PENSHURST, England -- Movie director Richard Marquand, whose successes included the films 'Return of the Jedi' and 'Jagged Edge,' died following a stroke, a hospital spokesman said. He was 49.
Marquand, twice married and the father of four, collapsed at his home near Penshurst, 34 miles south of London, late last week and was hospitalized, the spokesman said. He died Saturday.
Marquand's latest film, 'Hearts of Fire,' is scheduled for an autumn release. The musical drama stars Bob Dylan, playing a legendary musician, who for a decade has been a self-exiled gentleman farmer in rural Pennsylvania.
George Lucas picked Marquand to direct 'Return of the Jedi,' the third 'Star Wars' movie, from a long list of candidates. At the time, Marquand had two feature films to his credit, but no science-fiction experience.
'I never really inquired why Lucas wanted me,' Marquand said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times in 1981. 'I suppose he was looking for a younger generation filmmaker who could work quickly and didn't have an ego problem. You can't be an auteur when you direct a 'Star Wars.' You have to be able to work very closely with Lucas.'
Marquand's other feature film credits include 'The Legacy,' a venture into the supernatural, 'Eye of the Needle,' starring Donald Sutherland and based on the thriller novel by Ken Follett, and 'Until September.'
Born in Wales, Marquand was the son of the late Minister of Health Hilary Marquand. His college days were spent as a modern language student at the Univerite d'Aix-Marseille in France and at Kings College, Cambridge.
Marquand's acting success in college led to invitations to join the theater as an actor when he left Cambridge. He declined the offers and went instead to Hong Kong to learn Chinese with the Royal Air Force.
He returned to England in the 1960s, joined the British Broadcasting Corp. televison training course, which provided him the opportunity to participate in a string of distinguished documentaries.
He made several television films with journalist James Cameron under the title 'Cameron's Country,' but real recognition came when he began to direct on a free-lance basis.
He received his first Emmy Award in 1972 for 'Search for the Nile,' the first BBC series to be shown on American commerical television and his second Emmy for 'Big Henry and the Polka Dot Kid.'
Other noted television projects by Marquand included 'The Prizewinners,' a series about Nobel Laureates; the documentary series 'One Pair of Eyes,' a dramatized documentary on Brendan Behan; 'Pilger: Mr. Nixon's Secret Legacy;' 'Birth of the Beatles,' which chronicles the Beatles' early days and rise to fame; and the drama 'Luke Was Here.'
Both the Pilger film and 'Luke Was Here' received Emmy Award nominations.
Marquand was married twice and had four children.
