British director Alan Parker, who directed “Midnight Express”, “Bugsy Malone” and “Fame”, died Friday at the age of 76, his family announced. Born in London on February 14, 1944, Alan Parker, whose filmography also includes “Mississippi Burning”, “Evita” and “The Commitments”, succumbed to a “long illness”, according to a spokesperson appointed by his family. In total, his works have won 19 Baftas, 10 Golden Globes and 10 Oscars. The Academy Awards tweeted a “chameleon”, an “extraordinary talent” who “will be sorely missed”.
Alan Parker had started his career in advertising. In 1975 he made his first feature film, “Bugsy Malone”, a musical parody of gangster films from the 1930s, performed by children.
His second film, “Midnight Express” (1978), a plunge into the ordeal of a young American incarcerated in a Turkish prison after trying to leave Turkey with hashish, won two Oscars, six Golden Globes and four Baftas. In 1981, he directed “Pink Floyd – The Wall”, a film that has become cult with fans of this British rock group. Her last great success dates back to 1996 with Evita, a musical film in which Madonna plays the actress and Argentinian politician Eva Peron. Former Cannes Festival President Gilles Jacob praised a “lively, brilliant, prolific” and “sarcastic mind” filmmaker. David Puttman, who produced several of Alan Parker’s films, paid tribute to the man who was his “oldest and closest friend” and who “always impressed him with his talent”. “My life and that of many other people who loved and respected him will never be the same again,” he added.
Alan Parker leaves behind his wife Lisa Moran-Parker, five children and seven grandchildren.
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