Career
Born in London, England, Leacock spent his childhood in the Canary Islands. He started directing documentaries and later turned to fiction films. He was known for his films about children, particularly The Little Kidnappers (1953) and The Spanish Gardener (1956). Leacock, who made documentaries before taking on feature-length movies, had his first hit in 1950 with The Kidnappers, a family movie set in Nova Scotia. He also directed The Spanish Gardener, starring Dirk Bogarde; Innocent Sinners, with Flora Robson, and The Rabbit Trap, with Ernest Borgnine. In the early 1960s he moved to Hollywood, where he made The War Lover, starring Steve McQueen, based on John Hersey's novel about a World War II pilot.
Other Leacock films were Take a Giant Step, about a black youth's encounter with racism, and Let No Man Write My Epitaph, about juvenile drug addiction. He also directed episodes of Gunsmoke, Route 66, The Waltons and The Defenders. As an in-house director noted for his gentle way with child performers, he also directed many segments of the US-series Eight is Enough (1977-1981)
He retired in 1987, after directing an acclaimed three-part television drama about the Salem witch hunts, Three Sovereigns for Sister Sarah, which starred Vanessa Redgrave.
Leacock died while on vacation with his family in London on July 14, 1990.
Read more about this topic: Philip Leacock
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