Terence Young (director) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Terence Young
Born	Shaun Terence Young (1915-06-20)20 June 1915 Shanghai, China
Died	7 September 1994(1994-09-07) (aged 79) Cannes, France
Nationality	Irish
Alma mater	University of Cambridge
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter

Shaun Terence Young (born June 20, 1915 – died September 7, 1994) was a famous Irish film director and writer. He worked on movies in the United Kingdom, Europe, and Hollywood. He is best known for directing three of the very first James Bond films. These were Dr. No (1962), From Russia with Love (1963), and Thunderball (1965).

Terence Young also directed other well-known movies. These include the exciting thrillers Wait Until Dark (1967) starring Audrey Hepburn, and Bloodline (1979). He also directed the historical movie Mayerling (1968) and several films with actor Charles Bronson, like Cold Sweat (1970).

Early Life and School

Terence Young was born in Shanghai, China. His father was a police chief there. When Terence was young, his family moved back to England. He went to a well-known school called Harrow School in London.

Later, he studied history at St Catharine's College, Cambridge, which is part of the University of Cambridge. During World War II, Young was a tank commander in the Irish Guards. He even took part in a big battle called Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands.

Film Career

Terence Young started his work in movies as a screenwriter. This means he helped write the stories for films. Some of his early writing credits include On the Night of the Fire (1939) and Dangerous Moonlight (1941).

After the war, he helped write the script for Theirs Is the Glory (1946). This movie was about the fighting around Arnhem Bridge, which was a real battle he had been part of. Fun fact: the famous actress Audrey Hepburn lived near Arnhem when she was a child. Later, when Young directed her in Wait Until Dark, they joked about him possibly shelling her hometown without knowing it!

Becoming a Director

Terence Young's first movie as a director was Corridor of Mirrors (1948). He also directed a musical called One Night with You (1948) and a comedy, Woman Hater (1948).

In 1950, he directed They Were Not Divided, which was based on his own experiences in the Irish Guards during the war. He continued to direct films like Valley of Eagles (1951) and The Tall Headlines (1952).

Working with Warwick Films

Young then began working with producers Irving Allen and Albert R. Broccoli at their company, Warwick Films. His first movie for them was The Red Beret (1953). He directed several other films for Warwick, including Safari (1956) and Zarak (1957).

Interestingly, a young actor named Sean Connery had a small role in one of Young's films for MGM, Action of the Tiger (1957). This was before Connery became famous as James Bond.

Directing James Bond

When Albert Broccoli teamed up with Harry Saltzman to make movies based on the James Bond books, they chose Terence Young to direct. Young played a huge part in making the first Bond film, Dr. No (1962), a success. He even helped choose Sean Connery to play Bond.

Actress Lois Maxwell, who played Miss Moneypenny, said that Terence Young helped Sean Connery learn how to act like the smooth, sophisticated James Bond. He taught him how to walk, talk, and even eat like Bond!

Dr. No was a massive hit, and Young quickly directed the next Bond film, From Russia with Love (1963). This movie was even more popular. During filming, Young and a photographer had a scary moment when their helicopter crashed into the sea. Luckily, they were rescued by the film crew, and Young was back directing just 30 minutes later!

Young decided not to direct the third Bond movie, Goldfinger, but he returned to direct the fourth, Thunderball (1965). He was later offered to direct other Bond films but turned them down.

European and Later Films

After Thunderball, Terence Young mostly directed movies in Europe. He directed the spy film The Poppy Is Also a Flower (1966) and Triple Cross (1966).

He had a big success with Wait Until Dark (1967), starring Audrey Hepburn. He also directed Mayerling (1968) with Omar Sharif. Young worked with actor Charles Bronson on three films: Cold Sweat (1970), Red Sun (1972), and The Valachi Papers (1972).

Some of his later films include Bloodline (1979) and Inchon (1981), which was about a famous battle. For Inchon, he even won a Razzie Award for Worst Director, which is an award given for the worst movies of the year. He also directed The Jigsaw Man (1983) with Michael Caine.

Young also helped with the screenplay for the Hong Kong film Foxbat (1977). He was also the editor for a long Iraqi TV series called The Long Days (1980).

Personal Life

Terence Young was married to a novelist named Dorothea Bennett. They had a son and two daughters.

He passed away from a heart attack in Cannes, France, when he was 79 years old. He was working on a documentary at the time.

Filmography

See also

In Spanish: Terence Young para niños