Paul Almond

Paul Almond was a Canadian filmmaker who is perhaps best known for directing the British television documentary Seven Up!

The film, which was inspired by the Jesuit maxim “Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man,” followed a group of 10 boys and four girls from different backgrounds and socioeconomic classes. The film, which premiered in 1964, was a success and led to sequels with the same group of participants every seven years, directed by Michael Apted, who was a researcher on the first installment.

A native of Montreal, Almond got his start as a producer of Canadian television, including a 1961 telefilm version of Macbeth, starring Sean Connery as the king. His work in American television included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Play of the Week, The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre, Playdate, and For the People, which followed an obsessive New York City district attorney and starred William Shatner and Howard Da Silva.

He also directed, wrote and produced the trilogy Isabel, about a woman who believes she is losing her mind because she starts to see ghosts. After retiring from film and television, Almond wrote a series of books based on his family history, known collectively as The Alford Saga.

Almond died April 10, 2015, in Malibu, California. He was 83.