James Ferman, former director of the British Board of Film Classification, has died of pneumonia at the age of 72. Ferman was head censor from 1975 to 1999, during which time he saw the dawn of video, and made many enemies amongst horror fans over his refusal to classify such classics as The Exorcist and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Nevertheless, it was his decision to relax the rules regarding pornography that helped usher in the more liberal attitudes that the BBFC currently hold.
