Desmond Morris - Television & Film

Television & Film

In 1950 Desmond Morris makes his first entrance into the film and television. Writing and directing two Surrealist Films entitled Time Flower, as well as The Butterfly and the Pin. His next officially noted stop in television was in 1956 when he moved to London in order to assume the position at the Zoological Society of London as Head of the Granada Tv and Film Unit. Morris’s job thus included creating programs for both film and television on the topic of animal behavior and other various zoology orientated topics. His job remained as a host for Granada TV’s weekly ‘Zoo time’ program for the following three years up until 1959. During his time period of this position, a total of eight years, Morris scripted and hosted a total of ~500 Zoo Time programs, along side ~100 episodes of the show Life in the Animal World for BBC2. During this time he also dabbles into radio for BBC on topics of natural History. However, he left the Film & TV unit at the London Zoo in honor to become the Zoological Society’s Curator of Mammals (1959).



After a long break from the world of television, Desmond re-enters the game in 1979 undertaking a new television series for Thames TV. The series was called The Human Race, of course focusing on the matter of human behavior. The shows filming ran on schedule and was presented on television in 1982, later the series was shown in many other countries as well. That same year, Desmond traveled to Japan for another television expedite to make a production titled ‘Man watching in Japan,‘ of which was shone on Japan Television in that autumn of 1982.

 After another short intermission, in 1986 Desmond started working on yet another new TV series (co-presented by British TV Broadcaster Sarah Kennedy) which was called ‘The Animals Road Show.‘ The show totaled with 40 programs made over the following next three years, as well as a book published on the series within that time frame. One the shows second year airing, Desmond began filming another TV series that was called ‘The Animal Contract, the show aired for Australian television, wrapping up in 1989. Although ‘The Animal Road Show‘ ended in 1989 also, Morris and Kennedy reunited in 1992 to show a second series of exactly fourteen half of an hour episodes. This was followed by a third series the following year in 1993, with thirteen half of an hour programs. As well as, this was followed by a fourth series in 1994, and final fifth in 1995, all with Sarah Kennedy.

In 1994, Desmond also writes then presents a series of six on-hour TV episodes for BBC-1, the was was called ‘The Human Animal. This series went on to win the Cable Ace Award in Los Angeles for best documentary series in 1995. The following year is when Morris began to work on ‘The Human Sexes,‘ a new sequel TV series to The Human Animal, which is completed in 1997. 



Total Television Series:



• Zootime (Weekly, 1956-67)


* Life (1965-67)


* The Human Race (1982)


* The Animals Roadshow (1987-89)


* The Animal Contract (1989)


* Animal Country (1991-96)


* The Human Animal (1994)


* The Human Sexes (1997)