Biography

Mark Shivas

Jump to

Influential British television executive and producer who began as a film critic and assistant editor for Movie magazine (1962-64). The son of an English teacher (father) and a librarian (mother), Mark Shivas abandoned a legal career to join Granada Television in 1963 as assistant to the head of the story department. He went on to become both director and producer at Granada before moving on to the BBC where he served, respectively, as head of drama (1988-93) and of films (1993-97). In the latter capacity, he worked as executive producer on some twenty motion pictures. During his distinguished career, Shivas won three BAFTA awards and two Emmys for some of the most highly regarded drama productions of the period: The Six Wives of Henry VIII (1970), The Edwardians (1972), Rogue Male (1976), The Glittering Prizes (1976) , Telford's Change (1979) and Cambridge Spies (2003). Among his few critical failures was the poorly conceived and written miniseries The Borgias (1981). Shivas's wide range of film credits include the exceedingly 'British' A Private Function (1984) and The Witches (1990). In 1997, Shivas established his own production company, Perpetual Motion Pictures. He served for the British Film Academy as Chairman of the Short Film Jury from 2002 to 2007.
- IMDb mini biography by: I.S.Mowis

Creative Director, Southern Pictures 1979 - 1981.
Drama Producer 1969 - 1979, Head of Drama 1988 - 1993, Head of Films 1993 - 1997, BBC TV.
Director, Producer and Presenter, Granada Television 1964 -1968.
Assistant Editor, Movie Magazine 1962-1964.
Since 1979 he produced Richard's Things which starred Liv Ullman and Executive produced Winston Churchill- The Wilderness Years.

[on "Charlie Bubbles", 1968]: Alas, the film ends with Charlie floating off in a balloon. I'm not quite clear in retrospect whether he's dreaming about it or doing it, but the scene immediately follows another where we feel that there may be some small possibility of a reconciliation with his wife. The film just throws everything up into the air with the balloon, which is as mannered as anything Terence Rattigan ever did in the way of dramatic contrivance, and doubly disappointing seeing that Miss Delaney and Mr. Finney had brought us so far.

Suggest an edit or add missing content