Born in Islington, London, in 1944 and died in 2020, Alan Parker came from advertising, where he met the producer David Puttnam. His first feature Bugsy Malone (1976) was a gangster musical with a cast of children. Midnight Express (1978), about an American held in a Turkish prison, brought him wide attention and a BAFTA for directing, and he went on to make Fame (1980), Pink Floyd - The Wall, Mississippi Burning (1988) and The Commitments (1991), which also won him the BAFTA. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, and chaired the British Film Institute and the Film Council.
Filmography
- Bugsy Malone (1976)
- Midnight Express (1978)
- Fame (1980)
- Mississippi Burning (1988)
- The Commitments (1991)