|
Lew Grade was the last of the old-time media moguls a genuine show business tycoon. From
humble Jewish immigrant beginnings in east London, he became the world Charleston dance
champion (and could dance it well into his eighties), from which he drifted into
theatrical agenting, at which he discovered he was extremely good. Soon he was a top
impresario, with his brothers Bernard (Delfont) and Leslie Grade putting together
variety bills, owning theatres, and eventually booking showbiz's biggest names from both
sides of the Atlantic.
The birth of commercial television saw him win a franchise with ATV, where Grade was a
pioneer of popular culture, responsible for such TV hits as Saturday Night at the
London Palladium, Robert Powell's epic portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth and
bringing shows like Thunderbirds and The Muppets to British TV screens. He
then went into films, most notoriously with Raise the Titantic! whose cost over-runs
inspired his most memorable witticism, that It would have been cheaper to lower the
Atlantic. Grade was still working until he died in his early nineties, in the office at
dawn, puffing on his trademark giant Montecristo cigars, and never losing his love of a
deal. Some of my shows are good, some are bad, he once said. All of them are great.
Lew Chester's biography, All of Them Are Great: The Biography of Sir Lew Grade
(Aurum Press Ltd.), is an endlessly entertaining portrait of someone who was truly
larger than life and the first bio to be written about the mogul. Lew Chester was a
member of the celebrated Sunday Times Insight Team of investigative journalists.
His last book was The Troublemaker.
All of Them Are Great: The Biography of Sir Lew Grade will be available February
26th from bookstores everywhere.
|
TCM UK
| 
TCM Spain
| 
TCM France
| TCM Latin America
| TCM Asia
| TCM Germany
TCM.com is part of Turner Entertainment Digital which is part of Turner Sports and Entertainment Digital Network.
