211075 Downing Record 07 - Downing College - University of ...

Philip John Strick (1958)Philip Strick, who died on 7th October 2006, came up to Downing from the Cityof London School to read History, then English. His daughter Alexandra says itwas a miracle that he fitted in any study at all, with so much of his time beingfilled with other pursuits. As a talented musician, he was the leading light of askiffle group. And as a keen actor, he took part in a more or less continuous seriesof theatre appearances, many of them with members of that amazing generationof performers like Ian McKellen, Peter Cook, David Frost, Clive Swift and TrevorNunn(1959). And of course much of his time was already being spent in reviewingfilms for the university newspaper. It was also at University that Philip met Lizanne(at a rehearsal of Wesker’s The Kitchen) and they married at St Bride’s, Fleet Streetin 1964. Philip’s professional career started with a job as a sub-editor at the CityPress (where he soon expanded the film section from a couple of lines to a fullcolumn). Then came publicity for Gala Films and then the British Film Institute –where he was head of distribution. After the BFI he became a director, with DavidPuttnam and Sandy Lieberson, of a new film production company, VisualProgramme Systems, before founding and becoming managing director of HarrisFilms – a 16 mm film library. As well as managing a company and writing forvarious film publications, he was also running everything from Country Musicweekends to adult education courses in Science Fiction. He was a longstandingcontributor to “Sight & Sound” and the “Monthly Film Bulletin” amongst othermagazines and journals, and very recently was writing film notes to accompanya series of DVD releases of Bergman films. He was also responsible for a varietyof books – he wrote “Science Fiction Movies”, he edited “Antigrav” (a ScienceFiction anthology – stories with humour) and he re-worked a Japanesepublication into a glossy coffee-table book, “Great Movie Actresses”. In his privatelife, Philip was passionate about the natural world and the Thames (he especiallyappreciated his boat and his home on Eel Pie Island in Twickenham). He was aman of eclectic tastes (he loved Mozart – but also Willie Nelson, he loved Bergmanand Antonioni – but also Tommy Cooper and Father Ted). A comment that hascome up time and time again in people’s memories of Philip over the last fewweeks has been how much they will miss his gentle friendliness and keen senseof humour. Above all, he loved – and was loved by – his small but close family.55