William Hobbs (choreographer)

William Hobbs (29 January 1939 – 10 July 2018) was a choreographer of stage combat.^[1]

Born in Hampstead, London, he arranged some of the most notable scenes of cinematic fencing from the 1960s to the 2000s as ell as working in theatre productions. He died on 10 July 2018.^[2]

Early life and education

Hobbs was born in 1939 in Hampstead, London, the son of Kenneth and Joan (nee Kerlindsay). His father was an RAF pilot, and was killed in 1942 during a raid on Germany. Six years later, Hobbs moved to Australia with his mother and his aunt Lesley. While at school in Australia, Hobbs developed interests in fencing and the theatre. He later returned to the UK and studied for three years at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama.^[2]

Filmography

• H.M.S. Defiant (1962)
• Othello (1965)
• The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971)
• The Three Musketeers (1973)
• The Four Musketeers (1974)
• Captain Kronos – Vampire Hunter (1974)
• Royal Flash (1975)
• The Duellists (1977)
• Flash Gordon (1980)
• Excalibur (1981)
• Ladyhawke (1985)
• Brazil (1985)
• Willow (1988)
• Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
• Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
• Hamlet (1990)
• Robin Hood (1991)
• Rob Roy (1995)
• Shakespeare in Love (1998)
• The Man in the Iron Mask (1998)
• The Count of Monte Cristo (2002)
• Casanova (2005)
• Game of Thrones (2011)

Publications

• 1995, Fight Direction for Stage and Screen, Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-435-08680-0.

References

External links

• William Hobbs on IMDb
• New York Times Article on William Hobbs work on the 2008 Broadway production of Hamlet