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Hercules Bellville |
‘Polanski troupe’ film producer Bellville dies aged 69
THE film producer Hercules Bellville has died of cancer, aged 69.
Bellville, who lived in Marylebone, worked on films including The Dreamers (2003), Sexy Beast (2000) and All The Little Animals (1998). He was an avid devotee of all things film until his death last Saturday.
Bellville was immensely popular on both sides of the Atlantic, counting such greats as Roman Polanski, Jack Nicholson, Jonathan Demme, Bob Rafelson and Michelangelo Antonioni among his many friends. He was born in San Diego, California to parents Jeanie and Rupert. His father once flew as a volunteer pilot for Franco during the Spanish Civil War and narrowly escaped the firing squad in a remarkable rescue by the Royal Navy. They moved to England and he was sent to the Catholic boarding school Ampleforth in Yorkshire after his parents divorced.
Bellville’s love affair with cinema is said to have started after he landed a job as an extra during a school trip to Paris. He went on to read French and Spanish at Christ Church, Oxford, getting his big break when he met Polanski while shooting Repulsion in 1964. The Polish director described him as “a thin, gangling young man in a brown velvet jacket and bright pink tie, very keen to break into film-making. I was so taken with his obvious enthusiasm”.
The friendship blossomed, and Bellville moved to Hollywood, becoming part of the “Polanski troupe” and working on films such as Cul de Sac (1966), Macbeth (1971), What? (1972), Tess (1978) and The Tenant (1976).
Upon his return to London in 1984, Bellville began working for Jeremy Thomas as a director in his famous film production company, The Recorded Picture Company.
He leaves wife Ilana Shulman. They married just 48 hours before his death. |
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