Ray Austin (director)

Raymond Austin, Baron DeVere-Austin of Delvin (born 5 December 1932) is an English television and film director, television writer, novelist and former stunt performer and actor who has worked in both the United Kingdom and the United States. He served as director on episodes of some 50 programmes between 1968 and 1998.

Life and career

Austin started his career as a stunt performer on such films as North by Northwest (1959) and Spartacus (1960). From 1965 to 1967 he served as stunt coordinator on 50 episodes of The Avengers. For The Champions he initially became involved as a second unit director, subsequently rising to the position of full director.

His work as a TV director includes episodes of The Avengers (1968), Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) (1969–70), Space: 1999 (1975–76), The New Avengers (1976–77), and V (1984). He directed 50 of the 88 episodes of the series Zorro, which was filmed in Madrid between 1989 and 1992 for the American ABC Family Channel. He has also directed some made-for-TV films, including The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E. (1983), and some feature films such as Virgin Witch (1972) and House of the Living Dead (1974).

The Guinness world record site states that "In 1965, Dame Diana Rigg (UK) became the first western actress to perform kung fu on Television when the combat choreographers Ray Austin (UK) and Chee Soo (UK/China) worked elements of the martial art into her fight scenes on The Avengers. Certificate presentation was done on The New Paul O'Grady Show."^[1]

Television

Director

Writer

Stunts

• Highway Patrol, 1955–59 (performer)
• Thunder Road, 1958 (stunt performer)
• North by Northwest, 1959 (stunt performer)
• Operation Petticoat, 1959 (stunt performer)
• Spartacus, 1960 (stunt performer)
• The Sundowners, 1960 (stunt performer)
• Have Gun – Will Travel, 1957–63 (performer)
• Peter Gunn, 1958–60, 1960–61 (performer)
• Guns of Navarone, 1961 (stunt performer)
• Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 1961 (stunt arranger)
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 1962 (stunt arranger)
• Tarzan, 1963 (stunt performer)
• Tom Jones, 1963 (stunt arranger)
• Cleopatra, 1963 (stunt arranger)
• The Dirty Dozen, 1967 (stunt Performer)
• The Avengers (arranger)
• Stunt arranger for Associated Television's action series at Elstree Studios, 1963-1971

Actor

• The Saint, 1963–64, 1966
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, Mr Clay; 1962
• Tom Jones, 1963 (Thug)
• Clash by Night (a.k.a. Escape by Night), 1963 ( the Intruder)
• The V.I.P's, 1963 (Chauffeur)
• Ghost Squad, 1964
• The Avengers, 1965

Producer

• Shirley's World, 1971–72
• JAG, 1995–96, 1997
• The Perfume Garden
• The New Avengers
• Zorro

Film

Stunts

• North by Northwest, 1959 (performer)
• Operation Petticoat, 1959 (performer)
• Spartacus, 1960 (performer)
• Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 1961 (stunt arranger)
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 1962 (stunt arranger)
• Cleopatra, 1963 (stunt arranger)
• Tom Jones, 1963 (stunt arranger)
• And a host of TV shows in the 50's and late 60's, (stunt arranger)

Director

• Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 1961 (second unit)
• It's the Only Way to Go, 1970
• Fun and Games (a.k.a. 1000 Convicts and a Woman and Story of a Nympho), 1971
• Virgin Witch (a.k.a. Lesbian Twins), 1972
• House of the Living Dead (a.k.a. Doctor Maniac, Curse of the Dead, and Kill, Baby, Kill), 1973

Actor

• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962) as Craig
• The V.I.P.s (1963) as Rolls-Royce Chauffeur
• Clash by Night (a.k.a. Escape by Night; 1963) as Intruder

Author

• Beauford Sloan Mysteries series
  • The Eagle Heist (2002)
  • Dead Again (2002)
  • Your Turn to Die (2006)
• Find Me a Spy (2006)
• Catch Me a Traitor (2006)
• Love Loves A Mystery (2020)

Personal life

Austin was married from 1976 to actress Yasuko Nagazumi, who performed in some of the series he worked on, notably Space: 1999. He later divorced Nagazumi and married British producer, writer Lady Wendy DeVere Knight-Wilton in 1984; they now have the title Baron and Baroness of Delvin,^[2] and now live on their estate in Earlysville Virginia.^[3]

References

External links

• Official website
• Ray Austin at IMDb