Frank Cvitanovich was previously married to Janet Street-Porter from 1979 to 1981. Frank Cvitanovich was a Canadian documentary filmmaker who did a lot of his best work for British TV. He August 12, 1995.
Cvitanovich, the son of a Croat immigrant, was born in Vancouver. His father established his salmon fishing fleet, and his son worked as an apprentice for him before venturing into the worlds of poker, theatre, film runner, and professional American football.
Cvitanovich’s gridiron career in California was cut short by a severe knee injury, but he persuaded the producers of Gene Autry’s television series The Singing Cowboy that he could direct.
He went on to make 31 more episodes in Hollywood before relocating to London in the mid-1950s and establishing his own film company.
Cvitanovich’s most notable work was for Thames Television in the 1970s, during the wise reign of Director of Programmes Jeremy Isaacs.
His first film for the Thames was Bunny (1972), a moving account of the treatment given to the couple’s brain-damaged son in a Philadelphia clinic, co-written with his then-partner Midge Mackenzie. The film was nominated for an International Emmy.