Sydney Newman
Production
Sydney Cecil Newman, OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed Acting Director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation and Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and acted as an advisor to the Secretary of State. During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 1960s, he worked first with the Associated British Corporation (ABC, now Thames Television), before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career, he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular television programmes, the spy-fi series The Avengers and the science-fiction series Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play. The Museum of Broadcast Communications describes Newman as "the most significant agent in the development of British television drama." His obituary in The Guardian declared that "For ten brief but glorious years, Sydney Newman ... was the most important impresario in Britain ... His death marks not just the end of an era but the laying to rest of a whole philosophy of popular art." In Quebec, as commissioner of the NFB, he attracted controversy for his decision to suppress distribution of several politically sensitive films by French Canadian directors. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Known for
Production59
movieUtilities
1983
Associate Producer
movieTea Party
1965
Producer
Festival
1963
Producer
movieAfternoon of a Nymph
1962
Producer
tvOut of This World
1962
Producer
movieNight Conspirators
1962
Producer
movieDanger! Men Working
1961
Producer
tvPathfinders to Venus
1961
Producer
tvPathfinders to Mars
1960
Producer
tvPathfinders in Space
1960
Producer
movieA Night Out
1960
Producer
Target Luna
1960
Producer
tvCounter-Attack
1960
Producer
movieHot Summer Night
1959
Producer
movieFlight Into Danger
1956
Supervising Producer
Space Command
1953
Supervising Producer
movieSummer Is for Kids
1949
Producer
moviePay-Off In Pain
1948
Producer
movieInside The Atom
1948
Producer
movieJohnny at the Fair
1947
Producer
movieMontreal by Night
1947
Producer
Ski Skill
1946
Producer
Penitentiary
Producer
Creator14
tvDoctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021
Creator
tvDoctor Who
2005
Creator
tvAdam Adamant Lives!
1966
Creator
tvThe Wednesday Play
1964
Creator
tvDoctor Who
1963
Creator
tvPathfinders to Venus
1961
Creator
tvThe Avengers
1961
Creator
tvPathfinders to Mars
1960
Creator
tvPathfinders in Space
1960
Creator
tvPolice Surgeon
1960
Creator
Target Luna
1960
Creator
tvArmchair Theatre
1956
Creator
Directing8
Flight 6
1944
Director
movieFighting Norway
1943
Director
Acting6
movieInnes Lloyd: The Producer
2025
Self (archive footage)
movieVerity Lambert: Drama Queen
2008
(Archive Footage)
movieCreation of the Daleks
2006
Himself (archive footage)
movieDoctor Who: Origins
2006
Self (archive footage)
Crew5
Writing3
movieDoctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023
Original Series Creator