Frank Cvitanovich was a Canadian documentary film maker, who made much of his best work for British television
Background
Cvitanovich was born in Vancouver, the son of a Croat immigrant. His father founded his own salmon fishing fleet and his son worked for him as an apprentice, before trying his hand as a poker player, theatre hand, film runner and professional American football player.
Career
A severe knee injury ended his gridiron career in California, but Cvitanovich convinced the makers of Gene Autry"s television series The Singing Cowboy that he could direct. He made a further 31 episodes in Hollywood, before moving to London in the mid-1950s and setting up his own film company. In 1970 Cvitanovich was the co-director of Festival Express.
A documentary account of a five-day Canadian rock tour, that took several influential bands across Canada by train, it was finally released with contemporary interview footage in 2003.
Cvitanovich’s greatest work was for during the 1970s, under the enlightened reign of Director of Programmes Jeremy Isaacs. Cvitanovich loved sport and his very first documentary was a study of a baseball player in decline.
Other subjects included a day in the life of an East End park, and The Kilnsey Show about a Yorkshire wall-building competition. Cvitanovich was married five times.