Ray Austin, formally known as Raymond Austin or Baron DeVere-Austin of Delvin, (born 5 December 1932) is a British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 television director

Television director

A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...

. He has worked on episodes as a director for some 50 different television series between 1968 and 1998.

Biography

He started his career as a stunt man

Stunt performer

A stuntman, or daredevil is someone who performs dangerous stunts, often as a career.These stunts are sometimes rigged so that they look dangerous while still having safety mechanisms, but often they are as dangerous as they appear to be...

 and stunt coordinator between 1965 and 1967 most notably for 50 episodes of The Avengers

The Avengers (TV series)

The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...

 in 1965, but became gradually involved as a director for TV then film. Perhaps due to his background as a stuntman, his style of direction is often highly visual and physical with a great deal of movement. In 1967 he was one of the highest paid stunt performers in the world.

His work as for TV includes episodes of The Avengers

The Avengers (TV series)

The Avengers is a spy-fi British television series set in the 1960s Britain. The Avengers initially focused on Dr. David Keel and his assistant John Steed . Hendry left after the first series and Steed became the main character, partnered with a succession of assistants...

 (on which he also performed stunts in many episodes), Space: 1999

Space: 1999

Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television series that ran for two seasons and originally aired from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, nuclear waste from Earth stored on the Moon's far side explodes in a catastrophic accident on 13 September 1999, knocking the Moon out of orbit and...

, The New Avengers, and V. He has also directed several television movies, including The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is an American television series that was broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1964, to January 15, 1968. It follows the exploits of two secret agents, played by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum, who work for a fictitious secret international espionage and law-enforcement...

.

Unusually for a TV director, he has worked extensively both in the UK and the US. He directed the pilot episodes of many TV shows.

In 1969 he directed many episodes of the detective series Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)

Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased)

Randall and Hopkirk , first transmitted during 1969-70, is a British private detective television series starring Mike Pratt and Kenneth Cope as the private detectives Jeff Randall and Marty Hopkirk, respectively. The series was originally created by Dennis Spooner and produced by Monty Berman...

. Austin directed the 1972 film Virgin Witch

Virgin Witch

Virgin Witch is a 1971 British horror exploitation film about a prospective model who ends up joining a coven of witches. The film was directed by Ray Austin, and stars Ann Michelle and Vicki Michelle.-Plot:...

, which has a minor cult following

Cult following

A cult following is a group of fans who are highly dedicated to a specific area of pop culture. A film, book, band, or video game, among other things, will be said to have a cult following when it has a small but very passionate fan base...

.

In 1973 he directed smalltime sci-fi film House of the Living Dead

House of the Living Dead

House of the Living Dead is a British horror and science fiction film made in 1973 by director Ray Austin. Set on a plantation in Apartheid-era South Africa, it deals heavily with the occult. Its tagline is "It drives you mad before it kills!"-Plot:...

.

He directed 50 out the 88 episodes of Zorro

Zorro (1990 TV series)

Zorro, also known as The New Zorro, New World Zorro, and Zorro 1990, is an American action-adventure drama series featuring Duncan Regehr as the character of Zorro. Regehr portrayed the fearless Latino hero and fencer on The Family Channel from 1990 to 1993...

 filmed in Madrid, Spain during 1989-1992 for the US ABC Family

ABC Family

ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...

 Channel.

In October 2009 he was charged with stealing "numerous items" including cast iron statues of Humpty Dumpty, a dog and a horse's head collectively valued at $740.52 from the Antiquer's Mall in Ruckersville, Virginia

Ruckersville, Virginia

Ruckersville is a census-designated place in Greene County, Virginia, United States, located in a rural area on the outskirts of Charlottesville. The population as of the 2010 Census was 1,141. The community lies amidst hills, mountain views, trees, and farmland. It is located at the intersection...

. He found guilty of petit larceny, and was given an suspended six-month jail sentence and fined $1,000.

Director

• The Baron, 1966
• The Saint, 1968 (2 episodes)
• The Avengers, 1968 (2 episodes)
• The Champions, 1968
• Journey to the Unknown, 1968–1969
• The Ugliest Girl in Town, 1968–1969
• Department S, 1969 (4 episodes)
• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), 1969-1970 (6 episodes)
• Strange Report, 1971
• Shirley's World, 1971–1972
• The Adventures of Black Beauty, 1974
• Space: 1999, 1975–1976
• The New Avengers, 1976 (1 episode)
• The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, 1977–1979
• W.E.B., 1978
• The Professionals, 1978 (2 episodes)
• Return of the Saint, 1978 (1 episode)
• Barnaby Jones, 1978 (1 episode)
• Sword of Justice, 1978 (2 episodes)
• Vega$, 1978–1981
• Salvage 1, 1979 (2 episodes)
• A Man Called Sloane, 1979 (1 episode)
• Hawaii Five-O, 1979 (1 episode)
• B. J. and the Bear, 1979–1980 (1 episode)
• Hart to Hart, 1979–1980, 1984 (5 episodes)
• Wonder Woman, 1979
• From Here to Eternity, 1980
• The Love Boat, 1980 (4 episodes)
• House Calls, 1980–1982
• Quincy, M.E., 1981 (2 episodes)
• Magnum, P.I., 1981–1986
• Simon & Simon, 1982 (2 episodes)
• The Mississippi, 1983–1984
• Jessie, 1984
• The Master, 1984
• Airwolf, 1984 (1 episode)
• The Fall Guy, 1984 (2 episodes)
• Lime Street, 1985, 1987 (5 episodes)
• V, 1985 (1 episode)
• Our House, 1986–1987
• Snoops, 1989
• The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents, 1989 (1 episode)
• Zorro, 1992
• The Boys of Twilight, 1992
• Highlander: The Series, 1992–1993
• Pensacola: Wings of Gold, 1997 (1 episode)
• CI5: The New Professionals, 1999 (2 episodes)

TV pilots

• Tales of the Gold Monkey, 1982
• The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E., 1983
• Lime Street, 1985
• The Return of the Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman, 1987

Television appearances

• Ghost Squad, 1964
• The Saint, 1963–1964
• The Avengers, 1965
• The Saint, 1966
• Magnum, P.I., 1981, 1985

Stunts

• Highway Patrol, 1955–1959 (stunt performer)
• Have Gun Will Travel, 1957–1963 (stunt performer)
• Peter Gunn, 1958–1960, 1960–1961 (stunt performer)
• The Avengers, (stunt arranger)

Television episodes

• Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased), 1969
• Department S, 1971
• Shirley's World, 1971–1972
• Black Beauty, 1974
• Magnum, P.I., 1980–1986
• Hart to Hart, 1984
• The Master, 1984
• Airwolf, 1985
• Lime Street, 1985
• V, 1985
• Spenser: For Hire, 1986
• Our House, 1986–1988

Director

• It's the Only Way to Go, 1970
• 1,000 Convicts and a Woman (aka Fun and Games and Story of a Nympho), 1971
• Virgin Witch
  Virgin Witch
  Virgin Witch is a 1971 British horror exploitation film about a prospective model who ends up joining a coven of witches. The film was directed by Ray Austin, and stars Ann Michelle and Vicki Michelle.-Plot:...
  
   (aka Lesbian Twins), 1972
• House of the Living Dead
  House of the Living Dead
  House of the Living Dead is a British horror and science fiction film made in 1973 by director Ray Austin. Set on a plantation in Apartheid-era South Africa, it deals heavily with the occult. Its tagline is "It drives you mad before it kills!"-Plot:...
  
  (aka Doctor Maniac, Curse of the Dead, and Kill, Baby, Kill), 1973

Stunt director

• Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, 1961
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 1962
• Cleopatra, 1963
• Tom Jones, 1963

Stunt performer

• North by Northwest, 1959
• Operation Petticoat, 1959
• Spartacus, 1960

Actor

• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, 1962 — Craig
• The V.I.P.s, 1963 — Rolls Chauffeur
• Clash by Night (aka Escape by Night), 1965 — The Intruder

Author

• The Eagle Heist
• Dead Again
• Your Turn To Die
• Find Me A Spy
• Catch Me A Traitor

External links

• Raymond Austin official web site
• Raymond Austin Blog