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The Guardian
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Margaret Pomeranz remembers David Stratton: ‘I feel as though one half of me has gone'
I know I have been reticent about commenting on David Stratton's death (he didn't want to 'pass', he wanted to die – no euphemisms for him!). But apart from wanting to hug my grief to myself, I felt that it was his family who should be considered, not me. And if anyone should have a tribute it is Strats' wife, Susie, who was the most wonderful support to him over these difficult years. I told him he was lucky to have married a younger woman! David was a stoic, he never wallowed in his deteriorating health. He continued to watch a new movie every day and revisit old favourites. He would enthuse about a new Australian film he'd just seen – he never lost that absolute passion for cinema. So much has been written about David's and my partnership over the years that there's not much more to be said, but I have a few recollections that aren't so well known. When we met I was a cinema enthusiast, not a walking encyclopedia of film like David. When he first came into SBS and I tried to talk to him, he brushed me off unceremoniously. I imagine a few people have had that experience with him but over the years he became much more welcoming of people approaching him – especially young film enthusiasts, many of whom he mentored and promoted. He was unstintingly generous in that way. Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning When Peter Barrett, the head of programming at SBS, told me I was to become David's producer, I said I didn't think it was a good idea; he didn't think that much of me. But David seemed to welcome someone, anyone, helping him. So I became the producer of his movie introductions, to Movie of the Week and his beloved Cinema Classics. I had to create new lead-ins to these, and David and I decided to use Nino Rota's music. I had such fun with the introduction to the Classics, with images of Polanski's Knife in the Water, Bergman's The Seventh Seal and from Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. Of course David had to approve everything, and we formed a good working relationship. Our first film discussion, or vague disagreement, was about the Australian film The Empty Beach, directed by Chris Thomson, based on a novel by Peter Corris. I was dismissive but, as I listened to David's support for the film, I realised that my reaction had been too facile. It was the beginning of Strats' education of my film appreciation. David was renowned for giving people nicknames. He got the order of my maiden name, Jones-Owen, deliberately wrong and I became Moj to him and everyone who worked on the shows from then on. And I remained Moj to the end. I'm glad I'm still Moj to his family – and all our film show family. Sign up to Saved for Later Catch up on the fun stuff with Guardian Australia's culture and lifestyle rundown of pop culture, trends and tips after newsletter promotion I think it's extraordinary that, over all the time that David and I worked together, we never had a falling out. Minor disagreements maybe, and maybe more spirited ones on air, but it was a relationship of deep respect – certainly of me for him, maybe a little bit less of him for me – and of deep friendship. Once David took you into the fold you had someone whose loyalty was unquestioned. And it was reciprocal. During all those years we've had family traumas and setbacks, and we always had each other's backs. I knew that if I was in trouble David would be one of the first people I'd turn to. We went to the ABC because I had his back. And when my husband was in hospital with a life-threatening illness he had mine. So maybe you can understand the loss I feel, of this man with whom I had a conversation at least once every week, whom I loved, who was so fine, such a gentle man, who decided to give me credibility in insisting that I sit beside him in those chairs, week after week, discussing films. I woke up in the middle of the night in the immediate aftermath of his death and, in trying to work out how I felt, I decided that I felt amputated – as though one half of me has gone. There's no more Margaret and David. Just as there is no more David and Susie.
Sydney Morning Herald
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Billboard blues: Now who's a clever cockie?
The RSL and Willoughby Council are being a bit precious in objecting to an advertising billboard near a Garden of Remembrance (' RSL 'powerless' to stop huge billboard near war memorial ', June 22). I think most of us are smart enough to work out that the two represent different issues and don't interfere with each other. The RSL might be better to contemplate its treatment of Indigenous and National Service ex-servicemen after World War II and Vietnam and advertise an apology. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill On my commute route, the vandal cockatoos are streets ahead when it comes to protesting against large advertising billboards. Gangs of them chew away at footbridge eyesores with wire-crunching beaks until they've rendered them unreadable. Go the cockies! Meredith Williams, Baulkham Hills When homeowners aren't free to paint their houses in the colours they like while garish hoardings pepper the bridges, public transport hubs and roads, all designed to be noticed and read, viz: cause drivers to be distracted, it's a bit rum. Andrew Cohen, Glebe Pioneering SBS television In 1980, I had been Director of the Sydney Film Festival for 14 years when I was approached by Bruce Gyngell, the first CEO of SBS television, which was due to be launched later that year (' SBS turns big five-O ', June 22). Bruce asked me to program the feature films for the new network – quite a task as it was planned to screen one every day. I agreed on two conditions: one, that the films be presented in the correct aspect ratio – 'letter-boxed' for wide screen films – and two, that no film be censored. I was in Europe when the network started to operate – the first film screened was Elvira Madigan from Sweden. When I returned, Bruce expressed satisfaction with my selections but asked me if I would introduce the 'movie of the week' in the style of Bill Collins, who was very popular on commercial television at the time. I had never appeared on television before – the first film I 'hosted', in January 1981, was The Lacemaker, in which Isabelle Huppert appeared in a nude scene, setting the tone for the 'sexy' movies that long, Cinema Classics was introduced, where I introduced seasons of films by great directors, like Akira Kurosawa and Francois Truffaut. My 'hostings' were produced by Margaret Pomeranz, and, during this period, we devised The Movie Show, which first went to air in 1986. Eighteen years later, a new management – with apparently no commitment to feature films – caused us to jump ship to the ABC where we presented At the Movies for ten years. David Stratton, Leura The Spit Spat Before the 2007 NSW State Election the then transport minister, Eric Roozendaal, promised to widen The Spit Bridge (' Work to start on road choke point in city's north ', June 22). However, six weeks after being returned to power, Labor premier Morris Iemma announced that the proposal had been scrapped. The promise to fix a section of Mona Vale Road with construction to start in 2028 will be welcomed by residents and motorists. However, for those who travel south to the city, The Spit will remain a bridge too far. Allan Gibson, Cherrybrook Call out for mental health I applaud the Herald' s view agitating for the restitution of mental health services gutted by the mass resignation of NSW public hospital psychiatrists (' Months later, still no solution for state's mental health crisis ', June 22). A patient's 'psychological well-being' is a vital organ that requires resuscitation to a healthier hue when our mindscape turns 'beyond blue', requiring an urgent complete in-person mental health specialist response. As a 30-year hospital doctor, I have no qualms about hefty call-ins and after-hours on-duty rates for complete access to the specialists that unclog blocked cerebral and coronary arteries in strokes and massive heart attacks. My long tenure has regrettably yet to witness that rare event of a specialist psychiatrist being made to be present on-site or being called in after hours. If you want a 25 per cent pay rise like the critical care specialists, you need to be always willing and able. Joseph Ting, Carina (Qld)
