Philip French facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Philip French
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French in 2013
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Philip Neville French
28 August 1933 Liverpool, England
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| Died | 27 October 2015 (aged 82) London, England
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| Education | Bristol Grammar School |
| Alma mater | Exeter College, Oxford Indiana University Bloomington |
| Occupation | Film critic |
| Years active | 1957–2013 |
| Spouse(s) | Kersti Molin |
| Children | 3 |
Philip Neville French OBE (born August 28, 1933 – died October 27, 2015) was a famous English film critic and radio producer. He was known for his love of movies and his sharp writing. French started his career in the late 1950s. He became a producer for BBC Radio and later a well-known film critic. He wrote regularly for The Observer newspaper from 1963 until he retired in 2013. In 2012, he received an award called the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his work in film. After he passed away, many people, including fellow film critic Mark Kermode, called him an "inspiration" to many who wanted to write about movies.
Contents
Philip French's Life and Career
Early Life and Education
Philip French was born in Liverpool, England, in 1933. His father worked as an insurance salesman. Philip went to Bristol Grammar School. After that, he studied Law at Exeter College, Oxford. He then received a scholarship to study Journalism at Indiana University Bloomington in the United States.
Starting in Journalism
French began his career in journalism in 1957. He worked as a reporter for the Bristol Evening Post. He also wrote about theatre for the New Statesman magazine. For several years, he was a deputy film critic for The Times newspaper.
A Career in Film Criticism
Philip French became the main film critic for The Observer newspaper in 1978. However, he had already been writing for the paper since 1963. He also contributed articles to Sight and Sound magazine, which is well-known for its film reviews.
French wrote several books about movies. These included The Movie Moguls: An Informal History of the Hollywood Tycoons (1969). He also wrote Westerns, a book about cowboy films, which was updated in 2005. His youngest son, Karl French, helped him write Cult Movies in 1999.
Working at BBC Radio
From 1959 to 1990, French also worked as a producer for BBC Radio. He first produced shows for the North American service. Most of his time at the BBC was spent producing programs for listeners in the UK.
He was a BBC talks producer from 1961 to 1967. From 1968, he became a senior producer. In the 1960s, he produced a show called The Critics on the BBC Home Service. Later, from 1974 to 1990, he produced Critics' Forum on BBC Radio 3.
Awards and Retirement
In 2009, Philip French was named the Critic of the Year at the British Press Awards. He was also awarded the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2013. This award was given for his great contributions to film.
French was known for his amazing memory. He could recall details from films and conversations very quickly. In May 2013, it was announced that he would retire from The Observer. His retirement in August coincided with his 80th birthday.
Philip French's Writing Style
Philip French loved to use puns in his writing. A pun is a clever play on words that sound similar but have different meanings. He developed this fondness partly because he had a stammer. This meant he sometimes had difficulty speaking smoothly.
He once started an essay about British cinema with a famous pun: "I don't know much about philately, but I know what I lick." Philately is the study of stamps. This shows his witty and playful approach to writing.
Personal Life
Philip French was married to Kersti Molin, who was born in Sweden. They had three sons together. Their oldest son, Sean French, is part of the famous Nicci French writing team. Another son, Patrick French, became a doctor. His youngest son, Karl, is an editor and author. Philip French also had ten grandchildren.
When the film The King's Speech came out, French wrote about his own experience with a stammer. The movie is about King George VI, who also had a stammer.
Passing Away
Philip French passed away in London on October 27, 2015. He was 82 years old and had been unwell for some time. He died from a heart attack. His ashes were buried in Highgate Cemetery in London.
His son, Sean, said that readers felt like they knew his father because he put his personality into his writing. Sean described him as a very funny man with a slightly dark sense of humor and a strong love for puns. The Daily Telegraph newspaper called French "the doyen of English film critics." They estimated that he had seen around 14,000 films during his 50 years of writing for The Observer.
Works
- 1969, Movie Moguls. An Informal History of the Hollywood Tycoons, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, ISBN: 978-0-297-76266-9
- 1974, Westerns: Aspects of a Movie Genre, Viking Press, ISBN: 978-0-670-75727-5
- 1980, Three Honest Men: Edmund Wilson, F.R.Leavis, Lionel Trilling – A Critical Mosaic, (ed.) Carcanet Press, ISBN: 978-0-85635-299-7
- 1993, Malle on Malle, (ed.) Faber and Faber
- 1995, "Wild Strawberries" (BFI Film Classics) (with Kersti French), BFI Publishing, ISBN: 978-0-85170-481-4
- 1999, Cult Movies, (with Karl French), Pavilion Books, ISBN: 978-1-86205-172-0
- 2008, Censoring the Moving Image: Manifestos for the Twenty-first Century, (with Julian Petley), University of Chicago Press, ISBN: 978-1-905422-55-5
- 2011, I Found it at the Movies: Reflections of a Cinephile, Carcanet Press, ISBN: 978-1-84777-129-2
Images for kids
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Grave of Philip French in Highgate Cemetery
