Fred Wilcox

Director: Fred Wilcox

Born: 1905 in Tazewell, Virginia
Died: 1964
Occupation: Director, Writer
Active: '40s-'60s
Major Genres: Drama, Romance
Career Highlights: Forbidden Planet, Lassie Come Home, Three Daring Daughters
First Major Screen Credit: Lassie Come Home (1943)

Biography

American director Fred Wilcox was educated at the University of Kentucky and started out in the film industry working as a publicist for MGM, He then spent a few years as an assistant to King Vidor and worked as a second unit director before making his solo debut at the helm of the successful Lassie Come Home in 1943. In 1949, he made a beautiful version of Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden starring Margaret O'Brien and Dean Stockwell. In the mid-'50s, Wilcox adapted Shakespeare's Tempest into the classic sci-fi film Forbidden Planet. It remains one of Wilcox's best-known films. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide