(1922 - 2020) - Film Producer
David Dent, who lived from time to time at ‘Rockwood’ in Nursery Lane, was a successful film producer of 13 feature films in the 1950’s. He gave British actors such as Diana Dors, Peter Sellers, Spike Milligan, Sid James and Petula Clark some of their earliest big screen roles.
He was born in Glasgow as Cecil Abrahams, the son of Arthur and Hettie Abrahams. Arthur was a travelling film salesman who changed the family name to Dent after a village of that name in Yorkshire.
David was educated at University College School in London and at Oxford University before and after War service in Egypt, Italy and Austria. He gained a Law Degree in 1947 and served as pupil to barrister and novelist Henry Cecil Leon, author of the Brothers in Law series.
In 1949 David joined his father and elder brother in the family business, Adelphi Films, that produced a diverse range of British films during the next decade. The films ranged from football and romantic comedies to dramas such as Intimate Relations (1953)and The Crowded Day (1954).
In later life David ran a fashion publishing business and a commercial property company. He retired in 2007, aged 85. His wife Jose died in 2015. They had a son and two daughters, and five grandchildren.
Major film productions:
Penny Points to Paradise (1951)
Let’s Go Crazy (1951)
The Great Game (1953)
Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? (1953)
Intimate Relations (1953)
The Crowded Day (1954)
Research undertaken by Ian Brown, John Manthorpe and Jan Kemsley
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