Bernard Delfont
Encyclopedia
Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994), born Boris (or Boruch) Winogradsky, was a leading Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n-born British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 theatrical impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...

.

He was born in Tokmak
Tokmak, Ukraine
Tokmak is a city in the Zaporizhia Oblast of south-central Ukraine. Serving as the administrative center of the Tokmatskyi Raion , the city itself is directly subordinate to the oblast, and is located at around .-Points of interest:*...

, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, the second son of Isaac and Olga Winogradsky. His brothers Lew Grade
Lew Grade
Lew Grade, Baron Grade , born Lev Winogradsky, was an influential Russian-born English impresario and media mogul.-Early years:...

 and Leslie Grade
Leslie Grade
Leslie Grade was a British talent agent and executive with The Grade Organisation. He was born Laszlo Winogradsky in Tokmak, Ukraine, Russian Empire...

 also entered showbusiness. His nephew Michael Grade
Michael Grade
Michael Ian Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth CBE is a British broadcast executive and businessman. He was BBC chairman from 2004 to 2006 and executive chairman of ITV plc from 2007 to 2009.-Early life:...

 (now Lord Grade of Yarmouth), Leslie's son, has had a long career in television.

Delfont entered theatrical management in 1941, after a career as first a dancer, then an agent. He presented over 200 shows in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, including more than 50 musicals, such as the original productions of Little Me
Little Me (musical)
Little Me is a musical written by Neil Simon, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. The original Broadway production was memorable with Sid Caesar in multiple roles with multiple stage accents playing all of the heroine's husbands and lovers...

, Stop the World - I Want to Get Off
Stop the World - I Want to Get Off
Stop the World – I Want to Get Off is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.Set against the backdrop of a circus, it focuses on Littlechap, whose first major step towards improving his lot is to marry Evie, his boss's daughter...

, City Of Angels
City of Angels (musical)
City of Angels is a musical comedy with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel, and book by Larry Gelbart. The musical weaves together two plots, the "real" world of a writer trying to turn his book into a screenplay, and the "reel" world of the fictional film.-Productions:City of Angels...

and Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity
Sweet Charity is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon. It is based on Federico Fellini's screenplay for Nights of Cabiria...

. He also presented summer variety shows in many towns across the country, mainly seaside resorts.

As Chief Executive of EMI, Delfont withdrew funding for the film Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film written, directed and largely performed by the Monty Python comedy team...

in 1978 at the last moment, due to worries over the religious implications; it was then financed by George Harrison
George Harrison
George Harrison, MBE was an English musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter, actor and film producer who achieved international fame as lead guitarist of The Beatles. Often referred to as "the quiet Beatle", Harrison became over time an admirer of Indian mysticism, and introduced it to the other...

's company HandMade Films
Handmade Films
HandMade Films is a British film production and distribution company. Through a series of sales, and acquisitions, the company now known as Handmade Plc owns all the rights and assets of the original HandMade Films Ltd...

, and a reference is made jokingly to "Bernie" in the last line of the film, during the song "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is a popular song written by Eric Idle that was originally featured in the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian and has gone on to become a common singalong at public events such as football matches as well as funerals.-History:Whilst trying to come up...

".

He converted the London Hippodrome
Hippodrome, London
The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Charing Cross Road and Leicester Square in the City of Westminster, London. The name was used for many different theatres and music halls, of which the London Hippodrome is one of only a few survivors...

 into the Talk of the Town theatre-restaurant, bringing in entertainers such as Shirley Bassey
Shirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

, Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...

, Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Mae Kitt was an American singer, actress, and cabaret star. She was perhaps best known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 hit recordings of "C'est Si Bon" and the enduring Christmas novelty smash "Santa Baby." Orson Welles once called her the "most exciting woman in the...

 and Judy Garland
Judy Garland
Judy Garland was an American actress and singer. Through a career that spanned 45 of her 47 years and for her renowned contralto voice, she attained international stardom as an actress in musical and dramatic roles, as a recording artist and on the concert stage...

, and also securing the exclusive rights from Paul Derval to stage the Folies Bergère for the first time outside Paris.

He married the actress Carole Lynne
Carole Lynne
Carole Lynne, Baroness Delfont was a British theatre actress, best known for her work in the 1940s and 1950s. She was the widow of Lord Bernard Delfont, a prominent figure in the British entertainment industry....

 in 1946. They had one son and two daughters. He was knighted
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...

 in 1974 and created a life peer
Life peer
In the United Kingdom, life peers are appointed members of the Peerage whose titles cannot be inherited. Nowadays life peerages, always of baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and entitle the holders to seats in the House of Lords, presuming they meet qualifications such as...

 as Baron Delfont, of Stepney
Stepney
Stepney is a district of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in London's East End that grew out of a medieval village around St Dunstan's church and the 15th century ribbon development of Mile End Road...

 in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...

 in 1976. He died from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 at his Angmering
Angmering
Angmering is a large village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex, England. It is located approximately two miles north of the English Channel; Worthing and Littlehampton are about four miles to the east and west respectively.Angmering railway station is miles away...

 home.

Lord Delfont was the life president of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund, while his wife served as life governor.

His widow Carole Lynne
Carole Lynne
Carole Lynne, Baroness Delfont was a British theatre actress, best known for her work in the 1940s and 1950s. She was the widow of Lord Bernard Delfont, a prominent figure in the British entertainment industry....

 (Lady Delfont), 89, died as a result of motor neurone disease
Motor neurone disease
The motor neurone diseases are a group of neurological disorders that selectively affect motor neurones, the cells that control voluntary muscle activity including speaking, walking, breathing, swallowing and general movement of the body. They are generally progressive in nature, and can cause...

 on 17 January 2008 at her home in Sussex, England.

Appointments

  • EMI
    EMI
    The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...

     Ltd
    • Chief Executive (1979-1980)
  • Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund
    • Life President, for which he presented the annual Royal Variety Performance
      Royal Variety Performance
      The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...

       (1958-1978)
  • Entertainment Charities Fund
    • President (1983-1991)
  • Companion of the Grand Order of Water Rats
    Grand Order of Water Rats
    The Grand Order of Water Rats is an entertainment industry charity, and brotherhood, based in London. The Water Rats were founded in 1889 by comedian Joe Elvin. The first King Rat, as the head of the charity is termed, was music hall singer Harry Freeman. Comedian Dan Leno joined in 1890 and was...

  • Member of Saints and Sinners
  • Printers Charitable Corporation
    • President 1979
  • First Leisure Corporation
    • Chief Executive 1980-1986
    • Executive Chairman 1986-1988
    • Chairman 1988-1992
    • President 1992-1994
  • Bernard Delfont Organisation
    • Director

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK