Harry Greene (television personality)

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Harry Greene
Born
Henry Howard Greenhouse

(1923-11-21)21 November 1923
QVC UK
SpouseMarjie Lawrence (1955–2010) Her death
ChildrenSarah, Laura, Robin

Harry Greene (21 November 1923 – 4 March 2013) was a Welsh television personality, known for being the UK's first television

DIY expert.[1][2] During his lifetime, Greene wrote over 23 books, presented more than 2,000 DIY programmes, and via his building company had provided bespoke construction services to over 32 stars of stage and television.[3]

Early life

Henry Howard Greenhouse[3] was born in Rhymney, near Caerphilly (then in Monmouthshire), to former Jack Greenhouse and his wife Una.[2][3] His father, who had returned from fighting in World War I suffering from mustard gas poisoning, and mother were interested in the arts, poetry and music and regularly entertained at their home in Colenso Terrace.[3] From aged 10, Greene would spend time at weekends with his uncle, a maintenance man and electrical engineer at Bargoed's Top Pit, who taught Greene to use tools properly.[3]

After passing the

National Eisteddfod under-17s prize for drawing.[3] He was taught sport by Olympic swimmer C. B. Thomas, under whom Greene became a record-breaking runner at county level, a gifted rugby union player, and champion junior Welsh long jumper.[3]

Whilst training as an engineering draughtsman at

REME as a draughtsman, working on a classified tank design for the Russian front.[2] His father died from the effects of his earlier mustard gas poisoning in 1943.[3]

Career

Post war, Greene took up his place at Cardiff College, training as a draughtsman's assistant and architect. During this time he befriended fellow student and later

BBC Wales radio show, where he met Harry Secombe.[3]

Whilst training to become a teacher, he came up with a money-making idea to buy an ex-WD 350cc

Uranium 235 starring Joan Littlewood, his friend and producer of Unity Theatre introduced the pair. Littlewood was looking for a young Welshman to play William Shakespeare's Owen Glendower, and Taffy in Ewan MacColl's Paradise Street. Additionally as the owner/producer of the touring company Theatre Workshop
, she also wanted someone who could build theatre sets and drive the lorry.

Greene resigned his teaching job the following day and moved to Manchester to join the Theatre Workshop, often earning less than £5 a week from the company's takings.[2][3] In 1949, he changed his name to Harry Greene by deed poll.[3] After two years the company moved to a new base at the near-derelict Theatre Royal music hall in Stratford, London. After Greene designed and organised the theatre's reconstruction programme, the first production was Twelfth Night in late 1953, for which Greene made the sets and also acted in.[3]

On New Year's Day 1954, the company had 200 applicants for their next production, including actress Marjie Lawrence. Greene and Lawrence quickly became a couple and married in 1955.[2][3] Theatre Workshop became such a success that productions would later transfer to London's West End, bringing both Greene and Lawrence to national attention. During his acting career, Greene starred in over 40 films, opposite actors including Sean Connery, Sir John Gielgud, Melina Mercouri, Lana Turner and Jean Seberg.[1][2][3]

DIY expert

At the launch of independent broadcaster

Associated Rediffusion, the couple starred in soap opera Round the Redways, about a couple who run a DIY store, with Greene playing an inept repair man.[1][2]

Desperate to fill the schedules, Associated Rediffusion took up Marjie's proposal for Harry to film a DIY show based on him doing up their flat in Primrose Hill, North London. First shown on 4 January 1957,[2] Handy Round the Home emphasised practical demonstrations that viewers could copy at home, with his catchphrase, "Safety first; DIY second" making him a household name.[1][2][3]

In the 1980s Greene was employed by

TV-AM, devising, writing and producing Dream Home, which Greene co-presented alongside his daughter Sarah.[2] Greene persuaded the company to buy a dilapidated cottage in Hampshire, which they then filmed him doing up and converting through construction.[3] At the end of the project, the house was given away in a competition. He then joined the BBC's Pebble Mill at One, where he built a new house from scratch with an accompanying team.[1]

After this he set up a building company, which specialised in providing new homes, extensions and bespoke building services to actors and television personalities. By 2000, the firm had provided services to over 32 stars, including

In the early 1990s, although still presenting, Greene created and acted as a consultant on the new genre of DIY programmes, including

Personal life

Greene and his wife had three children: actress and television presenter Sarah; television presenter Laura; and businessman Robin who runs a business in Switzerland.[5]

Greene collapsed and died a few days after returning home in March 2013 from a holiday with his daughter Sarah and her husband, fellow presenter

Mike Smith.[1][2][6]

Publications

  • Harry Greene (19 December 2003). Harry Greene's Complete DIY Problem Solver.
  • Harry Greene (August 1990). Do-it-yourself Problem Solver.
  • Harry Greene (2 April 1987). On the House: Harry Greene's Do-it-yourself Handbook.

References

  1. ^
    BBC Wales
    . 13 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "TV's first DIY guru Harry Greene dies aged 89". WalesOnline.co.uk. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Catrin Pascoe and Tim Wilkinson (25 November 2003). "The DIY guru". Western Mail. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Theatre Archive Project – Arts, literature and performance | British Library – Sounds". Bl.uk. 20 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  5. ^ Rik Henderson, Made by Michael (12 February 2004). "Camden New Journal". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  6. ^ "Harry Greene". Telegraph.co.uk. 13 March 2013. Retrieved 14 March 2013.