Norman, Barry 1933–

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Norman, Barry 1933–

PERSONAL: Born August 21, 1933, London, England; son of Leslie (a film producer and director) and Elizabeth (a film editor) Norman; married, December 10, 1957; wife's name, Diana (a novelist); children: Samantha Norman Clifford, Emma. Politics: "Liberal-Democrat." Religion: Church of England. Hobbies and other interests: Politics, current affairs, and most sports.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Author Mail, Simon & Schuster, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

CAREER: Writer and television show host. London Daily Mail, London, England, show business editor, ended 1971; The Guardian, London, England, humorous columnist, beginning 1971; British Broadcasting Corporation-Television (BBC-TV), London, England, writer and presenter of the weekly film review show Film, 1972–98, writer and presenter of television show Omnibus, 1982, writer and host of The Hollywood Greats and Talking Pictures, 1977–79; presenter of television show Barry Norman's Film Night, Sky Premier, 1998–c.2001; Radio Times, London, England, columnist, c. 2003. Appeared on other television programs, including Night of a Thousand Faces, 2001; Best Ever Bond, 2002; Countdown, 2003–05; and The Unseen Eric Morecambe, 2005. Radio appearances include: Going Places; The News Quiz; Breakaway; and The Chip Shop. National Film Finance Corp., director, 1980–84; British Film Institute, member of board of governors, 1996–.

AWARDS, HONORS: Honorary doctorate from University of East Anglia, England; Richard Dimbleby Award, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, for "outstanding personal contributions to factual television."

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

The Matter of Mandrake, W.H. Allen (London, England), 1967.

The Hounds of Sparta, W.H. Allen (London, England), 1968.

End Product, Quartet (London, England), 1976.

A Series of Defeats, Quartet (London, England), 1977.

To Nick a Good Body, Quartet (London, England), 1978.

Have a Nice Day, Quartet (London, England), 1981.

Sticky Wicket, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1984.

The Birddog Tape, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1992.

The Mickey Mouse Affair, Orion (London, England), 1995, published as The Butterfly Tattoo, St. Martin's Press (New York, NY), 1996.

Death on Sunset, Orion (London, England), 1998.

NONFICTION

Tales of the Redundance Kid, Van Nostrand (New York, NY), 1975.

The Hollywood Greats, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1979.

The Movie Greats, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1981.

The Film Greats, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1985.

Talking Pictures, Hodder & Stoughton (London, England), 1987.

One Hundred Best Films of the Century, Chapman (London, England), 1992.

(With daughter, Emma Norman) Barry Norman's Video Guide, Mandarin (London, England), 1993, 3rd edition, 1995.

(With Emma Norman) The Radio Times Family Video Guide, BBC Publications (London, England), 1995.

And Why Not?: Memoirs of a Film Lover, Simon & Schuster (London, England), 2002.

SIDELIGHTS: Barry Norman provided film reviews and interviews with film stars for British television audiences as the host of several programs from the early 1970s until the early 2000s. In addition to being one of the most recognizable film critics in England because of his television appearances, Norman is the author of books about film and novels, primarily thrillers. In 2002, he published his memoir And Why Not?: Memoirs of a Film Lover. Though the text covers the whole of Norman's life, it focuses on his many experiences in the entertainment industry and the celebrities he interacted with over the course of his life. While Philip Kerr of the New Statesman found the book "a fascinating read," he also wrote: "Barry always struck me as a very fair kind of film critic, too good-humored to nurture a grudge … too decent ever to yield to the flashy…. Which is all quite at odds with this rather prickly book." In contrast, Jon Barnes of the Times Literary Supplement found the book "endearing," noting: "Enormously enjoyable … are his tweedy English jibes at Tinseltown and its pretensions."