Peter Collinson

Peter Collinson (1 April 1936 – 16 December 1980) was a British film director probably best remembered for directing The Italian Job (1969). Early life Peter Collinson was born in Cleethorpes, Lincolnshire in 1936. His parents, an actress and a musician, separated when he was two years old; he was raised by his grandparents. From the age of eight until 14 he attended the Actor's Orphanage in Chertsey, Surrey, where he had the chance to write and act in many plays. Noël Coward, who was president of the orphanage at the time, became his godfather and helped him to obtain jobs in the entertainment industry, which was dramatized in the radio play Mr Bridger's Orphan by Marcy Kahan in 2013. (Collinson later directed Coward in his best-known film, The Italian Job (1969)). He auditioned for RADA but was rejected, so went to work for the New Cross Empire theatre when aged 14. He did a variety of theatrical jobs until 1954, when he was called up for national service. He served as a private with the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) for two years in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. Career Collinson's early television work included time as a floor manager for the BBC and directing for ATV at Elstree studios. He was an assistant director on a short, The Pit (1962), and made a documentary, Blackwater Holiday (1963).