Editing Michael Winner

{{short description|English filmmaker, food writer (1935–2013)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2012}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = Michael Winner
| image              = File:Michael Winner, 2010 (cropped).jpg
| caption            = Winner in 2010
| other_names        = Arnold Crust
| birth_name         = Michael Robert Winner
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1935|10|30|df=yes}}
| birth_place        = [[Hampstead]], London, England
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|2013|1|21|1935|10|30|df=yes}}
| death_place        = [[Woodland House]], [[Kensington]], London, England
| resting_place      = [[Willesden Jewish Cemetery]]
| alma_mater         = [[Downing College, Cambridge]]
| years_active       = 1955–2013
| spouse             = {{marriage|Geraldine Lynton-Edwards<br>|2011}}
| occupation         = [[Film director]] and [[film producer|producer]], [[screenwriter]], [[film editor]], [[food writer]], [[media personality]]
}}
'''Michael Robert Winner''' (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was an English [[filmmaker]], writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous [[Action film|action]], [[Thriller films|thriller]], and [[black comedy]] films in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, including several collaborations with actors [[Oliver Reed]] and [[Charles Bronson]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bradshaw|first=Peter|date=2013-01-21|title=Michael Winner was over-indulged, but he was a pioneer of sorts|url=http://www.theguardian.com/culture/2013/jan/21/michael-winner-pioneer-of-sorts|access-date=2018-05-21|website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Looking Back At The DEATH WISH Franchise {{!}} Film Inquiry|url=http://www.filminquiry.com/death-wish-franchise/|access-date=2018-05-21|website=www.filminquiry.com|date=17 February 2017|language=en-US}}</ref>

Winner's best-known works include [[Death Wish (1974 film)|''Death Wish'']] (1974) and its first two sequels ''[[Death Wish II]]'' (1982) and ''[[Death Wish 3]]'' (1985), the World War II comedy ''[[Hannibal Brooks]]'' (1969), the hitman thriller ''[[The Mechanic (1972 film)|The Mechanic]]'' (1972), the supernatural horror film ''[[The Sentinel (1977 film)|The Sentinel]]'' (1977), the neo-noir ''[[The Big Sleep (1978 film)|The Big Sleep]]'' (1978), the satirical comedy ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' (1976), and the [[Revisionist Western]]s ''[[Lawman (film)|Lawman]]'' (1971) and ''[[Chato's Land]]'' (1972).

Winner was known as a media personality in the United Kingdom, appearing regularly on television talk programmes and publishing a restaurant review column for ''[[The Sunday Times]]''. He was also a founder of the [[Police Memorial Trust]].

==Early life and education==
Winner was born at 40 Belsize Grove, [[Belsize Park]], [[Hampstead]], London,. the only child<ref name="telegraph1"/> of Jewish parents<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4495289.stm Faces of the week], ''BBC News'', 29 April 2005. Accessed 28 August 2009.</ref> George Joseph Winner (1910–1975), of [[Russian-Jewish]] origin, and Helen (née Zlota; January 1906 – May 1984), who was born in Poland.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/winners_dinners/article2935544.ece | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629121546/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/winners_dinners/article2935544.ece | url-status=dead | archive-date=29 June 2011 | location=London | work=The Times | first=Michael | last=Winner | title=Great Queen Street | date=25 November 2007}}</ref> His mother had emigrated to the UK in 1932 with her parents and a brother,<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.winnersdinners.com/reviews/2007/20071104.php | title=Winner's Dinners - Decent borscht and this are poles apart }}</ref> and later anglicised her name from ‘Chana Rosa’ to ‘Helen Rose’.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ancestry.co.uk/discoveryui-content/view/10562410:7579?tid=&pid=&queryid=5092aa8e-2286-4670-8332-9a3034ef3157&_phsrc=UGY1&_phstart=successSource | title=Join Ancestry® }}</ref> His father - who was a [[Freemason]] and belonged to the same Masonic Lodge as [[Tommy Cooper]]<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.winnersdinners.com/reviews/2007/20071125.php | title=Winner's Dinners - Don't look up the restaurant with no name }}</ref> - was a businessman and company director responsible for running a branch of the Winner's clothing chain founded by his own father, who became a naturalised British citizen in 1910.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-106011|title=Winner, (Robert) Michael (1935–2013), film-maker and food critic|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/106011|isbn=978-0-19-861412-8}}</ref><ref>Michael Winner: Winner Takes All- A Life of Sorts, Michael Winner, 2013</ref><ref name=filmr>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/19/Michael-Winner.html |title=Michael Winner Biography (1935–) |publisher=Filmreference.com |date=30 October 1935 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/10/my-family-values-michael-winner | location=London | work=[[The Guardian]] | first=Nick | last=McGrath | title=Michael Winner: My family values | date=10 October 2009}}</ref> His mother died at the age of 78, in 1984.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/participant.jsp?spid=207902&apid=112016 |title=Overview for Michael Winner |publisher=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=19 October 2011}}{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

Winner was educated at [[St Christopher School]], [[Letchworth]], and [[Downing College, Cambridge]], where he read law and economics. He also edited the university's student newspaper, ''[[Varsity (Cambridge)|Varsity]]'', and was the youngest ever editor up to that time, both in age and in terms of his university career (being only in the second term of his second year). Winner had earlier written a newspaper column, "Michael Winner's Showbiz Gossip", in the ''Kensington Post'' from the age of fourteen. The first issue of ''Showgirl Glamour Revue'' in 1955 had him writing another film and show-business gossip column, "Winner's World".<ref>[http://www.magforum.com/mens/mensmagazinesatoz10.htm#shg Showgirl Glamour Revue (closed)] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118191405/http://www.magforum.com/mens/mensmagazinesatoz10.htm |date=18 January 2009 }}. A-Z of Men's Magazines</ref> Such jobs allowed him to meet and interview several leading film personalities, including [[James Stewart]] and [[Marlene Dietrich]]. He also wrote for the ''[[New Musical Express]]''.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/1836411.stm NME: Still rocking at 50]. BBC.co.uk (24 February 2002).</ref>

Winner claimed in his memoirs that he avoided [[Conscription in the United Kingdom#After 1945|National Service]] by pretending to be gay.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/dodging-national-service-a-dishonourable-tradition-2029753.html | title=Dodging national service: A dishonourable tradition | website=[[Independent.co.uk]] | date=18 July 2010 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/michael-winner-dead-film-director-1547982 | title=Kind, funny, generous, and Britain's 38th most annoying man: Film director Michael Winner dies aged 77 | website=[[Daily Mirror]] | date=21 January 2013 }}</ref>

==Career==
===Shorts===
Winner directed his first travelogue, ''This is Belgium'' (1957), which was largely shot on location in [[East Grinstead]]. It was financed by his father.<ref name="telegraph1">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/9816044/Michael-Winner.html |title=Michael Winner |newspaper=The Telegraph|date=21 January 2013 |location=London}}</ref><ref name=ft>{{cite news|title=Weekend interview: Michael Winner|author=Garrahan, Matthew|work=FT|location=London|date=24 September 2004|page=1}}</ref> Later, he wrote, produced and directed a short, ''The Square'' (1957), starring [[A. E. Matthews]], and which again was financed by Winner's father.

Winner's first on-screen feature credit was earned as a writer for the low-budget crime film ''[[Man with a Gun (1958 film)|Man with a Gun]]'' (1958) directed by [[Montgomery Tully]].<ref>{{cite news|title=MAN WITH A GUN|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|location=London|volume=25|issue=288|date=1 January 1958|page=129}}</ref> He went on to direct the shorts ''Danger, Women at Work'' (1959) and ''Watch the Birdie'' (1959), and was Associate Producer on ''Floating Fortress'' (1959), produced by [[Harold Baim]].

===Early British feature films===
Winner's first feature as director was ''[[Shoot to Kill (1960 film)|Shoot to Kill]]'' (1960), which he also wrote. [[Dermot Walsh]] starred.<ref>{{cite news|title=SHOOT TO KILL|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|location=London|volume=28|issue=324|date=1 January 1961|page=12}}</ref> He followed this with ''[[Climb Up the Wall]]'' (1960), which was essentially a series of music acts presented by [[Jack Jackson (radio personality)|Jack Jackson]], but which Winner nonetheless wrote and directed.<ref>{{cite news|title=CLIMB UP THE WALL|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|location=London|volume=27|issue=312|date=1 January 1960|page=68}}</ref>

Winner's third feature as director was the thriller ''[[Out of the Shadow (1961 film)|Murder on the Campus]]'' (1961), also known as ''Out of the Shadow'', which Winner also wrote and helped produce. Dermot Walsh starred once again, together with [[Terence Longdon]].<ref>{{cite news|title=OUT OF THE SHADOW|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|location=London|volume=28|issue=324|date=1 January 1961|page=99}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, Winner wrote and directed the short ''Girls Girls Girls!'' (1961) which was narrated by Jackson, and directed the short feature ''[[Old Mac]]'' (1961), written by Richard Aubrey and starring [[Charles Lamb (actor)|Charles Lamb]], Vi Stevens and [[Tania Mallet]].<ref>{{cite news|title=OLD MAC|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|location=London|volume=28|issue=324|date=1 January 1961|page=66}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/apr/01/tania-mallet-dies-tilly-masterson-goldfinger-james-bond|title=Tania Mallet, Tilly Masterson in James Bond film Goldfinger, dies aged 77|newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=1 April 2019|access-date=1 April 2019}}</ref>

Winner directed the shorts ''Haunted England'' (1961), ''It's Magic'' (1962), and ''Behave Yourself'' (1962), the latter of which was based on [[Emily Post]]'s ''Book of Manners'', and whose cast included Jackson and [[Dennis Price]].

Winner achieved success with a musical he directed, ''[[Play It Cool (film)|Play It Cool]]'' (1962), starring [[Billy Fury]] and [[Michael Anderson Jr.]], and which was distributed by [[Anglo-Amalgamated]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Michael Winner, 77, 'Death Wish' Director: [Obituary; Biography]|author=Slotnik, Daniel E.|work=The New York Times|edition=Late (East Coast)|date=22 January 2013|page=A.19}}</ref><ref name="three">{{cite magazine|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-moguls-nat-cohen-part-three-1962-68/|date=21 January 2025|access-date=21 January 2025|title=Forgotten British Moguls: Nat Cohen – Part Three (1962-68)}}</ref>

Winner's next feature, ''[[Some Like It Cool]]'' (1962), is the tale of a young woman who introduces her prudish husband and in-laws to the joys of nudism. Filmed at [[Longleat]], Winner was afraid the sight of bare flesh would offend the magistrate for the area, so he confided his worries to the landowner, the [[Henry Thynne, 6th Marquess of Bath|Marquess of Bath]]. 'Don't worry,' said the Marquess, 'I am the local magistrate.' The film cost £9,000 and Winner said it made its money back in a week.<ref name="ft"/>

Winner went on to update [[Gilbert and Sullivan]], writing the screenplay and directing a version of ''[[The Mikado]]'' titled ''[[The Cool Mikado]]'' (1963), starring [[Frankie Howerd]] and [[Stubby Kaye]] and which was produced by [[Harold Baim]].<ref>{{cite news |title=English Screen Scene: Gilbert and Sullivan in the Groove – Focus on Fonda and Tushingham |first=Stephen |last=Watts |newspaper=The New York Times|date=19 August 1962 |page=99 }}</ref>

Winner's first significant project was ''[[West 11]]'' (1963), a realistic tale of London drifters starring [[Alfred Lynch]], [[Eric Portman]] and [[Diana Dors]], and which was based on a script by [[Hall and Waterhouse]].

===Oliver Reed===
Winner's film ''[[The System (1964 film)|The System]]'' (1964), also known as ''The Girl-Getters'', began a partnership with actor [[Oliver Reed]] that would last for six films over a 25-year period, and was based on a script by Peter Draper. Winner would later receive an offer from Columbia to direct a comedy, ''[[You Must Be Joking! (1965 film)|You Must Be Joking!]]'' (1965). It starred American actor [[Michael Callan]] and a supporting cast that included [[Lionel Jeffries]] and [[Denholm Elliott]], while Winner also wrote the script.

Winner was reunited with Reed on ''[[The Jokers]]'' (1967), a comedy where Reed was teamed with [[Michael Crawford]]. It was based on a script by [[Dick Clement]] and [[Ian La Frenais]] from a story by Winner for his own company, Scimitar Films Limited (for Universal's English operations, then under [[Jay Kanter]]). The resulting movie was a popular hit.<ref>{{cite news|author=Martin, B.|title=Gavin signs universal pact|date=3 June 1966|work=Los Angeles Times|id={{ProQuest|155503215}}}}</ref>

Winner and Reed then made the comedy-drama ''[[I'll Never Forget What's'isname]]'' (1967), co-starring [[Orson Welles]], [[Carol White]] and [[Harry Andrews]], also for Scimitar. Draper wrote the script, which was a spoof of the advertising world, and the film was also done for Universal.<ref>{{cite news|title=Schell to Direct 'Garden'|author=Martin, Betty|work=Los Angeles Times|date=22 February 1967|page=e14}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=The Jokers' Make Him the Winner|author=MARK SHIVAS|work=The New York Times|date=11 June 1967|page=133}}</ref>

Winner did some uncredited directing on ''A Little of What You Fancy'' (1967), a documentary about the history of the British music hall. Then he and Reed made their fourth feature together, the World War II satire ''[[Hannibal Brooks]]'' (1969), again from a Clement/La Frenais script and based on a story by Winner.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://letterboxd.com/film/hannibal-brooks/|title=''Hannibal Brooks'' (1969) Directed by Michael Winner|website=LETTERBOXD|access-date=28 March 2018}}</ref><ref>Goodwin, Cliff ''Evil Spirits: The Life of Oliver Reed'', London: Virgin Publishing Ltd, 2000</ref>
 
In 1970, Winner directed ''[[The Games (1970 film)|The Games]]'' for [[20th Century Fox]], the film is about the [[Olympic Games]] and which starred [[Ryan O'Neal]] and [[Stanley Baker]], with script by [[Eric Segal]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI{{!}}Catalog |url=https://catalog.afi.com/Film/23432-THE-GAMES?cxt=filmography |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=catalog.afi.com}}</ref>

===Early American films===
''[[Hannibal Brooks]]'' drew notice in Hollywood, and Winner soon received an opportunity to direct his first American film, for [[United Artists]]; this was ''[[Lawman (film)|Lawman]]'' (1971), a Western starring [[Burt Lancaster]] and [[Robert Duvall]], and for which Gerald Wilson was the writer.

Back in England, Winner directed [[Marlon Brando]] in ''[[The Nightcomers]]'' (1971), a prequel to ''[[The Turn of the Screw]]'' by [[Henry James]], the first of many films for which Winner was credited as editor using the pseudonym 'Arnold Crust'.

===Charles Bronson===
Winner edited, produced and directed ''[[Chato's Land]]'' (1972), recounting a mixed race native American fighting with white people. It starred [[Charles Bronson]] and was made for Scimitar through United Artists. Once more, Gerald Wilson wrote the script. Winner's second film for Bronson and United Artists was ''[[The Mechanic (1972 film)|The Mechanic]]'' (1972), a thriller in which professional assassins are depicted. It was based on a story and script by [[Lewis John Carlino]] and Winner also edited, although he did not produce; he replaced [[Monte Hellman]] as director.

The following year, Winner cast Lancaster again in the espionage drama ''[[Scorpio (film)|Scorpio]]'' (1973), co-starring [[Alain Delon]] and made for Scimitar and United Artists. Winner also produced and directed a third film with Bronson, ''[[The Stone Killer]]'' (1973), for Columbia and in collaboration with producer [[Dino De Laurentiis]].

====''Death Wish''====
Winner and Bronson collaborated on ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'' (1974), a film that defined the subsequent careers of both men. Based on a novel by [[Brian Garfield]] and adapted for the screen by [[Wendell Mayes]], ''Death Wish'' was originally planned for director [[Sidney Lumet]], under contract with [[United Artists]]. The commitment of Lumet to another film and UA's questioning of its subject matter, led to the film's eventual production by De Laurentiis through [[Paramount Pictures]]. ''Death Wish'' follows [[Death Wish (film series)#Main characters|Paul Kersey]], a liberal New York architect who becomes a gun-wielding vigilante after his wife is murdered and daughter is raped. With a script adjusted to Bronson's persona, the film generated controversy during its screenings but was one of the year's highest grossers.

===Non-Bronson period===
Winner tried to break out of action films with ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' (1976), an animal comedy Winner produced and directed, starring [[Bruce Dern]], [[Madeline Kahn]], [[Art Carney]], and [[Milton Berle]]. Intended as a satire of Hollywood, it was a financial failure.<ref name="telegraph1"/><ref>{{cite news|title=To Rinny With Love and G Rating|author=Haber, Joyce|work=Los Angeles Times|date=27 August 1975|page=e10}}</ref> Of modest success was his horror film ''[[The Sentinel (1977 film)|The Sentinel]]'' (1977), which Winner wrote, produced and directed for Universal, and which was based on the novel by [[Jeffrey Konvitz]].

Winner then wrote, produced and directed the remake of Raymond Chandler's novel ''[[The Big Sleep (1978 film)|The Big Sleep]]'' (1978), starring [[Robert Mitchum]] as Philip Marlowe with a strong support cast including John Mills, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone and Candy Clarke. The film was relocated to England, and financed by [[ITC Films]]. Also for ITC, Winner produced, edited and directed the organised crime thriller ''[[Firepower (1979 film)|Firepower]]'' (1979). It was meant to star Bronson, who withdrew, and wound up starring [[Sophia Loren]] and [[James Coburn]].<ref>{{cite news|title=New bottles for the old Juice|author=Steiner, Stephen|work=Chicago Tribune|date=3 September 1978|page=g10}}</ref>

===Reunion with Bronson/Cannon Films===
By the early 1980s, Winner found himself in great need of a successful film and accepted [[Charles Bronson]]'s request to film ''[[Death Wish II]]'' (1981), a sequel to the 1974 hit. Bronson had already signed a lucrative deal with [[Cannon Films]], independent producer of exploitation fare and marginal art house titles. The sequel, co-starring Bronson's wife [[Jill Ireland]], considerably increased the violence to more graphic levels. Winner said the film was 'the same, but different', to the original. 'That's what sequels are – ''[[Rocky II]]'', ''[[Rocky III]]'' – you don't see [[Sylvester Stallone]] move to the [[Congo Basin|Congo]] and become a nurse. Here the look of LA is what's different. Besides – rape doesn't date!'<ref name="death">{{cite news|title=THE REINCARNATION OF A 'DEATH WISH'|author=Trombetta, Jim|work=Los Angeles Times|date=13 July 1981|page=g1}}</ref> ''Death Wish II'' made a $2 million profit for Cannon films<ref name="yule">Andrew Yule, ''Hollywood a Go-Go: The True Story of the Cannon Film Empire'', Sphere Books, 1987 p24</ref> and made an extra $29 million worldwide.

The success of ''Death Wish II'' enabled Winner to raise money from Cannon for a dream project: a 1983 [[The Wicked Lady (1983 film)|remake]] of 1945's ''[[The Wicked Lady]]'', this time starring [[Faye Dunaway]] and which Winner wrote, produced and directed.<ref name="faye">{{cite news|title=FAYE DUNAWAY: ENJOYING LIFE ON THE SCREEN AGAIN|author=Mann, Roderick|work=Los Angeles Times|date=26 October 1982|page=g1}}</ref>

For Miracle Films, Winner produced and directed the thriller ''[[Scream for Help]]'' (1984). He also produced the film ''[[Claudia (1985 film)|Claudia]]'' (1985), doing some uncredited directing and editing.

Winner was reunited with Bronson and Cannon for ''[[Death Wish 3]]'' (1985), which – although set in New York City – was mostly filmed in London for budgetary reasons. Winner produced and edited."<ref name="charles">{{cite news|title=Tempo: Another 'Death Wish' comes to life|author=Basler, Robert|work=Chicago Tribune|date=31 October 1985|page=d13A}}</ref>

Winner was also attached to direct Cannon's 1990 film ''[[Captain America (1990 film)|Captain America]]'', from a script by James Silke, which he would revise with Stan Hey, and then [[Stan Lee]] and Lawrence Block.<ref name="earlyproduction">{{cite web|url=http://originalvidjunkie.blogspot.com/2011/07/never-got-made-files-66-cannons-captain.html|title=The "Never Got Made" Files #66: Cannon's CAPTAIN AMERICA (1984–87)|work=Video Junkie|date=22 July 2011}}</ref> By 1987, however, Winner was off the project.

Winner's final film for Cannon was an adaptation of the [[Agatha Christie]] novel ''[[Appointment with Death (film)|Appointment with Death]]'' (1989) starring [[Peter Ustinov]] as Poirot. Winner produced, edited and directed; but despite a strong support cast including [[Lauren Bacall]] and [[Carrie Fisher]], the film flopped.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-08-ca-258-story.html |title=Box Office Champs, Chumps : The hero of the bottom line was the 46-year-old 'Bambi' – Page 2 |work=Los Angeles Times|date=8 January 1989 |access-date=26 June 2012 |first=Leonard |last=Klady}}</ref>

===Final British films===
After Cannon Films entered bankruptcy, Winner confined himself to British productions. He produced and directed an adaptation of the [[Alan Ayckbourn]] musical play ''[[A Chorus of Disapproval (film)|A Chorus of Disapproval]]'' (1989) with [[Anthony Hopkins]], and also wrote the script with Ayckbourn.

Winner produced, directed and edited the [[Michael Caine]] and [[Roger Moore]] farce ''[[Bullseye! (1990 film)|Bullseye!]]'' (1990), based on a story by Winner.<ref>{{cite news|title=In 'Bulls-Eye!' the Aim Is Laughter: Michael Caine and Roger Moore play four roles as Michael Winner directs a caper comedy. In 'Bull's-Eye!' Michael Winner Aims for Laughter|author=JOHN CULHANE|work=The New York Times|date=14 January 1990|page=H15}}</ref> The film's reception was generally poor, with the film being described as "appallingly unfunny" in ''The [[Radio Times]] Guide to Films''.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Radio Times Guide to Films 2014 |journal=[[Radio Times]] |year=2013 |location=[[London]] |isbn=978-0956752369 |pages=181{{ndash}}182}}</ref> Later, he wrote, produced and directed ''[[Dirty Weekend (1993 film)|Dirty Weekend]]'' (1993), starring Lia Williams; and hosted the television series ''True Crimes'', which was cancelled in 1994.<ref>{{cite news|title=Winner blames internal politics for demise of True Crimes Michael Winner show;Michael Winner|author=Richard Ford and Alexandra Frean|work=The Times|date=30 August 1994}}</ref>

In 1994, Winner appeared as a guest artist – alongside [[Joan Collins]], [[Christopher Biggins]] and [[Marc Sinden]] (who in 1983 had appeared in Winner's ''[[The Wicked Lady (1983 film)|The Wicked Lady]]'') – in [[Steven Berkoff]]'s film version of his own play ''[[Decadence (film)|Decadence]]''.

Winner's final film as director was ''[[Parting Shots]]'' (1999), which he also wrote, produced and edited. The film was critically reviled and flopped commercially.<ref name="auto">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UoveBAAAQBAJ&q=parting+shots&pg=PT149|title=Surviving Michael Winner: A Thirty-Year Odyssey|first=Dinah|last=May|date=27 October 2014|publisher=Biteback Publishing|isbn=9781849548243}}</ref>

==Other media activity==
Winner was a regular panellist on BBC Radio 4's ''[[Any Questions]]'', and later appeared on television programmes including [[BBC1]]'s ''[[Question Time (TV series)|Question Time]]'' and [[BBC2]]'s ''[[Have I Got News for You]]''. He was also an occasional columnist for the ''[[Daily Mail]]'' throughout the 2000s, and an honorary member of [[BAFTA]] and of the [[Directors Guild of Great Britain]]. His autobiography ''Winner Takes All: A Life of Sorts'' was published by Robson Books in 2006, it largely describes his experiences with many big-screen actors. Winner also wrote a dieting book, ''The Fat Pig Diet Book''.

Winner also featured in television [[commercials]] that he himself directed for insurance company [[esure]] between 2002 and 2009, with his trademark [[catchphrase]] "Calm down, dear! It's just a commercial!".

He was the subject of ''[[This Is Your Life (UK TV series)|This Is Your Life]]'' in 2001 when he was surprised by [[Michael Aspel]] while dining with friends at a central London restaurant.{{Citation needed|date=September 2021}}

Winner appeared in the first series of ''[[The Apprentice (British TV series)|The Apprentice]]'' (UK). He agreed to participate in a charity auction, offering dinner for four and two bottles of house wine at "London's most difficult restaurant to get in," [[The Ivy (United Kingdom)|The Ivy]]. The experience sold for £2,600.

==Personal life==
[[File:Michael Winner.jpg|thumb|left|Winner, with Geraldine Lynton-Edwards (red jacket), at a book signing for his autobiography]]
Winner became engaged to Geraldine Lynton-Edwards in 2007. They had met in 1957, when he was a 21-year-old filmmaker and she was a 16-year-old actress and ballet dancer. They married on 19 September 2011<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14490696 |title=Director Michael Winner to marry for first time |publisher=BBC |date=11 August 2011 }}</ref> at [[Chelsea Town Hall]], London.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} [[Michael Caine|Michael]] and [[Shakira Caine]] were witnesses to the ceremony.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

Winner lived in the former home of painter [[Luke Fildes]] in Holland Park, [[Woodland House]], designed for Fildes by [[Richard Norman Shaw]].<ref name='ArtsDesk'>{{cite web| url=http://www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/interview-michael-winner-collecting-donald-mcgill|title=Interview: Michael Winner on collecting Donald McGill|website=The Arts Desk|date=8 June 2010| access-date=1 July 2012}}</ref><ref name="WeinrebKeay2011">{{cite book|author1=Hibbert, Christopher |author2=Weinreb, Ben |author3=Keay, John |author4=Keay, Julia |title=The London Encyclopaedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xa0D0PqiwfEC&pg=PA539|access-date=21 June 2012|date=9 May 2011|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=978-0-230-73878-2|page=539|edition=3rd }}</ref> It was announced in 2008 that Winner intended to leave his house as a museum, but discussions with [[Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea|Kensington and Chelsea council]] apparently stalled after they were unable to meet the £15 million cost of purchasing the [[freehold (law)|freehold]] of the property, the lease of which expires in 2046.{{citation needed|date=January 2020}}

On 1 January 2007, Winner acquired the bacterial infection ''[[Vibrio vulnificus]]'' from eating an oyster in Barbados. He almost had a leg amputated and was on the brink of death several times. Before recovering, Winner was infected with the 'hospital superbug' [[MRSA]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/how-i-beat-mrsa-by-michael-winner-6589509.html|title=How I beat MRSA by Michael Winner|date=12 April 2012}}</ref> In September 2011, he was admitted to hospital with food poisoning after eating [[steak tartare]], a raw meat dish, four days in a row. The dish is not recommended for those with a weak immune system, and in retrospect Winner regarded his decision to eat it as "stupid".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10760172 |title=Food critic poisoned by his dinner – Life & Style|work=NZ Herald News|date=17 March 2011 |first=Richard |last=Kay}}</ref>

===Police Memorial Trust===
Winner established the [[Police Memorial Trust]] after [[Woman police constable|WPC]] [[Yvonne Fletcher]] was murdered in 1984. Thirty-six local memorials honouring police officers who died in the line of duty, have been erected since 1985, beginning with that of Fletcher in [[St. James's Square]], London. The [[National Police Memorial (United Kingdom)|National Police Memorial]], opposite [[St. James's Park]] at the junction of Horse Guards Road and The Mall, was also unveiled by Queen [[Elizabeth II]] on 26 April 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.policememorial.org.uk/Police_Memorial_Trust/NPM.htm |title=Police Memorial Trust|publisher=Policememorial.org.uk |date= 19 March 2009}}</ref>

In 2006, it was reported that Winner had been offered, but declined, an [[OBE]] in the [[Queen's Birthday Honours]] for his part in campaigning for the Police Memorial Trust. Winner remarked: "An OBE is what you get if you clean the toilets well at [[London King's Cross railway station|King's Cross station]]."<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5024336.stm "Winner shuns 'toilet-cleaner OBE"], ''BBC News'' (28 May 2006). Accessed 28 August 2009.</ref> Winner subsequently alleged (on his [[Twitter]] page) that he had also turned down a knighthood.<ref name="telegraph1"/>

===Winner's Dinners===
Winner wrote his column, "Winner's Dinners", in ''The Sunday Times'' for more than twenty years.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/winners_dinners/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100528231809/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/eating_out/winners_dinners/| archive-date=28 May 2010|title=Michael Winner |date=29 May 2010 | location=London | work=The Times}}</ref> On 2 December 2012, he announced that he was to contribute his last review because of poor health, which had put him in hospital eight times in the previous seven months.<ref>Kuo, Patricia (2 December 2012). [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-12-02/restaurant-columnist-winner-pens-last-review-sunday-times-says.html Restaurant Columnist Winner Pens Last Review, Sunday Times Says]. Bloomberg.</ref> His fame as a restaurant critic was such that, at a Cornwall cafe, an unconsumed piece of his serving of lemon drizzle cake was incorporated into the [https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/the-museum-of-celebrity-leftovers-kingsand-england Museum of Celebrity Leftovers].<ref>{{cite news|title=Emma's Eccentric Britain: the Museum of Celebrity Leftovers, Cornwall|date=18 May 2012|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2012/may/18/museum-of-celebrity-leftovers-emma-kennedy}}</ref>

===Political views===
Winner was an outspoken character.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Winner death: his best quotes |url=http://uk.movies.yahoo.com/blogs/movie-editors/michael-winner-death-best-quotes-163710739.html |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=uk.movies.yahoo.com |date=21 January 2013 |language=en-GB}}</ref> He was a member of the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] and supporter of [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] [[Margaret Thatcher]]. Winner was praised for having liberal views on gay rights, in particular during an episode of ''[[Richard Littlejohn]] Live and Uncut'', where he attacked the presenter (who had been in the midst of an attack on two lesbian guests) for his stance on same-sex marriage and parenting, going so far as to say to him "The lesbians have come over with considerable dignity whereas you have come over as an arsehole."<ref>Thompson, Ben (10 July 1994). [https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/television--oases-amid-the-troubles-1412933.html "Oases amid the Troubles"], ''The Independent''</ref> After Winner's death, this moment was brought up many times in eulogies to him.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130122065422/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newsvideo/celebrity-news-video/9816420/Archive-video-Michael-Winner-calls-Richard-Littlejohn-an-hole-on-TV.html Video: Archive video: Michael Winner calls Richard Littlejohn an -hole on TV]. ''Telegraph'' (21 January 2013). Retrieved on 28 January 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/blogs/screenwriter/2013/01/21/michael-winner-and-the-lesbians/ Screenwriter » Michael Winner and the lesbians]. Irishtimes.com (21 January 2013). Retrieved on 28 January 2013.</ref><ref>[https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/michael-winner-knew-how-preposterous-1548874 Michael Winner knew how preposterous he was and was never afraid to laugh at himself – Andy Dawson – Mirror Online]. Mirror.co.uk (22 January 2013). Retrieved on 28 January 2013.</ref> 

In a 2009 interview with ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', Winner bemoaned political correctness, and said that if he was Prime Minister, he would be "to the right of Hitler". Following that he said "No immigration! Shoot anyone who commits a crime! Shoot people who park in the wrong place in front of my garage! I would be ferocious. And believe me, it's needed."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Michael Winner: 'Calm down, dear, it's only an interview' |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/5984606/Michael-Winner-Calm-down-dear-its-only-an-interview.html |access-date=2022-08-23 |website=www.telegraph.co.uk|date=7 August 2009 }}</ref>

===Interests and hobbies===
Winner was an art collector, and a connoisseur of British illustration.<ref name='ArtsNewsp'>{{cite web| url=http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/Film-director-to-leave-house-and-collection-to-nation%20/8532|title=Film director to leave house and collection to nation|work=The Arts Newspaper| access-date=1 July 2012}}</ref> Winner's art collection includes works by Jan Micker, [[William James]], [[Edmund Dulac]], [[E. H. Shepard]], [[Arthur Rackham]], [[Kay Nielsen]] and [[Beatrix Potter]].<ref name='ArtsNewsp'/> His collection once included almost 200 signed colour-washed illustrations by [[Donald McGill]].<ref name='ArtsNewsp'/>

Winner spent his free time gardening ("my garden is floodlit, so I quite often garden after midnight") or with a string of girlfriends, notably the actress [[Jenny Seagrove]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/culturepicturegalleries/9815967/Film-director-Michael-Winner-Life-in-pictures.html?frame=2457700 |title=Film director Michael Winner: Life in pictures |newspaper=The Telegraph|date=31 May 2011 |location=London}}</ref> He claimed that his life had not altered in the past 40 years: "I do essentially the same things I did as an 18-year-old," he said. "I go on dates, I make films, I write. Nothing has really changed."<ref name="telegraph1"/>

==Death==
In an interview with ''[[The Times]]'' in October 2012, Winner said liver specialists had told him that he had between eighteen months and two years to live. He said he had researched [[assisted suicide]] offered at the [[Dignitas (assisted dying organization)|Dignitas]] clinic in Switzerland, but found the bureaucracy of the process off-putting.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/350115/Michael-Winner-researching-assisted-suicide |title=Michael Winner researching assisted suicide &#124; Showbiz|publisher=Express.co.uk |date=4 October 2012 |access-date=21 January 2013}}</ref> Winner died at his home, [[Woodland House]] in [[Holland Park]], on 21 January 2013, aged 77, from liver disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.sky.com/story/1040871/film-director-michael-winner-dies-aged-77 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130216191655/http://news.sky.com/story/1040871/film-director-michael-winner-dies-aged-77 |url-status=dead |archive-date=16 February 2013 |title=Michael Winner: Film Director Dies Aged 77 |publisher=News.sky.com |date=19 September 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=Whitworth, Damian |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/michael-winner-film-director-and-restaurant-critic-dies-aged-77-n3hnv32l6f9 |title=Michael Winner, film director and restaurant critic, dies aged 77 |newspaper=The Times |date=4 October 2012 |access-date=21 January 2013}}</ref><ref name=bbcnews>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-21123532 |title=Film director and restaurant critic Michael Winner has died aged 77 |publisher=BBC |date=21 January 2013 }}</ref> Winner was buried following a traditional Jewish funeral at [[Willesden Jewish Cemetery]].<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thejc.com/community/community-news/historic-cemetery-to-get-2m-heritage-facelift-1.61655 | title=Historic cemetery to get £2m heritage facelift | work=[[The Jewish Chronicle]] | date=5 November 2015 | access-date=8 December 2016}}</ref>

==Posthumous controversies==
Several stunt men allege Winner was an abusive and dangerous director on film sets to his crew.<ref name=":0">
{{cite AV media |people= Rocky Taylor |date= 2023 |title= Hollywood Bulldogs: The Rise and Falls of the Great British Stuntman |trans-title= |type= film |language= English|url= https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12142914/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt |access-date= May 20, 2023|format= digital |time= 1h 18 mins|location= UK |publisher= Canal Cat Films|id= |isbn= |oclc= |quote= }}</ref>

In one instance, on the production of ''[[Death Wish 3]]'', [[Rocky Taylor]] alleges Winner created a dangerous and deceptive work environment that led to him being severely injured during a stunt.<ref name=":0" /> The moment called for Taylor to jump off a building and across a controlled blaze and into an arranged set of boxes. However, Taylor says Winner turned up the height of the flames while cameras rolled without consulting him. Taylor completed the stunt but missed the boxes by "about a foot," breaking his pelvis, back and receiving some burns. Taylor says Winner visited him in hospital with several newspaper photographers in tow, laid next to Taylor and whispered in his ear "don't think you can sue me, Rocky, because you can't get away with it." Taylor says the injury affected his career and "ruined my life."<ref name=":0" /> He recreated and performed the stunt successfully 26 years later in 2011.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Angelini |first=Francesca |date=2023-05-20 |title=Rocky Taylor: Death plunge 2 – and this time I get it dead right |newspaper=[[The Times]] |language=en |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/rocky-taylor-death-plunge-2-and-this-time-i-get-it-dead-right-q52l22bnrfr |access-date=2023-05-20 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref>

=== Sexual misconduct allegations ===
Following the allegations made against [[Harvey Weinstein]] in October 2017, Winner was accused by three women, [[Debbie Arnold]], Cindy Marshall-Day and an unidentified woman, of demanding they expose their breasts to him – in Arnold's case during an audition at his home. The two named women refused.<ref>{{cite news|last=Shepherd|first=Jack|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/michael-winner-naked-breasts-allegations-debbie-arnold-cindy-marshall-day-a8015516.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220514/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/michael-winner-naked-breasts-allegations-debbie-arnold-cindy-marshall-day-a8015516.html |archive-date=14 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Michael Winner: Three actresses say the director demanded to see their naked breasts|work=The Independent|date=23 October 2017}}</ref> Actress [[Marina Sirtis]], who was directed by Winner in ''The Wicked Lady'' and ''Death Wish 3'', has implied she was mistreated by Winner, as reported by ''[[The Stage]]'' in 2019:

{{cquote|When it comes to the dark side of film, TV and theatre's treatment of women, Sirtis is 'in awe of those young actresses' who have spoken out as part of the [[Me Too movement|#MeToo]] and [[Time's Up (organization)|#TimesUp]] movements. She reveals she has been assaulted during her career. 'I went to see an agent here and he lifted up my dress', she says. 'And I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead', she adds, but she hopes that film director Michael Winner, who directed her in ''Death Wish 3'', will 'rot in hell for all eternity'.<ref>{{cite news|last=Wicker|first=Tom|url=https://www.thestage.co.uk/features/interviews/2019/star-trek-next-generation-actor-marina-sirtis-you-know-youre-an-icon-when-the-drag-queens-start-doing-you/|title=Actor Marina Sirtis: 'You know you're an icon when the drag queens start doing you'|work=The Stage|date=18 June 2019}}</ref>}}[[Olympia Dukakis]], who played an uncredited role in [[Death Wish (1974 film)|''Death Wish'']], said in a February 2015 [[The A.V. Club|''A.V. Club'']] interview that she was harassed by Winner during her audition.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympia Dukakis on A Little Game, Moonstruck, Tales Of The City, and Death Wish |url=https://www.avclub.com/olympia-dukakis-on-a-little-game-moonstruck-tales-of-1798276781 |access-date=2025-01-07 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Filmography==
(from 1967 also producer)

===Shorts===
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
*''The Square'' (1956)
*''This Is Belgium'' (1956)
*''Man with a Gun'' (1958)
*''It's Magic'' (1958)
*''Danger, Women at Work'' (1959)
*''Floating Fortress'' (1959) (associate producer)
*''Girls, Girls, Girls!'' (1961) (directed and written by)
*''Haunted England'' (1961)
*''Behave Yourself'' (1962)
}}

===Feature films===
{{columns-list|colwidth=20em|
* ''[[Climb Up the Wall]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Shoot to Kill (1960 film)|Shoot to Kill]]'' (1960)
* ''[[Some Like It Cool]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Old Mac]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Out of the Shadow (1961 film)|Out of the Shadow]]'' (1961)
* ''[[Play It Cool (film)|Play It Cool]]'' (1962)
* ''[[The Cool Mikado]]'' (1963)
* ''[[West 11]]'' (1963)
* ''[[The System (1964 film)|The System]]'' (1964)
* ''[[You Must Be Joking! (1965 film)|You Must Be Joking!]]'' (1965)
* ''[[The Jokers]]'' (1967)
* ''[[I'll Never Forget What's'isname]]'' (1967)
* ''[[Hannibal Brooks]]'' (1969)
* ''[[The Games (film)|The Games]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Lawman (film)|Lawman]]'' (1971)
* ''[[The Nightcomers]]'' (1971)
* ''[[Chato's Land]]'' (1972)
* ''[[The Mechanic (1972 film)|The Mechanic]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Scorpio (film)|Scorpio]]'' (1973)
* ''[[The Stone Killer]]'' (1973)
* ''[[Death Wish (1974 film)|Death Wish]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood]]'' (1976)
* ''[[The Sentinel (1977 film)|The Sentinel]]'' (1977)
* ''[[The Big Sleep (1978 film)|The Big Sleep]]'' (1978)
* ''[[Firepower (1979 film)|Firepower]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Death Wish II]]'' (1982)
* ''[[The Wicked Lady (1983 film)|The Wicked Lady]]'' (1983)
* ''[[Scream for Help]]'' (1984)
* ''[[Death Wish 3]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Appointment with Death (film)|Appointment with Death]]'' (1988)
* ''[[A Chorus of Disapproval (film)|A Chorus of Disapproval]]'' (1989)
* ''[[Bullseye! (1990 film)|Bullseye!]]'' (1990)
* ''[[Dirty Weekend (1993 film)|Dirty Weekend]]'' (1993)
* ''[[Parting Shots]]'' (1999)
}}

==Bibliography==
'''Food writing'''
* ''Winner's Dinners: The Good, the Bad and the Unspeakable'' (1999)
* ''The Winner Guide to Dining and Whining'' (2002)
* ''The Harry's Bar Cookbook'' (2006, [[Arrigo Cipriani]], foreword by Michael Winner)
* ''The Fat Pig Diet'' (2007)
* ''Winner's Dinners: The Restaurant & Hotel Guide'' (2009)
* ''Unbelievable!: My Life in Restaurants and Other Places'' (2010)

'''Memoirs'''
* ''Winner Takes All: A Life of Sorts'' (2004)
* ''Tales I Never Told'' (2011)

'''Miscellaneous'''
* ''Michael Winner's True Crimes'' (1992)
* ''Michael Winner's Hymie Joke Book'' (2012)
* ''Six English Filmmakers'' (2014, Paul Sutton, contributor Michael Winner)

'''Film criticism'''
* ''The Films of Michael Winner'' (1978, Bill Harding, foreword by Michael Winner)

'''Film biographies'''
* ''Fade to Black'' (2003, Paul Donnelley, foreword by Michael Winner)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb name}}
* {{TCMDb name}}
* [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/447985/index.html Michael Winner] at [[BFI Screenonline]]
* [http://www.winnersdinners.com Winner's Dinners review database]
* [http://www.brigaderadioone.org Michael Winner's appearances on Combat Radio]

{{Michael Winner}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Winner, Michael}}
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