{"id":66821,"date":"2023-08-29T15:07:01","date_gmt":"2023-08-29T15:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hotcelebon.com\/?p=66821"},"modified":"2023-08-29T15:07:01","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T15:07:01","slug":"nicholas-hitchon-dies-british-farm-boy-whose-life-was-chronicled-in-up-documentary-series-was-65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hotcelebon.com\/tv-movies\/nicholas-hitchon-dies-british-farm-boy-whose-life-was-chronicled-in-up-documentary-series-was-65\/","title":{"rendered":"Nicholas Hitchon Dies: British Farm Boy Whose Life Was Chronicled In Up Documentary Series Was 65"},"content":{"rendered":"
Nicholas Hitchon, whose life was chronicled in the celebrated British Up<\/em> documentary films from a precocious age 7 in 1964 to 63 in the 2019 installment, died of throat cancer July 23 in Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a university professor. He was 65.<\/p>\n His death was only recently announced on the University of Wisconsin’s website. Hitchon had revealed his cancer battle in the most recent film in the series, 63 Up<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n According to the university post, William Nicholas “Nick” Hitchon was a member of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, having joined the faculty in 1982. He had earned his PhD in engineering science the previous year from Oxford University.<\/p>\n But for generations of viewers and fans of the beloved Up<\/em> series, Hitchon might forever be remembered as the little boy from a farming family in Littondale, England, who, when asked on camera in Seven Up! <\/em>if he had a girlfriend, politely but firmly responded, “I don’t want to answer that. I don’t answer those kind of questions.”<\/p>\n The film series, which began as a one-off documentary about children from Britain’s various economic classes and endured with sequels every seven years under the guidance of researcher-turned-director Michael Apted, created a unique bond between the public at large and the subjects featured on screen, subjects who literally grew up before viewers’ eyes. <\/p>\n Representing Britain’s rural class, young Hitchon expressed his love for the natural world from the very beginning, growing into a thoughtful and sensitive young, then middle-aged, man. While his fellow child-subjects occasionally stumbled through life, Hitchon proved to be, as Apted himself once said, “one of the success stories.” <\/p>\n Sticking with the film series wasn’t always easy, though, even for the esteemed professor. In a passage from 63 Up<\/em> quoted in a 2019 Deadline article, Hitchon said, “It’s an incredibly hard thing to be in. I can’t even begin to describe how emotionally draining and wrenching it is just to make the film and do the interviews.”<\/p>\n Hitchon is survived by wife Cryss, and son Adam.<\/p>\n Below are highlights of Hitchon’s appearances in some of the films.<\/p>\n https:\/\/youtube.com\/watch?v=6JRn8l_vq8k%3Fversion%3D3%26%23038%3Benablejsapi%3D1%26%23038%3Borigin%3Dhttps%3A<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\nRelated Stories<\/h3>\n
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