding starring Rachael Leigh Cook; Modigliani starring Andy Garcia; School for Seduction starring Kelly Brook and Emily Woof; Day Of Wrath starring Christopher Lambert; Joy Division starring Ed Stoppard and Bernard Hill; Silence Becomes You starring Alicia Silverstone and Sienna Guillory; Save Angel Hope starring Billy Boyd, Eva Birthistle and Bernard Hill; and Forest of the Gods a Lithuanian-language film based on the classic novel starring Steven Berkoff.

From 2008-10 acted as audio-visual producer and writer on over 60 short films examining climate change and green technologies.

In 2008 created the character of Chuck the Eco Duck and subsequently wrote and produced the pilot about the continuing tales of a caring, socially minded duck and his adventures on the farm and across the world. In 2010 wrote and produced the first series of 13 episodes. In addition wrote and produced the first audio series of 14 shows, which were first broadcast on Fun Kids radio in the UK.

During 2011 and 2012 developed and wrote the film “Iron”, based on the birth of the industrial revolution at Ironbridge Gorge.

David L. Snyder, Douglas Trumbull & Robert Sidaway in Beijing, January 27, 2015

On January 27, 2015, Sidaway presented a screening and discussion on high frame rate film making to industry leaders in Beijing, China. He organized for respected film production designer David L. Snyder and innovative film maker Douglas Trumbull to be present. Trumbull's experimental short UFOTOG was shown in 4K, 3D, 120 fps.^[13][14][15]

The Wonder

In 2011, Sidaway created and wrote the story for the action fantasy feature film The Wonder and wrote the original drafts of the screenplay during 2012.

The film was first announced during the American Film Market in October 2012 with Willow Shields starring.^[16]

The film shot on location in Qingdao, China and Auckland, New Zealand between October and December 2015 as a co-production between the two countries.

It stars Willow Shields, Wu Lei, Joe Chen, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Archie Kao and Christy Chung.^{[17][18][19][20]}

The film has been announced for a major release in China in February 2017.

Difei Zhou and Robert Sidaway, on location for The Wonder in Qingdao, September 29, 2015

Film and Television Productions as Writer and/or Producer

References

External links

• Robert Sidaway at the Internet Movie Database