Alan Conway
Encyclopedia
Alan Conway became known for impersonating the film director
Stanley Kubrick
. Conway and his wife were travel agent
s with offices in Harrow
, Muswell Hill
and London.
for theft. Around this time, he began frequently changing his name and inventing personal histories. Among other stories, he told people he was a Polish Jew who had been imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.
During the 1980s Conway (who was gay
) left his wife for a lover, who later died of AIDS
. Conway's business soon collapsed and he fell into alcoholism
.
took place during the early 1990s, by which time Kubrick been withdrawn from public view for 15 years. Kubrick had also worn a beard since the late 1960s, and Conway was shaven making the hoax easier to pull off. He convinced several figures in the entertainment industry that he was the famed director, promising both roles in films and exclusive interviews. He on occasion had others pay for dinner, claiming his studio would reimburse them.
Frank Rich
, a famed Broadway
critic for The New York Times
, was taken in by Conway's act in Joe Allen's restaurant when they invited Conway and his friends to join him at his table. Frank Rich was so taken with Conway's act that he later said that he thought Stanley Kubrick was homosexual after meeting Conway. Rich and his journalist friends were excited at the prospect of an exclusive interview with 'Stanley Kubrick' but later found out that he was in fact an impostor after contacting executives at Warner Brothers, who knew of the con but had been unable to identify the imposter.
Kubrick's lawyer found out that there was someone impersonating him and, when he informed Kubrick of the impostor
, Kubrick was said to be fascinated by the idea. Stanley Kubrick's wife, Christiane
, was less taken with the idea, as she later reflected "It was an absolute nightmare. This strange doppelgänger
who was pretending to be Stanley. Can you imagine the horror?"
Conway was tracked down in part through the efforts of Kubrick's personal assistant Anthony Frewin, who went on to write the screenplay for the 2006 film Colour Me Kubrick
based on these incidents starring John Malkovich
as Conway.
Conway died in 1998 of cardiac thrombosis shortly before Kubrick's death in March 1999.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
. Conway and his wife were travel agent
Travel agency
A travel agency is a retail business that sells travel related products and services to customers on behalf of suppliers such as airlines, car rentals, cruise lines, hotels, railways, sightseeing tours and package holidays that combine several products...
s with offices in Harrow
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
, Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill
Muswell Hill is a suburb of north London, mostly in the London Borough of Haringey. It is situated about north of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. Muswell Hill is in the N10 postal district and mostly in the Hornsey and Wood Green parliamentary constituency.- History :The...
and London.
Early years
At the age of 13 Conway was sent to a borstalBorstal
A borstal was a type of youth prison in the United Kingdom, run by the Prison Service and intended to reform seriously delinquent young people. The word is sometimes used loosely to apply to other kinds of youth institution or reformatory, such as Approved Schools and Detention Centres. The court...
for theft. Around this time, he began frequently changing his name and inventing personal histories. Among other stories, he told people he was a Polish Jew who had been imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp.
During the 1980s Conway (who was gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
) left his wife for a lover, who later died of AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
. Conway's business soon collapsed and he fell into alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
.
Kubrick impersonation
Conway's impersonations of director Stanley KubrickStanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
took place during the early 1990s, by which time Kubrick been withdrawn from public view for 15 years. Kubrick had also worn a beard since the late 1960s, and Conway was shaven making the hoax easier to pull off. He convinced several figures in the entertainment industry that he was the famed director, promising both roles in films and exclusive interviews. He on occasion had others pay for dinner, claiming his studio would reimburse them.
Frank Rich
Frank Rich
Frank Rich is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011...
, a famed Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
critic for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, was taken in by Conway's act in Joe Allen's restaurant when they invited Conway and his friends to join him at his table. Frank Rich was so taken with Conway's act that he later said that he thought Stanley Kubrick was homosexual after meeting Conway. Rich and his journalist friends were excited at the prospect of an exclusive interview with 'Stanley Kubrick' but later found out that he was in fact an impostor after contacting executives at Warner Brothers, who knew of the con but had been unable to identify the imposter.
Kubrick's lawyer found out that there was someone impersonating him and, when he informed Kubrick of the impostor
Impostor
An impostor or imposter is a person who pretends to be somebody else, often to try to gain financial or social advantages through social engineering, but just as often for purposes of espionage or law enforcement....
, Kubrick was said to be fascinated by the idea. Stanley Kubrick's wife, Christiane
Christiane Kubrick
Christiane Kubrick is a German actress, dancer, painter and singer. She was born into a theatrical family, and was the wife of filmmaker Stanley Kubrick from 1958 until his death in 1999.-Biography:...
, was less taken with the idea, as she later reflected "It was an absolute nightmare. This strange doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
who was pretending to be Stanley. Can you imagine the horror?"
Conway was tracked down in part through the efforts of Kubrick's personal assistant Anthony Frewin, who went on to write the screenplay for the 2006 film Colour Me Kubrick
Colour Me Kubrick
Colour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story is a French/British Dramedy film directed by Brian W. Cook, released in 2006 . The film stars John Malkovich as Alan Conway, a man who had been impersonating director Stanley Kubrick since the early 1990s...
based on these incidents starring John Malkovich
John Malkovich
John Gavin Malkovich is an American actor, producer, director and fashion designer with his label Technobohemian. Over the last 25 years of his career, Malkovich has appeared in more than 70 motion pictures. For his roles in Places in the Heart and In the Line of Fire, he received Academy Award...
as Conway.
Conway died in 1998 of cardiac thrombosis shortly before Kubrick's death in March 1999.
See also
- Colour Me KubrickColour Me KubrickColour Me Kubrick: A True...ish Story is a French/British Dramedy film directed by Brian W. Cook, released in 2006 . The film stars John Malkovich as Alan Conway, a man who had been impersonating director Stanley Kubrick since the early 1990s...
- David HamptonDavid HamptonDavid Hampton was an American con artist who gained infamy in the 1980s after milking a group of wealthy Manhattanites out of thousands of dollars by convincing them he was Sidney Poitier's son...
, a con-artist with a similar modus operandiModus operandiModus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...