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John Daly | |
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| Born | (1937-07-16)16 July 1937 |
| Died | 31 October 2008(2008-10-31) (aged 71) |
John Daly (16 July 1937 – 31 October 2008)[1] was a Britishfilm producer.
John Daly was born inSouth East London, a part of London which was badly bombed and damaged inWorld War II; his father was a dockworker. He attended St Joseph'sRoman Catholic school in Camberwell.[2] He served theMerchant Navy, then sold insurance before founding theHelmdale Film Corporation withDavid Henmings.[3] Daly was father to Jenny, Michael, Jonathan, Julian, and Timothy.
With David Hemmings, Daly formed Hemdale Film Corporation in 1967. Hemdale had many diverse entertainment business interests, and grew rapidly in the 1970s by managing bands such asYes andBlack Sabbath.[3] The company also acquired the worldwide stage rights forLionel Bart's musicalOliver!, along with producingGrease in 1973, starringRichard Gere.[3]
Hemdale began producing, financing and distributing its own full-length feature films, becoming a leading independent film company in Britain with films such asMelody,Tommy,The Triple Echo andImages byRobert Altman.
Hemdale gave career starts to actors such asKeanu Reeves,Denzel Washington, andJulia Roberts. It also worked with directors includingJames Cameron (The Terminator);Oliver Stone (Salvador,Platoon);Mick Jackson (The Bodyguard);Martin Campbell (James Bond andThe Legend of Zorro);Michael Apted (Coal Miner's Daughter);Robert Altman (Images);John Schlesinger (The Falcon and the Snowman),Ken Loach (Hidden Agenda);Harold Becker (The Boost);Gillian Armstrong (High Tide);Tim Hunter (River's Edge) andJames Foley (At Close Range). Under Daly, Hemdale made over 100 films, grossing over $1.5 billion.
In 2003, he wrote and directedPetersburg-Cannes Express [ru] (Russian:Экспресс Петербург-Канны).[3] In 2004, Daly produced, co-wrote and directedThe Aryan Couple, starring Oscar winnerMartin Landau, which received numerous awards at international film festivals. Daly also directedThe Box Collector for Corsan Productions.
In 1974,Don King was trying to promote "The Rumble in the Jungle" heavyweight boxing match betweenGeorge Foreman andMuhammad Ali. He turned to Daly, who together with Video Techniques Inc. (of which King was a director), were the official co-promoters.
In 1994, Daly conceived theHigh Noon in Hong Kong boxing event, investing at least $800,000 of his own money, but it was cancelled at the last minute afterBarry Hearn withdrew his boxers when no purses was forthcoming. "My end of the deal was kept," Daly argued. "I had to arrange the stadium, air fares and all the pre-fight promotional expenses, which I did, but the purses were not part of my obligation."[4]
Daly's company Hemdale acquired an ownership interest in a TV company, its own film studios, and an off-track betting company chain of shops.
From 2003, Daly acted as Chairman, CEO and President of Film and Music Entertainment, Inc. and its subsidiaries. In May 2008, he took a leave of absence from his executive duties. He remained chairman until his death.
John Daly, 71, died on 31 October 2008 of cancer. He was survived by his daughter, Jenny, and three sons, Michael, Julian and Timothy.[5]
On behalf of his companies, Daly achieved 21Oscar nominations and 13 wins, including consecutive Best Picture wins forPlatoon andThe Last Emperor (as executive producer, shared with the film's producerJeremy Thomas), an unequaled achievement in independent filmmaking.
Throughout his forty-year career, Daly won numerous awards at theGolden Globes, theCannes Film Festival, theBerlin International Film Festival, the Independent Spirit Awards and the Houston Film Festival, along with many other prizes.
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