Alan Root

{{Short description|British documentary film maker (1937–2017)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}} {{More citations needed|date=August 2017}} thumb|At the WTTC Summit in 2012 '''Alan Root''' (12 May 1937, London – 26 August 2017) was a British-born filmmaker who worked on nature documentary series such as ''Survival''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0740497/|title=Alan Root|website=IMDb|accessdate=27 August 2017}}</ref>

Until 1981 he was married to Joan Root, who was a Kenyan-born conservationist, murdered at Lake Naivasha in 2006. The couple had produced ''National Geographic'' articles together from 1963 to 1971 on animals, Galapagos Islands, and mainly African wildlife. Notable films include: ''The Year of the Wildebeest'' (1974), ''Safari by Balloon'' (1975), ''Mysterious Castles of Clay'' (1978), ''Two in the Bush'' (1980) and ''A Season in the Sun'' (1983).{{citation needed|date=August 2017}}

Alan Root's strong narrative style characterised much of ''Survival’s'' output and helped shape a sophisticated genre known as Blue Chip films. ''The Year of the Wildebeest'' was the epic story of the thundering migration of wildebeest herds across the plains of the Serengeti. ''Mysterious Castles of Clay'', by contrast, showed wildlife in intricate detail in and around termite mounds, revealing the insects' highly organised society and skills of construction. It received a nomination for an Academy Award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.popculturemadness.com/Trivia/Oscars/Top-1978-O.html |title=1978 Oscars - 51st Annual Academy Awards Oscar Winners and Nominees |accessdate=2010-10-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120911131539/http://www.popculturemadness.com/Trivia/Oscars/Top-1978-O.html |archivedate=2012-09-11 }}</ref>

The Roots used a hot-air balloon to film sequences for the wildebeest film, and in ''Safari by Balloon'' made the first hot-air balloon flight over Mount Kilimanjaro. ''Two in the Bush'' (re-titled ''Lights, Action, Africa!'' in the USA) included "Mysterious Castles Clay" footage of a spitting cobra directing its venom at Joan's face positioned just a few feet from the snake while Alan filmed. ''A Season in the Sun'', an account of wildlife's struggle to survive the heat and drought of the dry season, won an Emmy and a Peabody Award after it was aired by PBS in 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tvguide.com/tvshows/nature/191674|title=Nature|website=TVGuide.com|accessdate=27 August 2017}}</ref>

Alan and Joan Root were responsible for many of ''Survival's'' most successful films for almost 20 years from the mid-1960s. After their partnership ended, Alan Root continued his association with ''Survival'' as a cinematographer, producing his own films and guiding the early African work of camera team Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, while latterly also acting as adviser to the series.

==Death== In March 2017, Root was diagnosed with glioblastoma. He died on 26 August 2017, aged 80, in Nanyuki, Kenya, following a holiday with his wife, Fran Michelmore, and two sons to Alaska, US.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/26/tribute-renown-wildlife-filmmaker-alan-root-dies-aged-80_c1623923|title=[TRIBUTE] Renown wildlife filmmaker Alan Root dies aged 80|website=The-star.co.ke|accessdate=27 August 2017|archive-date=27 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170827044527/https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2017/08/26/tribute-renown-wildlife-filmmaker-alan-root-dies-aged-80_c1623923|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/29/movies/alan-root-oft-bitten-wildlife-filmmaker-dies-at-80.html|title = Alan Root, Oft-Bitten Wildlife Filmmaker, Dies at 80|newspaper = The New York Times|date = 29 August 2017|last1 = Genzlinger|first1 = Neil}}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDB name|0740497}} *{{Internet Archive author|Root, Alan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Root, Alan}} Category:2017 deaths Category:1937 births Category:Film people from London Category:British documentary filmmakers Category:British expatriates in Kenya Category:Deaths from brain cancer in Kenya Category:Deaths from glioblastoma