Jump to content

Lew Grade

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Srsrsr (talk | contribs) at 20:05, 5 July 2006. The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Lew Grade, Baron Grade of Elstree (25 December 1906–13 December 1998), born Louis Winogradsky, was an influential showbusiness impresario and television company executive in the United Kingdom. His interests included Pye Records and ATV.

He was born in Tokmak, Ukraine, to Olga and Isaac Winogradsky. In 1912 the Jewish family fled the Russian pogroms to a new life in the East End of London. Isaac managed a cinema, while his three sons attended the Rochelle Street School in Shoreditch. At 15 Louis became an agent for a clothing firm, and shortly afterwards started his own business. But after he won a Charleston competition at the Royal Albert Hall in 1926, he became a professional dancer under the name Lew Grade. In 1933 founded a talent agency. His two brothers, Leslie Grade and Bernard Delfont, were also show business impresarios, and his nephew, Michael Grade (currently the Chairman of the BBC Board of Governors), carried on the tradition.

A sister to Lew, Leslie and Bernie, Rita (1924–1992) was born in the UK, by which time the family was living in Streatham, south London. She married a Twickenham doctor, Joe Freeman (1912–1979), in 1949 - they have two sons, Ian (1950–?), a PR consultant and freelance journalist, and Andrew (1962–?), a corporate accountant.

In the 1950s, as Britain prepared for commercial television alongside the dominant BBC, Grade had been approached by manager Mike Nidorf into the formation of a company for a bid of the new ITV network. Gathering several connections, including empresario Val Parnell, the 'Independent Television Company was formed to bid for a spot. Although initially rejected due to its size and potential power, it eventually joined with the Associated Broacasting Development Company to form Associated TeleVision, which gained ITV bids for both London and Midlands. However, Grade would get his first taste of creating programming for an international audience with The Adventures of Robin Hood, commissioned by an American producer, yet produced in Britain. Its eventual success would lead Grade to a drive to create and produce for the world, leading to later accusations of making TV "for Birmingham, Alabama, not Birmingham, England." and ATV's eventual downfall in 1981.

Lew Grade is best known by viewing audiences as the man responsible for a number of cult British TV series through his ITC Entertainment production company. These shows included The Saint, The Persuaders, and two of the most famous works of Patrick McGoohan: Danger Man (also known as Secret Agent in the US) and The Prisoner. In 1962 he purchased independent production house AP Films, co-founded by Gerry Anderson, which produced a string of popular children's marionette adventure series including Supercar, Stingray, Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, Joe 90, three feature films, and the live-action sci-fi series UFO and Space: 1999. Although supportive of the produced shows, the consistent drive for success at home and abroad lead to various artistic differences for Grade with McGoohan and Anderson, leading to the departure of both.

In one of his more controversial moves, Grade purchased a controlling interest in The Beatles' publishing rights from music publisher Dick James in 1969. Six years later, John Lennon agreed to perform in the TV special "A Salute to Lew Grade," but appeared on stage with a band who wore rubber masks attached to the backs of their heads. This odd sight was Lennon's comment on Grade's "two-faced" maneuvering in the publishing deal.

Grade was instrumental in bringing The Muppet Show to the screen and was immortalized by Jim Henson, who based the character of movie mogul Lew Lord (played by Orson Welles) in The Muppet Movie, after Grade. Some also speculate Muppet Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is also a charicature of Grade.

His other successes as a producer included the award-winning Jesus of Nazareth (1977), starring Robert Powell - ironically, as Grade was Jewish. Grade had unique success in selling to the American market. The "Jesus of Nazarath" mini-series secured a record breaking $12m. He also promoted extravagant 'quality' productions on ATV to prove its equal to BBC TV, for instance giving over a whole evening schedule to a live broadcast of "Tosca" from La Scala starring Maria Callas.

In 1978 Grade backed an expensive 'all-star' film version of Clive Cussler's best seller Raise the Titanic. Released a year after Star Wars audience taste had moved on and the film was a major flop - Grade remarked "It would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic". Along with a number of other flops the film marked the end of Grade's involvement with major motion picture production.

He was made a life peer in 1976, having been knighted in 1969.

Quotes

  • Commenting on his expensive flop, Raise the Titanic: "It would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic."
  • "Marriage was the best business deal I ever made. After that, Jesus of Nazareth and The Muppets."
  • From Sir Roger Moore - "Anyone who is 88 and can still jump up on the table and do The Charleston...that speaks volumes!"
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lew_Grade&oldid=62241380"