Submitted by
Roger Mellor
AP Obituary report
OJAI, Calif. (AP) - David Greene, who won four Emmys for directing such TV miniseries as "Rich Man, Poor Man" and the first episode of "Roots," died Monday of pancreatic cancer. He was 82.
Greene, earned Emmys for the television movies "The People Next Door" and "Friendly Fire." He also was nominated for directing the 1984 miniseries "Fatal Vision."
Among his other TV credits were "The Betty Ford Story" for ABC in 1987, the Liberace segment of "Behind the Music" for CBS in 1998, and "Willing to Kill: The Texas Cheerleader Story" in 1992.
Born in Manchester, England, he began his career as an actor, working in British film and on stage with Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh at the Old Vic. In 1951, he toured the U.S. and Canada in "Antony and Cleopatra." He remained in Canada for five years, working for the Canadian Broadcasting Co.
After working as a freelance director in Canada, the United States and England, he settled in Los Angeles in 1970.
Among his motion picture credits are the 1973 "Godspell," which he wrote and directed, earning a Writers Guild nomination for the screenplay. He also directed "Sebastian" in 1968 and "Gray Lady Down" in 1978. Greene was involved in civil rights organizations, including Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union (news - web sites), the Union of Concerned Scientists, Native American Rights Fund and the Campaign for Economic Democracy.
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