British film director Bryan Forbes has died at his home in Surrey following a long illness. His work included the 1970s thriller Stepford Wives and Whistle Down The Wind.
He married actress Nanette Newman in 1955 and they had two daughters.
Forbes, 86, was made a CBE in 2004 for services to the arts and to the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain.
He was awarded the Dilys Powell Award for outstanding contribution to cinema at the London Film Critics Circle Awards in 2006.
Forbes made his screen acting debut in 1948. He had supporting parts in several films including An Inspector Calls (1954) and The Colditz Story (1955) - before turning to screenwriting and directing.
Together with Richard Attenborough, he set up Beaver Films in 1959. Its first release, The Angry Silence (1960), was written by Forbes and featured Attenborough in the lead role.
His directing career began in 1961 with Whistle Down the Wind, featuring Hayley Mills.
Later films included Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964), The Wrong Box (1966) and The Raging Moon (1971).
From 1969 - 1971 he was head of production and managing director of EMI-MGM Elstree. Under his tenure the studio achieved notable successes with The Railway Children and Tales of Beatrix Potter.
He later directed The Stepford Wives, based on the novel by Ira Levin in 1975 and International Velvet, starring Tatum O'Neal, in 1978.
