- Born
- Died
- Birth nameLouis Laurie Isaacs
- Height5′ 8″ (1.73 m)
- Lewis Gilbert was a British film director, producer and screenwriter best known for Alfie (1966), as well as three James Bond films: You Only Live Twice (1967), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) and Moonraker (1979).
He also directed Reach for the Sky (1956), Sink the Bismarck! (1960), Educating Rita (1983) and Shirley Valentine (1989).
For his work on Alfie, Gilbert was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and an Golden Globe for best director.
In 2001 he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute, the highest accolade in the British film industry.
Gilbert was married to Hylda Tafler for 53 years, until her death in June 2005.
He died from natural causes on 23 February 2018 at the age of 97.
- IMDb mini biography by: Pedro Borges
- SpouseHylda Henrietta Tafler(February 14, 1952 - June 19, 2005) (her death, 1 child)
- RelativesJonathan Tafler(Niece or Nephew)
- Often directed crime movies
- Often cast Kenneth More and Laurence Harvey
- Directed big-budget 007 films
- He was awarded the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the 1997 Queen's Birthday Honours List for his services to the film industry.
- Brother-in-law of Sydney Tafler and father of John Gilbert.
- Has directed four actors to Oscar nominations: Michael Caine (Best Actor, Alfie (1966); Best Actor, Educating Rita (1983)), Vivien Merchant (Best Supporting Actress, Alfie (1966)), Julie Walters (Best Actress, Educating Rita (1983)), and Pauline Collins (Best Actress, Shirley Valentine (1989)).
- Attached to the US Air Corps Film Unit during the Second World War.
- He was asked to direct For Your Eyes Only (1981), but declined, as he was burnt out having made two Bond films in succession.
- Paramount backed Alfie (1966) because it was going to be made for $500,000, normally the sort of money spent on executives' cigar bills.
- The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) was the highlight of my career.
- If I have any claim to fame, I believe I've shot the three biggest sets ever built for motion pictures.
- [on Michael Caine in Educating Rita (1983)] Over the years I'd lost touch with Michael personally, but I kept tabs on his work. It's been so varied--he's never been particularly typed. The characters in Alfie (1966) and "Rita" couldn't be more opposite, but there was no doubt in my mind that he should be the professor.
- [in a 1983 interview on the Bond films] What [Sean Connery] did, really, was to make James Bond in his own image--because he was not the Bond of the books. Of course, he was a very sexy, attractive, macho man--he still is. He also gave Bond a cynical edge. When his Bond shot someone, they were really dead. [Roger Moore], on the other hand, is more like the character in the books. He also gets along on a great deal of charm and friendliness. I don't think audiences ever believe Roger really kills anyone.
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