Herbert Wise

A prominent force in British television, director Herbert Wise's enduring work remains the epic BBC miniseries "I, Claudius." Based on a pair of novels by Robert Graves, the series covered a 30-year span of treachery, murder, and lasciviousness in ancient Rome. It starred Derek Jacobi as Claudius, who narrated the pantheon of power struggles over 13 episodes (all directed by Wise). Airing in 1976 in Britain, the program was an unprecedented success among both critics and the viewing public. Part of the attraction was undoubtedly due to the program's graphic nature. Nudity, violence, and saturnalia were incumbent upon the historical scenes it depicted -- most infamously Caligula (John Hurt) killing his pregnant sister/wife, and eating her fetus. In 1977 "I, Claudius" aired on PBS in America where Wise's engrossing storytelling, applied to a broad historical canvas, was again applauded. Wise earned an Emmy nomination for his directing. Born Herbert Weisz in Vienna in 1924, Wise first began directing for television in the 1950s after working in the theater. Later programs of note include "The Norman Conquests," adapted from the trilogy of plays by Alan Ayckbourn; the Emmy-nominated courtroom drama "Skokie"; and "Breaking the Code," a biopic of mathematician Alan Turing which reteamed the director with Jacobi.