Alan Parker

Born: 14th February 1944
Where: Islington, London

A hotshot in the advertising business, Parker scooped every major industry award before hooking up with David Puttnam to make Bugsy Malone.

The musical spoof of gangster films using children, including Jodie Foster, in the lead roles as well as splatter guns won Parker a BAFTA Award for Best Screenplay.

His second feature, Midnight Express earned six Oscar nominations, including one for himself, won two, and received a BAFTA for Best Direction.

He followed the musical Fame, his first US-produced feature, with arguably his most personal film, Shoot the Moon, a detailed examination of the disintegration of a marriage.

The quirky, touching Birdy and the controversial Angel Heart solidified his reputation as a highly visual storyteller whose palette made use of the soundtrack as well as strong imagery.

Mississippi Burning, a glossy recreation of a famous civil rights murder case, was followed by farce with The Road to Welville, a send-up of American health fadist John Kellogg.

In Pink Floyd: The Wall, he transformed a best-selling rock album into one of the great modern musicals using animated sequences by Gerald Scarfe.

The Commitments for all its high energy and great soul music fell a bit short of the mark but Evita starring Madonna showed Parker back on top - epic, lavish and fascinating.

Angela's Ashes was a lachrymose adaptation of Frank McCourt's novel while Parker showed a return to form with the anti-death penalty The Life of David Gale with Kevin Spacey.

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