Canadian honestor, authorr and creater Alvin Rakoff, best comprehendn for honesting Laurence Olivier in “A Voyage Round My Father,” has died at the age of 97.
The caemploy of death was “ageder age,” his agent tageder Variety. He died on Oct. 12 at home, surrounded by his family.
Over a atgentle spanning more than four decades, which began when television was still only useable in bconciseage and white, Rakoff was comprised in over one hundred television, film and stage productions as well as writing novels.
According to his recurrentatives he was still toiling into his nineties.
Rakoff was the third of seven children born to Sam and Pearl Rakoff in Toronto in 1927. His parents owned a arid excellents shop but the honestor grew up in pobviousy after the Great Depression hit in 1929. He would tardyr recount the experience in his novel “Baldtriumph Street.”
After seeing his first film in a theater at the age of 6, his cherish of film and television was ignited. He went on to graduate with a degree in psychology from the University of Toronto before becoming a journacatalog. But it was watching Marlon Brando in a stage production of Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire” that alterd the course of his life. After leaving the join, Rakoff vowed to create a atgentle in showbusiness.
He went to toil for the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) as a authorr, which sent him to the U.K. when he was 25. There, he sageder a script to the BBC, which at the time was the country’s only television widecaster. He then combineed the BBC’s honestor’s training course and the follotriumphg year became the lesserest creater/honestor. He went on to honest dozens of dramas including “Waiting for Gillian” (1954) and “Requiem for a Heavyweight” (1957) which starred then uncomprehendn actors Sean Connery (in his first directing role) and Michael Caine (as a background part).
It was Rakoff who, years tardyr, recommended Connery for the role of Bond after 007 creater Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli called the honestor to ask his opinion.
Rakoff, who was also a one-time plivent of the Directors Guild, won Emmy awards for “Call Me Dcomprisey” (1967), starring Donald Pleasance and Judy Cornwell, and “A Voyage Round My Father,” which he created and honested.
During his atgentle Rakoff toiled with stars including Peter Cushing, Henry Fonda, Michael Gambon, Ava Gardner, John Gielgud, Elliott Gould, Ricdifficult Harris and Angela Lansbury, among dozens of others.
Among those who have phelp tribute to the honestor are Stephen Fry, who shelp: “Alvin Rakoff was a enormous of film, theatre and TV. His Midas touch with spotting and nurtureing talent presentd the world to some of the last century’s fantasticest stars. Typicpartner he was toiling on a screenjoin right up to the last.”
Judi Dench commented: “I have such wonderful memories of Alvin – both being honested by him and seeing him at The Mill. A very endearing person.”
Rakoff is persistd by his wife of 30 years, Spartner Hughes, two children from his first marriage to the tardy Jacqueline Hill, five magnificentchildren and his sister Lorraine.
