Gerard Glaister

John Leslie "Gerard" Glaister DFC (21 December 1915[1] – 5 February 2005)[2] was a British television producer and director best known for his work with the BBC. Amongst his most notable successes as a producer were Colditz, The Brothers,[3] Secret Army and Howards' Way.

After studying at RADA, Glaister made his West End debut in 1939. With the outbreak of war, he joined the Royal Air Force, initially flying a Blenheim bomber and later serving as a photo reconnaissance pilot in 208 Squadron RAF in the Western Desert initially flying Westland Lysanders. It was during these latter duties that he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for a hazardous reconnaissance flight in an unarmed Hurricane at extremely low level across the Italian front line. Glaister later drew on his RAF experiences when, in 1963, he produced Moonstrike, a drama about an RAF squadron which ferried agents in and out of occupied Europe in Westland Lysanders. From 1962, he worked on the popular Dr Finlay's Casebook.[1] His 1968 production The Expert is based on the work of his uncle, forensic scientist Prof John Glaister FRSE.[4]

Glaister's success ended with the 1991 series Trainer,[1] which was moved from prime time to a weeknight slot because of its perceived failure. However, it sold well overseas.[5]

Glaister was married three times and had three daughters, two from his final marriage, to Joan.[1]

Filmography

References
  1. "Gerard Glaister". The Guardian. 24 February 2005. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. Harris M. Lentz III (24 October 2008). Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2005: Film, Television, Radio, Theatre, Dance, Music, Cartoons and Pop Culture. McFarland. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7864-5210-1.
  3. Paul Cornell; Martin Day; Keith Topping (1996). The Guinness Book of Classic British TV. Guinness. p. 17. ISBN 978-0-85112-628-9.
  4. http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/medicine/aboutus/history/ourfamousscholars/theglaisters/
  5. Rhys Williams & David Lister (1 March 1999). "Eldorado for the BBC as the world pays a fortune to watch its flops". The Independent. Retrieved 16 March 2019.


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