Six degrees of separation from Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach, born in 1685, never finished his experimental work The Art of Fugue, which will be performed at the Grand Hall, at the University of Hong Kong, on Saturday. In 1750, with his vision declining, the German composer was operated on by travelling British eye surgeon John Taylor - Bach died a few months later; the same doctor left composer George Handel partially blind. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor was used in the 1940 Walt Disney film Fantasia, which consists of eight animated segments set to pieces of classical music conducted by Leopold Stokowski …

The man who directed cartoon legends including Daffy Duck, Road Runner and Porky Pig was once described by comedian and actor Robin Williams - a self-confessed "Jones-aholic" - as "the Orson Welles of cartoons". Aged 85, Jones signed a contract with Warner Bros to supervise its animation department. He said of the deal, "At 85, you can only think ahead for the next 50 years or so." In 1944, Jones directed the animated short Hell-Bent for Election, a campaign film for Franklin Delano Roosevelt …

The son of a diplomat, South African-born Michell grew up in Beirut, Damascus and Prague, before becoming an assistant director to legendary playwright Samuel Beckett. Last year, Michell told the BBC his father's career had been the inspiration for his own: "I became a director because my father was a diplomat, and I think my interest came from watching my parents perform at close quarters, watching them have to be other people." In 2006, Michell directed comedy flick Venus, starring Peter O'Toole …