Biography
Mervyn Pinfield was a British television producer and director who worked for the BBC. Born Reginald Mervyn Pinfield on 28 February 1912 in Evesham, Worcestershire, he initially trained as an engineer before entering the theatre. He spent over four years as director and theatre manager at the Royalty Theatre in Morecambe, and earlier worked with the Coventry Repertory Company.
Pinfield joined the BBC in the early 1950s as Studio Manager at Lime Grove, later becoming a Productions Assistant. He directed episodes of series including Compact, The Monsters and The Franchise Affair. He was also known for inventing an early teleprompter system called the Piniprompter.
In 1963 he was appointed associate producer on Doctor Who to support producer Verity Lambert, serving from An Unearthly Child to The Romans. He directed episodes one to four of The Sensorites, all four episodes of The Space Museum and episodes one and two of Planet of Giants. Pinfield died on 20 May 1966 in Islington, London.
