- Whilst giving a guest lecture at Lincoln University, England, he accidentally activated the electronic stage curtain. This occurred when he mentioned light bulb inventor Thomas A. Edison. After researching Edison in his youth, Puttnam grew to dislike the man and suggested that the movement of the curtain was the ghost of Edison playing a trick on him.
- His biography was published in 1989, titled "Fast Fade" (by Andrew Yule), and chronicles his rise to the head of Columbia Pictures and his subsequent fall.
- He was chancellor of the University of Sunderland for many years.
- He has resided in Skibbereen, County Cork, Ireland, with wife Patsy since 1990.
- He is the Chancellor of the Open University, the largest distance learning institution in the world.
- The first film he saw at the cinema as a child was Pinocchio (1940).
- He was chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures from 1986 to 1988, a controversial period for the studio under his command since he was very critical of big-budgets projects and seemed more interested in making smaller films that end up failing at the box-office.
- In 1975 filming started on 'Trick or Treat' produced by David, directed by Michael Apted, starring Bianca Jagger and co-starring Nigel Davenport. However about 6 weeks into the shoot Bianca refused to do the nude shots, which she'd originally agreed to which resulted in the film being abandoned.
- He once acted agent for ace British photographers David Bailey and Brian Duffy.
- He awarded CBE (Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in 1982, knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1995 and created a life peer in 1997.
- He spent a turbulent year as head of Columbia Pictures in the late 1980s.
- He was made a Fellow of BAFTA in 2006.
- He was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to film culture.
- He is the father of Sacha Puttnam.
- He recommended Liam Cunningham for the role of the Eighth Doctor in Doctor Who: The Movie (1996) to executive producer Philip David Segal, but Paul McGann was eventually chosen instead.
- He was educated at Minchinden Grammar School, London 1958 -1962.
- He was Chancellor of Sunderland University.
- He was given a CBE in 1982, a knighthood in 1995 and made a life peer in 1997.
- Chairman of Enigma Productions since 1968.
- Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Pictures 1986 - 1988.
- Has claimed that "Inherit The Wind" and "A Man For All Seasons" are among his favorite films.
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