Sir John Denis FormanOBE (13 October 1917 – 24 February 2013)[1] was a Scottish executive in the British television industry long associated with the ITV contractor Granada, and with various charitable and governmental bodies in the arts.[2]
Forman had a distinguished military career during the Second World War and was wounded at Monte Cassino,[3] losing a leg.[2] After the war he joined the British Film Institute and was its director from 1948 to 1955. Later he was chair of its board of governors, from 1971 to 1973.
After his main period of work at the BFI, Forman joined the new Granada Television in 1955, an ITV contractor which went on air in the following year, being appointed by Cecil Bernstein (brother of Sidney) who was a BFI governor at the time.[4] He was chairman from 1974 to 1987, and deputy chairman of the Granada Group from 1984 to 1990.[3] He was also deputy chairman of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, from 1983 to 1991.[3] Throughout his career, Forman encouraged young talent and amongst others, mentored the founder of Channel 4 Sir Jeremy Isaacs and musician and businessman David Wood.
At Granada Forman presided over the creation of the acclaimed series The Jewel in the Crown and such ground-breaking programmes as World in Action, Disappearing World, University Challenge and Family at War.[5]
Personal life
Forman married Helen de Mouilpied in 1948 and they had two sons, Charlie and Adam. She died in 1987. He married again in 1990, to Moni, the widow of the journalist James Cameron.[2] He died of a heart attack in a nursing home in London, aged 95.[6]
Publications
Mozart’s Piano Concertos, 1971
Son of Adam (autobiography, vol.1), 1990
To Reason Why (autobiography, vol.2), 1991
The Good Opera Guide, (ed.) 1994
Persona Granada: Some Memories of Sidney Bernstein and the Early Days of Independent Television (memoir), 1997
The Good Wagner Guide, 2000
References
^"Sir Denis Forman". The Telegraph. 25 February 2013. Retrieved 25 February 2013.