Pelissier was born in
Barnet, north London, and came from a theatrical family. His parents were the theatre producer
H. G. Pelissier (who presented ''Pelissier's Follies
) and the actress Fay Compton. His uncle was Compton MacKenzie, who wrote Whisky Galore. He was barely a year old when his father died, and with his nineteen year-old widowed mother in pursuit of her acting career, was mostly raised by his grandmother Virginia Compton and a series of nannies. This background would inform one of his most successful films, The Rocking-Horse Winner'' with its plot of a neglected young boy desperate to please his worldly mother. Pelissier began acting in the 1930s. In 1935 and 1936, he was featured in
Noël Coward's play cycle,
Tonight at 8.30, both in Britain and on Broadway. He also played in Coward's
Set to Music (1939).That same year, in collaboration with his close friend, the actor
John Mills he staged a West End revival of
The Follies, the Edwardian musical revue company founded by his father
H.G. Pélissier. He also directed Ealing's
satire on television
Meet Mr Lucifer (1953). He later headed the experimental production unit at the BBC. ==Personal life==