Michael Apted, British director of the “Up” series of documentaries, as well as “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” died Saturday at the age of 79, his agency Gersh confirmed.
Apted has directed many films, including “Gorillas in the Mist” (1988), James Bond film “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) and “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (2010).
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DGA President Thomas Schlamme said in a statement, “Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of esteemed director, longtime DGA leader and my friend Michael Apted.”
“His legacy will be forever woven into the fabric of cinema and our Guild,” Schlamme added in the statement. “A fearless visionary as a director and unparalleled Guild leader, Michael saw the trajectory of things when others didn’t, and we were all the beneficiaries of his wisdom and lifelong dedication.”
Kevin Lygo, the head of Britain's ITV which aired "Up", stated that the channel was deeply saddened by his passing.
"The 'Up' series demonstrated the possibilities of television at its finest in its ambition and its capacity to hold up a mirror to society and engage with and entertain people while enriching our perspective on the human condition," Lygo said in a statement.
The British Director was best known for "Up" series, which followed the lives 14 Britons from different backgrounds, starting from when they were seven in 1964.
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The series checked in on the 14 every seven years until they turned 63 in 2019, the work spanning an astonishing 56 years.
He won a 1985 IDA Award for “28 Up” from the International Documentary Association.
“56 Up,” produced in 2012, won a Peabody Award “for its creator’s patience and its subjects’ humanity.”
The latest installment, “63 Up,” was broadcast on British television in June 2019.
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