Michael Tuchner

{{Short description|British film and theatre director}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Michael Tuchner

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Michael John Tuchner

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1932|06|24|df=y}}

| birth_place = Berlin

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|02|17|1932|06|24|df=y}}

| death_place =

| other_names =

| occupation = film and theatre director

| years_active =

| known_for =

| notable_works =

| education = University College London

}}

Michael John Tuchner (24 June 1932 – 17 February 2017) was a British film and theatre director.

Born in Berlin, to German-Jewish parents, he was seven years old when his family moved to Britain with the rise of the Nazis. He eventually read classics at University College London, where he was president of the film society, and subsequently joined the BBC as a trainee editor on the Tonight programme. After work on documentaries and commercials, he made his debut as a TV director with The Wednesday Play in 1969.{{cite web|url=https://www.thejc.com/news/all/michael-john-tuchner-1.445813|title=Michael John Tuchner : BAFTA winning TV and film director whose forte was creative story-telling|website=Thejc.com|access-date=February 3, 2022}}

Feature films followed, and Tuchner's credits included Villain (1971), Fear is the Key (1972), Mister Quilp (1975) snf the film version of The Likely Lads (1976). Many of these were for EMI Films.{{cite magazine|magazine=Filmink|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-moguls-nat-cohen-part-five-1971-1988/|access-date=5 February 2025|date=5 February 2025|title=Forgotten British film moguls – Nat Cohen: Part Five (1971-1988)}}

He then made The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982), the Disney film Trenchcoat (1983), Wilt (1989) and Back to the Secret Garden (2001).{{Cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f2efaa4|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160217140355/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f2efaa4|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 February 2016|title=Michael Tuchner|website=2.bfi.org.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/north-america-travel/us-travel/california/michael-tuchner-tbh8tsgcz|title=Michael Tuchner|website=The Times}} Nominated for a BAFTA TV Award four times, he won for the 1975 television play Bar Mitzvah Boy.{{Cite web|url=http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1362271/|title=BFI Screenonline: Bar Mitzvah Boy (1976)|website=Screenonline.org.uk}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.bafta.org/heritage/in-memory-of/michael-tuchner|title=Michael Tuchner|date=June 16, 2017|website=Bafta.org}}

He died on 17 February 2017 at the age of 84.Bergen, Ronald; Apted, Michael (March 23, 2017). "[https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/mar/23/michael-tuchner-obituary?CMP=twt_a-culture_b-gdnculture Michael Tuchner obituary]". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-01-02.