Rebecca Eaton

Last updated

Rebecca Eaton
OBE
Rebecca Eaton.jpg
Eaton in 2015
Born (1947-11-07) November 7, 1947 (age 76)
Nationality American
Occupation(s)Television producer, film producer
SpousePaul Robert Cooper (1984–present)

Rebecca Eaton OBE (born November 7, 1947) is an American television producer and film producer best known for introducing American audiences to British costume and countryside dramas as executive producer of the PBS Masterpiece series.

Contents

In 2011, she was named one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World". [1]

Early life

Eaton was born in Boston and raised in Pasadena, California, her father a Caltech English literature professor and her mother, Katherine Emery, an actress both on Broadway (in Lillian Hellman's The Children's Hour ) and in film. Eaton recalls visiting New York every summer to see Broadway shows as well as spending her junior high school days lost in Jane Eyre . [2]

Education

Eaton attended Polytechnic School, [3] graduating in 1965, and then Vassar, graduating in 1969 with a BA in English literature. Her senior thesis was on James Joyce's Dubliners . In 1969–70 she was a production assistant for the BBC World Service in London. Returning to the U.S., she was in 1972 hired by WGBH in Boston, there producing Pantechnicon (a radio arts magazine) and the television programs Zoom and Enterprise. [2]

Career

Eaton became the third executive producer of Masterpiece Theatre. Christopher Sarson was at the helm from its inception in 1971. Sarson had bought Upstairs, Downstairs from ITV. Eaton succeeded the series' second executive producer, Joan Wilson, in 1985.

Under Eaton, Masterpiece extended its reach into feature film co-production for such films as Jane Austen's Persuasion and Mrs. Brown starring Dame Judi Dench. [2]

By 2011, she had been executive producer of the show for more than 25 of its 40 years on the air. [4]

Personal life

In 1984, Eaton married sculptor Paul Robert Cooper. Their daughter was born shortly before Eaton was named executive producer of Masterpiece. She credits her husband's willingness to stay at home with having advanced her career. [2]

Honors

Eaton's honors include 62 Primetime Emmy Awards, 16 Peabody Awards, six Golden Globes, and two Academy Award nominations (for the Masterpiece co-production Mrs. Brown). Queen Elizabeth II has honored her with an honorary OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire). [5] In 2011 she was one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World". [4]

Television series

Since becoming executive producer of Masterpiece in 1985, Eaton is credited with producing for American audiences series that include: [2] [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Our Town</i> 1938 three-act play by Thornton Wilder

Our Town is a three-act play written by American playwright Thornton Wilder in 1938. Described by Edward Albee as "the greatest American play ever written", it presents the fictional American town of Grover's Corners between 1901 and 1913 through the everyday lives of its citizens.

<i>Masterpiece</i> (TV series) Drama anthology television series

Masterpiece is a drama anthology television series produced by WGBH Boston. It premiered on PBS on January 10, 1971. The series has presented numerous acclaimed British productions. Many of these are produced by the BBC, but the lineup has also included programs shown on the UK commercial channels ITV and Channel 4.

<i>Mystery!</i> US television series

Mystery! is a television anthology series produced by WGBH Boston for PBS in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pauline Collins</span> British actress (born 1940)

Pauline Collins is a British actress who first came to prominence portraying Sarah Moffat in Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1973) and its spin-off Thomas & Sarah (1979). In 1992, she published her autobiography Letter to Louise.

<i>Upstairs, Downstairs</i> (1971 TV series) British drama television series (1971–1975)

Upstairs, Downstairs is a British drama television series produced by London Weekend Television (LWT) for ITV. It ran for 68 episodes divided into five series on ITV from 1971 to 1975.

Samantha Jane Bond is an English actress. She played Miss Moneypenny in four James Bond films during the Pierce Brosnan era, and appeared in Downton Abbey as the wealthy widow Lady Rosamund Painswick, sister of Robert Crawley, the Earl of Grantham. On television, she played "Auntie Angela" in the sitcom Outnumbered and the villain Mrs Wormwood in the CBBC Doctor Who spin-off, The Sarah Jane Adventures. She also originated the role of "Miz Liz" Probert in the Rumpole of the Bailey series. She is a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Marsh</span> English actress (born 1934)

Jean Lyndsey Torren Marsh is an English actress and writer. She co-created and starred in the ITV series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–75), for which she won the 1975 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Rose Buck. She later reprised the role in the BBC's revival of the series (2010–2012).

<i>Persuasion</i> (1995 film) Television film by Roger Michell

Persuasion is a BBC Screen Two 1995 period drama film directed by Roger Michell and based on Jane Austen's 1817 novel of the same name. In her theatrical film debut, Amanda Root stars as protagonist Anne Elliot, while Ciarán Hinds plays her romantic interest, Captain Frederick Wentworth. The film is set in early 19th-century England, eight years after Anne was persuaded by others to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Persuasion follows the two as they become reacquainted with each other while supporting characters threaten to interfere.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Karen Dotrice</span> English actress (born 1955)

Karen Dotrice is a British actress. She is known primarily for her role as Jane Banks in Walt Disney's Mary Poppins, the feature film adaptation of the Mary Poppins book series. Dotrice was born in Guernsey in the Channel Islands to two stage actors. Her career began on stage, and expanded into film and television, including starring roles as a young girl whose beloved cat magically reappears in Disney's The Three Lives of Thomasina and with Thomasina co-star Matthew Garber as one of two children pining for their parents' attentions in Poppins. She appeared in five television programmes between 1972 and 1978, when she made her only feature film as an adult. Her life as an actress concluded with a short run as Desdemona in the 1981 pre-Broadway production of Othello.

Scott Ellis is an American stage director, actor, and television director.

<i>Persuasion</i> (2007 film) 2007 television film directed by Adrian Shergold

Persuasion is a 2007 British television film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel Persuasion. It was directed by Adrian Shergold, and the screenplay was written by Simon Burke. Sally Hawkins stars as the protagonist Anne Elliot, while Rupert Penry-Jones plays Captain Frederick Wentworth. Eight years prior to the film's beginning, Anne was persuaded to reject Wentworth's proposal of marriage. Now 27 and unmarried, Anne re-encounters Wentworth, who has made his fortune in the Napoleonic Wars and is looking for a wife—anyone but Anne, whom he has not forgiven for rejecting him all those years ago.

The Jane Austen Season is a British television series of dramas based on the novels by Jane Austen. The season began on ITV at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday 18 March 2007 with Mansfield Park. The following week, Northanger Abbey was broadcast. The season ended with Persuasion on Sunday 1 April 2007. A repeat of the 1996 feature-length film Emma was broadcast on Friday 6 April 2007. The combined ITV and BBC series, titled The Complete Jane Austen, was shown in the United States by the PBS Masterpiece Theatre drama anthology television series from January through April 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heidi Thomas</span> English screenwriter and playwright

Heidi Thomas is an English screenwriter and playwright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paula S. Apsell</span> American television producer

Paula S. Apsell is the television Executive Producer Emerita of PBS's NOVA and was director of the WGBH Science Unit.

Pauline "Polly" Adams is an English actress best known for her work on the stage both in England and in the United States, and for her portrayal of Mrs. Brown on the television series Just William.

<i>Upstairs Downstairs</i> (2010 TV series) British television series from (2010–2012)

Upstairs Downstairs is a British drama series, broadcast on BBC One from 2010 to 2012, and co-produced by BBC Wales and Masterpiece. Created and written by Heidi Thomas, it is a continuation of the London Weekend Television series of the same name, which ran from 1971 to 1975 on ITV.

<i>Northanger Abbey</i> (2007 film) 2007 television film directed by Jon Jones

Northanger Abbey is a 2007 British television film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1817 novel of the same name. It was directed by British television director Jon Jones and the screenplay was written by Andrew Davies. Felicity Jones stars as the protagonist Catherine Morland and JJ Feild plays her love interest Henry Tilney.

<i>Sense and Sensibility</i> (2008 TV series) British drama television series

Sense and Sensibility is a 2008 British television drama adaptation of Jane Austen's 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility. The screenplay was written by Andrew Davies, who revealed that the aim of the series was to make viewers forget Ang Lee's 1995 film Sense and Sensibility. The series was "more overtly sexual" than previous Austen adaptations, and Davies included scenes featuring a seduction and a duel that were absent from the feature film but are suggested in Austen's book. Sense and Sensibility was directed by John Alexander and produced by Anne Pivcevic. Hattie Morahan and Charity Wakefield starred as Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two sisters who go on "a voyage of burgeoning sexual and romantic discovery".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katherine Emery</span> American actress (1906–1980)

Katherine Drewry Emery was an American stage and film actress.

References

  1. "Rebecca Eaton - The 2011 TIME 100". Time . April 21, 2011. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 The Paley Center for Media, "Rebecca Eaton: Television Producer"
  3. "2012: Rebecca Eaton '65".
  4. 1 2 3 Gillian Anderson, "Rebecca Eaton, TV Producer", Time , April 21, 2011.
  5. PBS, "PBS Honors Rebecca Eaton, Masterpiece Executive Producer, with 'Be More' Award