Britt Allcroft
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. (February 2010) |
Britt Allcroft | |
---|---|
Born | Hilary Mary Allcroft 14 December 1943 Worthing, West Sussex, England |
Nationality | British |
Citizenship | United Kingdom |
Occupation |
|
Years active | 1964–2003 |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 2 |
Brittany Allcroft (born Hilary Mary Allcroft, 14 December 1943) is a British writer, director, producer and voice actress. She is the creator of the children's television series Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends (later re-titled Thomas & Friends), Shining Time Station (with Rick Siggelkow), Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales and Magic Adventures of Mumfie. She wrote, co-produced and directed the film Thomas and the Magic Railroad (2000).
Early life[]
She was born Hilary Mary Allcroft in Worthing, England. At the age of 16, she changed her first name to Britt as her career in British radio and television gained momentum. She went on to create a succession of programmes for the BBC and ITV during the 1970s and 1980s, including Moon Clue Game, Dance Crazy and Keepsakes. Mothers By Daughters, produced for Channel Four, was broadcast by PBS in the United States. She also worked in theatre, staging shows at the London Palladium and Drury Lane Theatres.[1]
Career[]
While making a documentary about British steam trains in August 1979, Allcroft met the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, author of The Railway Series of children's books. She said, "It really didn't take me long to become intrigued by the characters, the relationships between them and the nostalgia they invoked." She told him that she wanted to bring these stories to life and made an arrangement to secure certain rights through his then-publishers Kaye & Ward.[2]
In 1980, she co-founded Britt Allcroft Railway Productions (internationally known as The Britt Allcroft Company) with her husband, television producer Angus Wright. It took Allcroft four years to raise the funding for, and create, a first series of 26 episodes in collaboration with director David Mitton. The first two episodes of Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, shot on 35 mm film with narration by Ringo Starr in the UK/US and music by Mike O'Donnell and Junior Campbell, were aired together for the first time on British television on 9 October 1984.
The series's success in the UK, and the merchandising campaign that Allcroft had been organising since 1983, soon led to further success in other parts of the world. In 1989, she and American producer Rick Siggelkow created Shining Time Station, a live-action children's sitcom fronted by the magical character of the miniature Mr. Conductor, who introduced two Thomas stories in each half-hour programme. Shining Time Station won a number of awards and significantly increased the popularity of the Thomas media franchise in the US. Shining Time Station lasted until 1995 then in 1996 she created the short spin-off series Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales.
In 1994, Allcroft followed Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends and Shining Time Station with the cartoon-animated Magic Adventures of Mumfie in collaboration with director John Collins. Inspired by the books by Katharine Tozer, this production received critical acclaim and was seen worldwide.[3] In 2008, several years after she left her original company, Allcroft revived the Mumfie library.
Allcroft wrote and directed Thomas and the Magic Railroad, a film based on the Thomas franchise that was released in 2000. She also provided the voice of the character Lady.[4] The box office failure of the film caused Allcroft to resign as deputy chairman of her company in September 2000.[5]
Personal life[]
Allcroft was previous married to television producer Angus Wright, but later divorced. She has two children.[6][7][8]
She currently resides in Santa Monica, California (US). She is on the advisory council of Southern California Public Radio and the Audrey Hepburn Children's Fund.[1]
Filmography[]
Year | Title | Director | Producer | Writer | Actress | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Three Go Round | No | No | Yes | No | Narrative script | |
1967 | Get It-Got It-Good | No | No | Yes | No | ||
1984–2002 | Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends | No | Yes | Yes | No | ||
1990 | Shining Time Station: 'Tis a Gift | No | No | Yes | No | Television special | |
1994–1998 | Magic Adventures of Mumfie | Yes | No | No | Yes | The Queen of Night | Voice |
1995 | The Thomas the Tank Engine Man | No | No | No | Yes | Herself | Documentary |
1996 | Mr. Conductor's Thomas Tales | No | Yes | Yes | No | 6 episodes | |
1996 | Mumfie's Quest: The Movie | Yes | No | No | Yes | The Queen of Night | Voice |
1999 | Storytime with Thomas | Yes | No | No | No | 2 episodes | |
2000 | Thomas and the Magic Railroad | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Lady | Voice |
References[]
- ^ Jump up to: a b "Britt Allcroft". buckinghamcovers.com. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ Sibley, Brian (1995). The Thomas the Tank Engine Man. Heinemann. p. 291. ISBN 0-434-96909-5.
- ^ "The Magic Adventures of Mumfie". Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ Jim Gratton; Ryan Healy. "Magic Railroad Characters". Sodor Island Forums – Magic Railroad Mini-Website. Archived from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
- ^ "Britt Allcroft quits as Thomas flops". The Guardian. 8 September 2000. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
- ^ https://www.irishtimes.com/business/thomas-the-tank-engine-firm-to-float-1.97155%3fmode=amp
- ^ "Thomas the Tank Engine fuels HIT profits hike". 6 October 2003.
- ^ https://www.standard.co.uk/news/thomas-steams-off-to-bob-the-builder-6334507.html%3famp
Further reading[]
- "Thomas Flotation Steams Ahead" (The Independent, 18 October 1996).
External links[]
- Britt Allcroft at IMDb
- "Britt Allcroft Productions". Archived from the original on 28 December 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2003.
- Article on Allcroft and Gullane/HIT
- Random House – About The Authors – Britt Allcroft at the Wayback Machine (archived 5 November 2011)
- 1943 births
- Living people
- 20th-century English actresses
- 20th-century English women writers
- 20th-century English writers
- 21st-century English actresses
- 21st-century English women writers
- 21st-century English writers
- English children's writers
- English company founders
- English expatriates in the United States
- English film directors
- English film producers
- English screenwriters
- English television producers
- English television writers
- English theatre managers and producers
- English voice actresses
- English women in business
- English women writers
- Gullane Entertainment
- People from Worthing
- Television show creators
- Women television producers
- Women television writers
- Women theatre managers and producers
- Writers from Sussex