Sir Sydney Samuelson dies: The former BAFTA boss and first British film commissioner was 97

British film veteran Sir Sydney Samuelson has died. He turned 97.

Samuelson died of old age on December 14. A statement from the British Film Institute said he was “surrounded by his loving family”.

Samuelson was born on December 7, 1925. He comes from a family in the British film industry. His father, George “Bertie” Samuelson, was a silent film producer and made more than 100 films from 1910; his mother Marjorie owned a fabric shop in Shoreham-by-Sea, Sussex.

Samuelson entered the film business in 1939 at the age of 14 in the projection booth at the Luxor cinema in Lancing, West Sussex and went on to work as an assistant operator in various Midlands theaters for ABC Theatres. He then trained as a film editor at Gaumont British Newsreel in London.

He later became a cinematographer and worked on many programs for the BBC and independent television companies on a number of productions, including the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey in 1953. He was responsible for the famous recording of the Queen’s coronation .

In 1954, Samuelson purchased a clockwork motion picture camera from Newman Sinclair and began exploring the possibility of renting equipment to other professionals. Originally operating from home, he and his wife, Doris Samuelson, founded Film Service, later with his brothers. “Sammies” as they became known.

The company has built a solid reputation working on all of David Lean’s films including Doctor Zhivago13 James Bond Films by Richard Attenborough GandhiRichard Donners supermanFred Zinnemanns A man for all seasonsNorman Jewison violinist on the roofStanley Kubricks 2001: A Space Odyssey and that of Milos Forman amadeus among many other films.

In 1985, Samuelson received the BAFTA’s Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Film, a BAFTA Fellowship for his contribution to the film and television industry in 1993 and a British Film Institute Fellowship in 1997, among many other awards of merit. In 1978, Sir Sydney’s film work was awarded a CBE, followed by a Knighthood in 1995.

Samuelson also maintained close links with many of Britain’s most important film institutions. He was chairman, vice-chairman of film and founder of BAFTA, where he played a leading role in raising funds for the establishment of the British Academy’s headquarters in Piccadilly, London. His efforts are credited with saving the BAFTA from financial ruin during the reorganization. He was also appointed Britain’s first film commissioner in 1991 by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Samuelson officially retired in 1997.

In a special tribute in 2011, the late Lord Richard Attenborough said of Samuelson: “To me you represent the best of the great industry to which we have both devoted our adult lives.”

He is survived by his sons Peter, Jonathan and Marc and their families, including eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.