Michael J. Bird

Who was Michael J. Bird?

Michael J. Bird was an English writer.

In addition to several novels, he was perhaps best known for the television dramas he wrote for the BBC. His series for the BBC all had the common theme of being set in the Mediterranean - The Lotus Eaters and Who Pays the Ferryman? were set in Crete, The Aphrodite Inheritance was set in Cyprus and The Dark Side of the Sun took place on Rhodes. Breaking with this practice, his final series for the BBC, Maelstrom, was set in Norway.

Bird also wrote for the following series during his career: Danger Man, Special Branch, Quiller, The Onedin Line, Arthur of the Britons, Secret Army and Warship.

Author of "The Town That Died: a chronicle of the Halifax disaster" Souvenir Press of London 1962

Bird knew that at a time when destinations such as Greece and Rhodes were seemingly exotic, the british public would find them appealing. Greece were obviously keen to develop their tourist markets and Bird realised that this was an opportunity. He formed his own production company "Gryphon Productions" and negotiated a number of co-productions with the BBC without which none of these series would have been produced.