Meet Douglas Gresham
Douglas was born in New York City in November 1945, the younger of two brothers. His father, William, was a fairly successful writer and Joy, his mother, an award-winning poet and author. It was through the writings of C.S. Lewis that she became a Christian. In 1952, during a trip to England, she met “Jack” (as Lewis was known) at his home in Oxford. The following year, when her marriage came unstuck, she moved to England with David and Douglas. By then, Douglas had fallen in love with Jack's works of fantasy and allegory, such as The Chronicles of Narnia.
As Jack and Joy developed a love for one another and, in 1956, were married, she was diagnosed with cancer. This miraculously went into remission for three years. In late 1959 the illness returned and 6 months later Joy died. After school, Douglas worked on a farm in Somerset where he met Merrie who was on a visit from Australia. They were married in 1967 and moved to Tasmania, where Douglas took up dairy farming. Later they went to West Australia, where he established himself as a broadcaster and television personality. It was during this time that he and Merrie became Christians.
After further time farming in Tasmania, Douglas and his family moved into an old manor house south of Dublin. He founded Rathvinden Ministries (named after the estate) where he works with people who have suffered pregnancy loss and child abuse. Their house also provides a place for people in active ministry who find it difficult to afford a vacation. Following the 1988 book, Lenten Lands: My Childhood with Joy Davidman and C.S. Lewis, Douglas recently completed a biography of Lewis entitled Jack's Life: The Life Story of C.S. Lewis.
As a result of his work with the C.S. Lewis Company, which is responsible for handling Lewis's estate, first as Director and now as Creative Consultant, he persevered for almost two decades to find a film production company that would to bring The Chronicles of Narnia faithfully to life on the big screen. He consequently became Co-Producer for the Walden Media/Disney Company production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, NARNIA, and all book titles, characters and locales original thereto are trademarks of C.S. Lewis Pty Ltd. and are used with permission. © DISNEY ENTERPRISES, INC. and WALDEN MEDIA, LLC. All rights reserved.
