| NET WORTH: | $15 Million |
|---|---|
| Source of Wealth: | Director, Producer, Screenwriter, Editor |
| Born: | March 25, 1908 |
| Died: | April 16, 1991 |
| Spouse: | Sandra Cooke |
| Children: | 1 |
| Birth Name: | David Lean |
| Height: | 6ft. 1in. (1.85m) |
David Lean was an English film director, producer, screenwriter, and editor. He was best known and considered as one of the most influential directors of all time. He was also voted as the 9th greatest film director in the British Film Institute Sight & Sound "Director's Top Directors" poll that took place on 2002.
Early Life
Lean was born on April 16, 1991 in Blenheim Crescent, South Croydon, Surrey. His parents were Francis William le Blount Lean and Helene Tangye. He left school when he was 18, and entered as an apprentice to his father's chartered accountancy firm.
Career
As Lean was not enjoying his work, he spent every evening in the cinema. He was advised by his aunt to find a job that he really wants. He visited Gaumont Studios where he accepted a work as a teaboy, clapperboy, and rose to the position as third assistant director.
After he edited more than a dozen features by 1942, he started his directing career. In 1968, Lean earned his honorary membership of the Guild of British Film Editors in 1968. His first work being a director was a collaboration with Noël Coward, on the war film "In Which We Serve". The films Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948) were the first two films Lean directed.
After his first work as a director on the British patriotic war film "In Which We Serve" which was a collaboration with Noel Coward, he adapted some of Coward's plays into films such as the 1944 drama film, This Happy Breed; the romantic drama film Brief Encounter in 1945; and the British fantasy-comedy film Blithe Spirit in 1945.
The films "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist" was the first two films Lean directed to star the English actor, Alec Guinness whom he considered as his "good luck" charm. Lean directed the British-American technicolor romance film, Summertime where it features the famous Hollywood leading lady, Katharine Hepburn.
Lean also directed the epic war film in 1957, The Bridge on the River Kwai. The film became the highest-grossing film on 1957 in the United States, and won a total of seven Academy Awards. Lean remains as the only British director to win more than one Oscar for directing.
The romantic drama film "Doctor Zhivago" in 1965, was also Lean's greatest box-office success. In 2015, it is the 8th highest-grossing of all time. His 1970 film "Ryan's Daughter" also became the 8th highest-grossing film of that year as it was a box office success earning $31 million, and won two Academy Awards.
Lean was known for his perfectionist approach into filmmaking. In his films, he won the Academy Awards for Best Cinematography at the Oscars. In 1990, he received a AFI Life Achievement Award.
Personal Life
According to Lean's co-writer and producer Norman Spencer, Lean was a "huge womanizer". Lean was married six times, had one son, and divorced five times. Lean married his first wife, Isabel Lean on June 28, 1930, and had their son Peter. In November 23, 1940, he married his second wife Kay Walsh. Their marriage ended on the year 1949. From May 1949 to 1957, he was married to his third wife Ann Todd. His fourth wife Leila Matkar, was married to him from July 1960 to 1978, and was his longest-lasting marriage. In October 28, 1981, Lean married his fifth wife Sandra Hotz, and eventually got divorced three years later. His sixth and last wife, Sandra Cooke, was married to him since December 15, 1990 up until his death.
Net Worth
As one of the most influential English film director in the film industry and with several successful films, Lean has earned an estimated net worth of $15 million, up until his death.
