Robin Bextor
Born
Robin J. Bextor

(1953-10-11) 11 October 1953
Hammersmith, England
Alma materUniversity of Reading
Occupation(s)Film director, producer, author
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1977; div. 1984)​
[1]
  • Polly Mockford
ChildrenSophie, among others

Robin Bextor (born 11 October 1953) is an English film and television producer and director. He is the father of the dance-pop singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.[2]

Early life and education

After education at Shene Grammar School in Richmond, Surrey, England, and at the University of Reading, Bextor worked at the Dimbleby owned Richmond and Twickenham Times before joining Thames Television and then the BBC, where he produced and directed documentaries, including the RTS award-winning film on blind parents and entertainment programmes, including That's Life!. During this time he also made pop promotion videos for such bands as Bad Manners,[2] Bow Wow Wow, Adam Ant and Bucks Fizz.

Career

Bextor directed Edward on Edward, a documentary in which Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex discussed King Edward VIII. He then worked as director of programmes for Ardent, but left to pursue other projects.

He has since made programmes with the French duo Air;[3] The Damned;[2] The Stranglers; and UB40.[3] He directed the cult short film Norfolk Coast,[4] featuring Susannah York and Jean Jacques Burnel. He is majority shareholder of the Soho post production business Vivid, responsible for programmes on the England Football team, Test cricket and Fulham FC as well as many arts subjects.

He has won the Columbus ("Chris") award for The British Schindler,[5] shown on ITV in 2005, and a BAFTA.

Bextor also directed his daughter's DVD Watch My Lips. He has been director of the Chichester Festival for five years and a trustee of the Brighton theatre company Dream, Think, Speak.

Bextor has also had a successful career as a writer, writing for newspapers and magazines and the book to accompany the TV series Crown and Country. The relationships built working with Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton over many years led to the publication of Paul McCartney Now & Then in 2004,[2] and Eric Clapton Now & Then in 2006.[6] He is also a director of Glyndebourne Productions in East Sussex.

In 2013 he directed a six-part TV series on London with specials on the London Underground, Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. He also wrote The Story of the London Underground published that same year. (GU2) The following year he produced and directed Glyndebourne:the Untold History (90 mins) for BBC TV. He also wrote and directed a four-part music series The Sound of the 60's, and a book of the series published the same year. A second series The Sound of the 70's followed, as well as a series on Historic Hauntings. He has made films on 10cc (Clever Clogs), Squeeze, Cara Dillon French band AIR and The Feeling with Keifer Sutherland. He also was one of the founders alongside his daughter Sophie and son-in-law Richard Jones of the Meribel Music Festival in the French Alps called The Little World Festival.

Political activity

In the 2019 European Parliament Election in May 2019, Bextor was selected as a party list member for Change UK in the South East England constituency of the United Kingdom.[7] The party did not win any seats.

References

  1. ↑ "Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Janet Ellis: 'Having a famous mum was high value currency when I was little'". The Guardian. 25 September 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Bextor, Robin; Barrow, Tony; McCartney, Paul (2004). Newby, Julian (ed.). Paul McCartney Now & Then. Milwaukee, NY: Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-634-06919-2. LCCN 2004100968. (Short biography of Robin Bextor on p.9)
  3. 1 2 "Peter – A Study for a Portrait of a Serial Killer". Retrieved 5 May 2011. (See: Cast and Crew: Sanjay Kumar)
  4. ↑ "Norfolk coast". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2011.
  5. ↑ "The Arts". p. 12. Retrieved 5 May 2011.
  6. ↑ Bextor, Robin (1 January 2006). Eric Clapton Now & Then. UK: Carlton Books Ltd. p. 144. ISBN 978-1-84442-531-0.
  7. ↑ "Change UK MEP candidates: Who's standing in the 2019 European elections, from Rachel Johnson to Gavin Esler". 24 April 2019.
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