47 Facts About David Puttnam

David Puttnam's productions include Chariots of Fire, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Midnight Express and Memphis Belle.

David Puttnam was born in Southgate, London, England, the son of Marie Beatrix, a housewife of Jewish origin, and Leonard Arthur David Puttnam, a photographer.

David Puttnam turned to film production in the late 1960s, working with Sanford Lieberson's production company Goodtimes Enterprises.

David Puttnam had a box office success with Bugsy Malone, a musical he executive-produced, written and directed by Alan Parker, and produced by Alan Marshall.

David Puttnam went on to set up a new company, Enigma Films.

David Puttnam produced The Duellists, the directorial debut of Ridley Scott; and with Marshall once more, he produced Midnight Express, directed by Parker from a script by Oliver Stone, and which was a notable box office success.

David Puttnam made his first film in America, Foxes, itself the directorial debut of Adrian Lyne.

David Puttnam set up a television company, Enigma TV, and made a series of television films in association with Goldcrest, which carried David Puttnam's name as executive producer.

David Puttnam had another success with Local Hero, written and directed by Bill Forsyth; and produced the acclaimed Cal directed by Pat O'Connor, and The Killing Fields, directed by Roland Joffe.

David Puttnam produced The Mission, directed by Joffe from a script by Robert Bolt, which won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986.

David Puttnam was chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures from June 1986 until September 1987.

David Puttnam returned to producing individual films with Memphis Belle, Meeting Venus, A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia, Being Human, War of the Buttons, The Confessional, and My Life So Far.

David Puttnam executive-produced The Josephine Baker Story, Without Warning: The James Brady Story, and The Burning Season.

David Puttnam returned to the field of film production in 2015 to oversee pre-production of Don't Trust, Don't Fear, Don't Beg, Ben Stewart's account of the Arctic 30 incident.

David Puttnam stepped away from the role in 2019 when he was appointed to chair the House of Lords Special Committee 'Democracy and Digital Technology'.

On 12 October 2021, it was announced that Lord David Puttnam would retire from the Lords after 24 years service on 27 October 2021.

In 1998, David Puttnam was named in a list of financial donors to the British Labour Party.

From 2004 to 2005, David Puttnam chaired the Hansard Society Commission on Communication of Parliamentary Democracy, the final report of which urged all political parties to commit to a renewal of parliamentary life in an attempt to reinvigorate representative democracy.

From 2012 to 2017, David Puttnam was the Prime Ministerial Trade Envoy to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.

In June 2019, David Puttnam chaired the special House of Lords Democracy and Digital Technologies Committee, set up to investigate the impact of digital technologies on democracy and oversaw the publication of its findings in June 2020.

Lord David Puttnam announced his retirement from the House of Lords on 27 October 2021 as he delivered the Shirley Williams Lecture, detailing his reasons for leaving in his speech.

For 10 years, David Puttnam was chairman of the National Film and Television School whose alumni included people such as Nick Park; and in 2017, he succeeded Richard Attenborough as Life President.

David Puttnam founded Skillset, which trains young people to become members of the film and television industries.

David Puttnam was the first Chancellor of the University of Sunderland from 1997 until 13 July 2007.

David Puttnam was appointed an Honorary Doctor of Education during the School of Education and Lifelong Learning's Academic Awards Ceremonies and upon his retirement, he was granted the Freedom of the City of Sunderland.

David Puttnam was the founding chairman of the General Teaching Council from 2000 to 2002, was appointed as Chancellor of the Open University from 2006 to 2017, and was the Chairman of NESTA from 1998 until 2003.

David Puttnam was on the board of directors of learning technologies company Promethean.

David Puttnam is the patron of Schools NorthEast, an organisation set up in 2007 to represent all schools in the North East of England.

David Puttnam is a patron of the Shakespeare Schools Festival, a charity that enables school children across the UK to perform Shakespeare in professional theatres.

From May 2014 until 2018, David Puttnam was Chair of the Academic Board for Pearson College, part of Pearson PLC, the first FTSE 100 company to offer degrees in the UK.

In March 2015, David Puttnam was made a freeman at the Metropolitan Borough of Gateshead, in recognition of his service as chairman at the Sage Gateshead.

David Puttnam was a member of the Commonwealth of Learning's Board of Governors until January 2020 and stood down as Chair of Film London Executive Task Force in 2022.

In October 2022 Lord David Puttnam was awarded a fellowship by adult education provider, City Lit, for his contribution to the world of film and media.

In 1982, David Puttnam received the BAFTA Michael Balcon Award for his outstanding contribution to the British Film Industry.

David Puttnam made the occasion notable by delivering a particularly moving homage to his late father, who had died before he could see his son receive the Best Picture Oscar for Chariots of Fire.

David Puttnam congratulated contemporary filmmakers for making films with integrity: the lack of such films being produced had been the reason for his retirement from the film industry in the late 1990s.

David Puttnam is the recipient of over 50 honorary degrees and fellowships from the UK and overseas: he received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2001, and from Trinity College Dublin in 2016; he was awarded The Royal Photographic Society's President's Medal and Honorary Fellowship in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography in 2003; and in May 2006, he was made an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

On 12 July 2007, David Puttnam was given the freedom of the City of Sunderland.

David Puttnam was elected to the Royal Irish Academy in 2017.

In 2009, in partnership with Sir Michael Barber, David Puttnam released We Are the People We've Been Waiting For, an education documentary featuring high-profile figures discussing their own experiences of education.

David Puttnam was deputy Chairman of Channel 4 Television from 2006 to 2012.

David Puttnam is president of the Film Distributors' Association and chair of the TSL Advisory Board.

David Puttnam co-authored Movies and Money, published in January 2000 by Vintage Books.

David Puttnam, who had produced Ian Charleson's star-making film Chariots of Fire, contributed a chapter to the 1990 book, For Ian Charleson: A Tribute.

On 19 August 2007, David Puttnam gave the oration at the annual Michael Collins commemoration in Beal na Blath, County Cork.

David Puttnam has preached at Durham Cathedral at the feast of the cathedral's commemoration of its founders and benefactors.

On 21 June 2022, David Puttnam announced via Twitter that he and his wife Patsy had obtained Irish citizenship.