Richard Marquand

Richard Marquand (born September 22, 1937 in Cardiff , Wales , † September 4, 1987 in Los Angeles , California , United States ) was a British film director , screenwriter and film producer .

Filmmaking

Marquand was educated at the University of Aix-Marseille and at King's College . During his military service he studied Mandarin and was later posted to Hong Kong . He began his career with the BBC , for which he filmed Christopher Marlowe's Edward II with Ian McKellen in the title role in his directorial debut . He next made the two-part documentary The Search for the Nile , which was nominated for a Golden Globe . He made his feature film debut in 1978 with the horror film The House of Satan with Sam Elliott . In 1981 he filmed the thriller The Needle by Ken Follett . George Lucas was impressed by the film and asked Marquand to direct Return of the Jedi . He then directed Love Without a Way out with Karen Allen in the lead role and the thriller The Knife with Jeff Bridges and Glenn Close .

Richard Marquand died of a heart attack at the age of 49 and his last film Hearts of Fire, starring Bob Dylan , was released posthumously . His son James Marquand also works as a director.

personal data
SURNAME	Marquand, Richard
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British film director, screenwriter and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH	September 22, 1937
PLACE OF BIRTH	Cardiff , Wales , United Kingdom
DATE OF DEATH	4th September 1987
Place of death	Los Angeles , California , United States