British writer, director and actor Bryan Forbes has died aged 86, a family friend has revealed.
Forbes began his career as an actor, before carving a name for himself as a screenwriter and later a director, with his 1945-48 military service occasionally inspiring his work.
Writing the likes of The League Of Gentlemen (1960), The Whisperers (1967) and Deadfall (1968) (the latter two he also directed), Forbes made his directorial debut with Whistle Down The Wind in 1960, which earned four BAFTA nods.
Among the most significant films he directed were The Raging Moon (1971) and sci-fi adaptation The Stepford Wives (1975).
The films that he’d go on to direct after that wouldn’t have quite the same cultural impact, but he continued to write. His final script was Chaplin (1992), for frequent collaborator Richard Attenborough.
Forbes is survived by his wife Nanette Newman, who starred in several of his films.
