The man behind the directing of many Hollywood movies and of UK small and big screen productions. He worked with many Hollywood greats during his time behind the camera. At the BBC in England he was credited for the directing of ex Prime Minister Tony Blair in a party election broadcast for the Labour Party in 2005.

Anthony Minghella was born on the Isle Of Wight, a small island off the south coast of England, separated from the main land by a strip of water known as the Solent. He was born on January 6^th 1954 to Gloria and Edward Menghella who owned an ice cream factory on the island. His father was of an Italian/Scottish background and his father was from the north of England, Leeds, but also had roots reaching back to Italy.

Anthony attended Sandown Grammar School on the Isle Of Wight before crossing the Solent to finish his education at St John’s College, Portsmouth, Hampshire. His university days were spent at Hull University where he graduated without having completed his doctoral thesis.

Anthony’s lifelong interest lay in the world of stage and screen and by 1975 he had produced his first piece of work, an adaptation of Gabriel Josipovici's Mobius the Stripper, however it was his 1985 piece Whale Music that kickstarted his career. He made his directorial debut with a double bill of Beckett's Play and Happy Days.

Minghella’s first venture into the world of the small screen came in the 1980’s as a runner on the set of the children’s program, Magpie before he moved on to scriptwriting for the teenage TV show, Grange Hill, based on a secondary school in the inner London area and starring young actors such as New York born Susan Tully and Todd Carty.

Later in his writing career Anthony was credited with writing The Storyteller series for Jim Henson and he also worked on episodes of the ITV detective drama Inspector Morse starring John Thaw. His 1986 play Made in Bangkok found mainstream success in the West End.

Minghella’s decision to write and direct the 1990 feature Truly, Madly, Deeply, which starred Alan Rickman and Juliet Stevenson, in which they perform a duet of The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine (Anymore),was probably one of his best moves when the movie bypassed its expected TV broadcast and received a cinema release.

By 1996 Anthony found himself on the podium at the Grammy’s accepting an Academy Award for Directing for The English Patient which starred Colin Firth, Ralph Fiennes, Willem Dafoe, Kristin Scott Thomas and Naveen Andrews. Again in 1999 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay for The Talented Mr. Ripley which saw him working with Hollywood greats, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law.

His passion for working with Jude Law showed once again in 2003 when he worked with him on the set of Cold Mountain which also starred Nicole Kidman and Renee Zellweger. Again in 2006 Jude Law was to star in the movie directed by Anthony, Breaking and Entering which also starred Robin Wright Penn (ex wife of Sean Penn) and Juliette Binoche.

In 2005 Anthony joined forces with the Labour party when he directed a party election broadcast which depicted Tony Blair and Gordon Brown working together and was later criticized for being insincere. In the same year Anthony ventured into opera when he made his debut directing Puccini's Madame Butterfly.

The Anthony Minghella Theatre at Quay Arts Centre on the Isle of Wight is named in his honour.

In his personal life Minghella was married to Hong Kong-born choreographer Carolyn Choa. Together the coupled had two children, a son, Max, who is an actor and a daughter Hannah who worked as a production assistant on The Talented Mr. Ripley.

Other members of Menghella’s family are also in the world of show business. His brother, Dominic, is a successful scriptwriter, his sister Edana is currently involved in a Jazz event on the Isle of Wight, and his nephew Dante is one of the participants in Channel 4's Child Genius series.

For all his life Anthony was a big Portsmouth Football Club fan and appeared in the Channel 4 documentary Hallowed Be Thy Game. His home has two double bedrooms dedicated to the display of Portsmouth memorabilia dating back to the clubs founding in 1898.

Minghella's death was reported on March 18th 2008 by his agent, Judy Daish. He died of a brain haemorrhage in Charing Cross Hospital, London, following a routine operation to remove a growth on his neck.

He is survived by his wife Carolyn and two children Max and Hannah.

ABB