Bernard Delfont

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Tokmak, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire
Died28 July 1994(1994-07-28) (aged 84)
Angmering
, England
NationalityRussian (1909–1912)
British (1912–1994)
Spouse
​
(m. 1946)​
Children3
RelativesLew Grade (brother)
Leslie Grade (brother)
Michael Grade (nephew)
Awards

Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading Russian-born British theatrical impresario.

Life and career

Delfont was born in

Tokmak, Berdyansky Uyezd, Taurida Governorate, Russian Empire (now Ukraine), the second son of Isaac and Olga Winogradsky, a Jewish family.[1] His brothers, Lew Grade and Leslie Grade, also entered show business and formed the Grade Organisation.[2] Their sister, Rita Grade, later wrote a book about the family called My Fabulous Brothers.[citation needed
]

In 1912, the family moved to the

music halls and changed his name to Delfont to avoid confusion with his brother, forming a dance partnership with comic Hal Monty called The Delfont Boys.[3][4] He later formed another dance partnership called Delfont & Toko.[4] In 1937 he stopped dancing and again followed Lew in becoming an agent and impresario.[3]

During

Stop the World - I Want to Get Off, City Of Angels, Funny Girl and Sweet Charity.[4] He also presented summer variety shows in over 20 towns across the UK, mainly seaside resorts.[7]

In 1950, he became stage producer for a

Morecambe & Wise to ITV in their first successful TV show, Two of a Kind (1961 to 1968).[3] He also helped the careers of Tommy Steele, Danny La Rue, Norman Wisdom and Tommy Cooper.[4]

By the 1960s, the brothers were all very successful and were said to have a "Gradopoly" over British popular entertainment, with Delfont the country's leading impresario; Leslie running the UK's biggest talent agency and Lew one of the major players in British commercial television.

Trust House Forte, he became chief executive of THF Leisure Division. In 1983, he headed a management buyout under First Leisure Corporation where he was chairman until 1988 and then president.[4] In Blackpool, First Leisure owned all three of its piers (South Pier, Central Pier and North Pier
).

He was an active supporter of the

Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund and president of the Entertainment Charities Fund from 1983 to 1991.[3]

Delfont married the actress

Sussex, England.[4][14]

Portrayals

In the 2018 film Stan & Ollie, which recounts the 1953 tour of the United Kingdom by Laurel & Hardy, he is portrayed by Rufus Jones.

He is played by Michael Gambon in the 2019 film Judy, which recounts Judy Garland's last days.

Other appointments

References

  1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 6 October 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Lady Delfont dies aged 89". The Stage. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2008.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Vahimagi, Tise. "Delfont, Lord Bernard (1909-1994)". Screenonline. Retrieved 25 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Obituaries". Variety. 8 August 1994. p. 78.
  5. ^
    Kine Weekly
    (Supplement to Kinematograph Weekly ed.). 13 February 1971. pp. 3–6.
  6. ^ "RICHARD M. MILLS - TALK OF THE TOWN". www.richardmmills.com.
  7. ^ a b c "EMI Buys Bernard Delfont Org From Impressario For $192,000 In Its Stock". Variety. 10 June 1970. p. 3. Retrieved 17 April 2024 – via Internet Archive.
  8. ^ "EMI Buys Grade; Huge Talent Pool In $21-Mil Deal". Variety. 22 March 1967. p. 1.
  9. ^ Barber, Nicholas (3 April 2019). "How George Harrison – and a very naughty boy – saved British cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
  10. ISBN 0-413-46950-6
    .
  11. ISBN 0-521-63099-1
    .
  12. ^ a b c d "Lady Delfont". The Daily Telegraph. 28 January 2008. Retrieved 12 February 2008.[dead link]
  13. ^ "No. 46950". The London Gazette. 1 July 1976. p. 9072.
  14. ^ "Lord Delfont, 84, Theatrical Producer". The New York Times. 29 July 1994. p. B 8. Retrieved 22 December 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bernard_Delfont&oldid=1220480775"