Lean, David (1908-1991), was a highly acclaimed English motion-picture director. He won Academy Awards as best director for The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
Lean was born on March 25, 1908, in Croydon. He began his motion-picture career in London at the age of 19. He performed a variety of duties before becoming a successful film editor in the mid-1930’s. Lean made his debut as a director in In Which We Serve (1942), which he co-directed with English playwright Noel Coward. The movie won praise for its portrayal of the heroism of British sailors during World War II (1939-1945).
Lean directed two popular movies adapted from the novels of English author Charles Dickens: Great Expectations (1946) and Oliver Twist (1948). He also directed the comedy fantasy Blithe Spirit (1945), the love stories Brief Encounter (1945) and Summertime (1955), the Russian historical epic Dr. Zhivago (1965), and the Asian drama A Passage to India (1984). Queen Elizabeth II knighted Lean in 1984, and he became known as Sir David Lean. He died on April 16, 1991.
