Before I went off to talk to Lord Attenborough about his new film Grey Owl which was partially shot in Hastings, people repeatedly said to me, “oh, you’re off to see Dickie, darling”.
So when I went up to the museum in October to claim my allotted ten minutes of interview time with him, my best accent was polished up and ready for a tussle with someone who blatantly wouldn’t have time for the local media and, well, small fry.
Well, who could blame him - countless Oscars and BAFTAs adorn his home and his world is one of fame and frivolity.
And worst of all he was late. Thirty minutes late. Well, in my book that is downright ignorant – being late signifies you just can’t be bothered….
So when he eventually turned up, I was completely disarmed when he greeted me with a huge smile, kissed my hand and remarked on my “handsome coat”.
We sat down and the interview began with him eating a biscuit and my face feeling scratched after being kissed on both cheeks - by a man with a beard!
Attenborough was born in Cambridge in 1923, but grew up in Leicester. After he had finished school, he enrolled in a drama academy – only to be transferred to the army just before WWII.
In the 1940s and 1950s, he made his break into acting – both on the stage and in film. He hit Hollywood in the 1960s, starring opposite Steve McQueen twice – in the Great Escape and the Sand Pebbles. He also appeared in Hitchcock’s Rosebud and in 10 Rillington Place and A Bridge Too far.
But it wasn’t enough. “I wanted to communicate and reach people – I can’t write or paint and acting is just an interpretation.”
And so with numerous stage plays under his belt and more than sixty films Attenborough moved into directing instead.
Amongst his achievements are Ghandi, In Love and War, Shadowlands and Cry Freedom.
But how could someone who creates such thought provoking films which present and ask such probing questions about ethics, religion and human ignorance decide that a fraud from Hastings deserves to be documented?
When he was a child, a gang of them used to play cowboys and Indians, and Attenborough was always an Indian. At that time, the press was carrying stories about a remarkable Red Indian – Grey Owl, who was travelling the world with a message about the importance of conservation.
When Grey Owl arrived in this country in 1936 to give a talk about his theories, Lord Attenborough and his brother David, queued up with thousands of others to see him.
they went on to attend his lecture at De Montfort Hall. “When the curtains went back there stood this Red Indian – looking about ten foot tall in a full war bonnet.”
Grey Owl had just published a book. “My brother, David, got the book signed and marched out with it under his arm and I’ve never been able to get that book off him to this day”, says Attenborough, “possession is nine tenths of the law, and the bugger won’t give it to me!”
His decision to make a film documenting the life of Archie Belaney was made after an article about him appeared in Country Life commemorating 50 years since his death. It reminded Attenborough about his significance and impact on the world. But funding was hard to find. “After all,” says Attenborough, “how many people are interested in watching a film which has no sex or violence in it?”
It took five years to raise the funding, and Pierce Brosnan, who plays the leading role, had yet to make his first Bond.
And as for the beavers – well, his brother is a leading naturalist and has made countless films on the world’s wildlife, so who better to advise on the animals which stole Archie’s heart and changed his morals.
“David made me promise not to try and set anything up, he told me just to let them behave normally. Most of the time they lived in Annie’s blouse anyway.” [Annie Galipeu plays the part of Pony, Archie’s wife].
But why make a film about a Native American who was a fake? “I believe in heroes. I’m fascinated by those who have changed circumstances. Grey Owl may have been a fool, but his story is a great one – he is also one of the first eco-warriors, as we know them. ”
Well, you can’t argue with that…I’d like to make films about heroes too. So how would you feel Lord Attenborough, if I made a film about a man who is driven in his quest to identify and expose some of the truly great people who have changed the world, who is one of the most humble and delightful people I have ever met and is also as everyone told me, a darling?
“Well, I think you’d be potty!!”
Lord Attenborough with the mayor
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This page last updated: 03/01/2001