Man Alive BBC TV
Encyclopedia
Man Alive is a documentary
and current affairs
series which ran on BBC2 between 1965 and 1981. During that time there were nearly 500 programmes tackling a range of social and political issues, both in the UK and abroad. It was often accused of trying to sensationalise its subjects or interviewees.
British television journalist and presenter Esther Rantzen
worked on Man Alive in the mid-1960s. She went on to marry one of the programme's most prominent reporters, and series editor Desmond Wilcox
. Wilcox contributed directly to about 50 Man Alive programmes. The series was commissioned by Sir David Attenborough
, while he was BBC2 Controller between 1965 and 1969. The Man Alive theme music was composed and played by Tony Hatch
and his orchestra.
in the Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas. There were a further eight programmes that year - Wilcox was also the programme's executive producer. Man Alive became a strand. Each edition of the programme had a sub-title which reflected its content.
Man Alive returned in 1966 with 48 programmes followed by 51 in 1967. The documentary strand covered several stories on sex, the sex industry and exploitation, and in 1967 it broke new ground by showing the first ever bare female breast on British television (Daily Express). For its time, Man Alive had thought provoking titles for many of its programmes. The programme also faced accusations of sensationalism. Writing in The Times in 2005, Paul Hoggart
said "I had not realised that BBC Two's landmark 1960s documentary strand Man Alive was accused at the time of cynical sensationalism, with producers rejoicing when they got some poor sod to weep on camera..."
Man Alive began to push the boundaries further. In 1966 a programme called "Lift up Your Skirt" explored the Playboy
club scene with Malcolm Muggeridge
. In 1971 sex education was the subject for scrutiny in "Sex and Common sense" followed in 1975 by "X-ploitation" which looked at the seedy side of the film industry.
At a time when television was still a relatively new medium, sex, class and religion were then seen as controversial issues. This was in an era long before reality TV
shows that are now internationally commonplace, and long before 24 hour rolling news channels existed. The ITV
company Granada Television
was also an emerging force in documentary and current affairs television including its own long running anthology series World in Action
, although its remit was similar to the BBC's Panorama
programme, which began its run in 1953, and is still running in 2008.
Many of the films can now be seen as invaluable snapshots of British life in a bygone age. In the early Seventies, episodes ranged from "The Other Woman", which looked at mistresses, to "The Office Party", with all that comes with it. "The Alternative Press" looked at not just Oz
and IT
but also small independent community newspapers that were appearing all over Britain to challenge the fat cats of Fleet Street with a more moral and intimate attempt at bringing relevant news to people. "Don't Call Us" looked at out-of-work actors, "The Possessed" was alook at suburban housewives involved with the occult, and "Soho" was a leisurely trek around a fast-changing corner of Bohemian London. "The Fallen Idols" looked those who had been to the top and back, two of its subjects being Bill Maynard
and Anthony Steel.
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", filmed in July, 1973 and broadcast on Wednesday, October 24 of that year, dealt with the British record industry's efforts to find a new pre-teen (or weenybopper) boy singing star to rival Americans such as Donny Osmond
. Although it featured, among others, eleven years old Ricky Wilde
(son of Marty Wilde
), the programme primarily concerned itself with the ill-fated eleven year old Darren Burn, an ex-Christ Church Senior Chorister from Southgate in north London and the son of EMI executive Colin Burn. EMI
spent a lot of money promoting him and, although his initial record releases in 1973 were produced by Eric Woolfson
, his record career failed to take off....although his first single, "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart", backed with "True Love Ways" (EMI 2040), did manage to get to number 60 in the charts. The programme contains an interview with Darren Burn by reporter John Pitman, in which Burn comes across as very intelligent and sophisticated for his age. In July, 1988, during his last BBC Television interview ("People...Whatever Happened To Darren Burn?"), Burn, then aged 26, referring to his ill-fated launch in 1973, told John Pitman that it had been "a very strange thing for a young child to go through" and that it had left him "with a feeling of failure." He also appeared to be blaming his parents for allowing him go through the whole affair and told Pitman: "I certainly wouldn't allow one of my children to do that...should I ever have any." He took his own life in October, 1991, aged 30, in his flat in Southwark, south London, after taking an overdose of anti-depressants. Music critic Roy Carr, a contributor to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", said on the programme: "There are a lot of charlatans in this business who are out to make a quick buck and they don't care who they get it off!".
In October 1979, Man Alive also covered the contraction of the Triumph motorcycles factory at Meriden
with many original members of the workers' co-operative that was keeping the last British motorcycle in production being made redundant. Their leaving enabled Triumph to survive a further 4 years although, as shown on the programme, there was much bitterness and regret surrounding their departure, particularly as many participated in the original sit-in
that stopped the new owners, NVT
, closing Meriden down.
One of Man Alive's most eloquent, if least known, films was "Alone", which was broadcast over Christmas 1970. Looking at loneliness through a range of candid interviewees, including a widower who was desperate not to burden anyone else but could find no solace in his life since the death of his wife, a man who had found himself gradually losing touch with his family, and a girl who dwelt at busy railway stations to feel a sense of company.
By 1975, there were fewer Man Alive programmes being made: 28 that year, followed by one in 1976, eight in 1978. The number of programmes commissioned did go back up to beyond 20 a year for the last three years; though the final documentary series in 1981 included a notable polemic on road accidents called "The biggest epidemic of our times" which was directed by Nick Ross
and which went on to be transferred to BBC1 and repeated and updated for several years, and turned out to have a major impact on government policy.
But overall, the film which perhaps best sums up the series' strengths is "Gale is Dead", the story of 19 year old Gale Parsons, who died a drug addict on 11 January 1970, during the making of the film. She had been brought up in no less than 14 institutions and was convinced that she mattered to no one. Her story was told mainly through the eyes of Mrs. Nancy David, a teacher who became a key figure in her life.
in west London. Although it held its own for a while the strand was eventually replaced by 40 Minutes
, which returned to the all-film format but without presenter or reporter, thus marking a turn towards the so-called fly-on-the-wall documentary. The new replacement for Man Alive was edited by Edward Mirzoeff
. (The Times 1989).
Wilcox set up the Man Alive Group, an independent production company formed with original Man Alive producer Michael Latham - he died in January 2006.
Desmond Wilcox continued to make television programmes as an independent producer, in 1983 his film, "The Boy David" for the BBC's The Visit strand earned him critical acclaim (Observer obituary). It centred on David Lopez, abandoned as a baby in Peru, who had a disease eating away at his face. Desmond Wilcox died in September 2000.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
and current affairs
Current affairs (news format)
Current Affairs is a genre of broadcast journalism where the emphasis is on detailed analysis and discussion of news stories that have recently occurred or are ongoing at the time of broadcast....
series which ran on BBC2 between 1965 and 1981. During that time there were nearly 500 programmes tackling a range of social and political issues, both in the UK and abroad. It was often accused of trying to sensationalise its subjects or interviewees.
British television journalist and presenter Esther Rantzen
Esther Rantzen
Esther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma...
worked on Man Alive in the mid-1960s. She went on to marry one of the programme's most prominent reporters, and series editor Desmond Wilcox
Desmond Wilcox
Desmond John Wilcox was a British documentary maker at the BBC and ITV. He was producer of This Week, Man Alive and That's Life!.- Early life :...
. Wilcox contributed directly to about 50 Man Alive programmes. The series was commissioned by Sir David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
, while he was BBC2 Controller between 1965 and 1969. The Man Alive theme music was composed and played by Tony Hatch
Tony Hatch
Anthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
and his orchestra.
Early days
The first Man Alive programme, "The Heart Man", was broadcast on 4 November 1965. It focused on heart surgeon Michael Ellis DeBakeyMichael E. DeBakey
Michael Elias DeBakey was a world-renowned Lebanese-American cardiac surgeon, innovator, scientist, medical educator, and international medical statesman...
in the Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas. There were a further eight programmes that year - Wilcox was also the programme's executive producer. Man Alive became a strand. Each edition of the programme had a sub-title which reflected its content.
Man Alive returned in 1966 with 48 programmes followed by 51 in 1967. The documentary strand covered several stories on sex, the sex industry and exploitation, and in 1967 it broke new ground by showing the first ever bare female breast on British television (Daily Express). For its time, Man Alive had thought provoking titles for many of its programmes. The programme also faced accusations of sensationalism. Writing in The Times in 2005, Paul Hoggart
Paul Hoggart
Paul Hoggart is an English television critic and columnist. He is the youngest son of Richard Hoggart and brother of political journalist Simon Hoggart. His sister, Nicola, is a teacher.-Early life and Career:...
said "I had not realised that BBC Two's landmark 1960s documentary strand Man Alive was accused at the time of cynical sensationalism, with producers rejoicing when they got some poor sod to weep on camera..."
Man Alive began to push the boundaries further. In 1966 a programme called "Lift up Your Skirt" explored the Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
club scene with Malcolm Muggeridge
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
. In 1971 sex education was the subject for scrutiny in "Sex and Common sense" followed in 1975 by "X-ploitation" which looked at the seedy side of the film industry.
At a time when television was still a relatively new medium, sex, class and religion were then seen as controversial issues. This was in an era long before reality TV
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
shows that are now internationally commonplace, and long before 24 hour rolling news channels existed. The ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
company Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....
was also an emerging force in documentary and current affairs television including its own long running anthology series World in Action
World in Action
World in Action was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television from 1963 until 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its production teams often took audacious risks and gained a solid reputation for its often...
, although its remit was similar to the BBC's Panorama
Panorama (TV series)
Panorama is a BBC Television current affairs documentary programme, which was first broadcast in 1953, and is the longest-running public affairs television programme in the world. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters, including Richard Dimbleby, Robin Day, David Dimbleby...
programme, which began its run in 1953, and is still running in 2008.
Many of the films can now be seen as invaluable snapshots of British life in a bygone age. In the early Seventies, episodes ranged from "The Other Woman", which looked at mistresses, to "The Office Party", with all that comes with it. "The Alternative Press" looked at not just Oz
Oz (magazine)
Oz was first published as a satirical humour magazine between 1963 and 1969 in Sydney, Australia and, in its second and better known incarnation, became a "psychedelic hippy" magazine from 1967 to 1973 in London...
and IT
International Times
International Times was an underground newspaper founded in London in 1966. Editors included Hoppy, David Mairowitz, Pete Stansill, Barry Miles, Jim Haynes and playwright Tom McGrath...
but also small independent community newspapers that were appearing all over Britain to challenge the fat cats of Fleet Street with a more moral and intimate attempt at bringing relevant news to people. "Don't Call Us" looked at out-of-work actors, "The Possessed" was alook at suburban housewives involved with the occult, and "Soho" was a leisurely trek around a fast-changing corner of Bohemian London. "The Fallen Idols" looked those who had been to the top and back, two of its subjects being Bill Maynard
Bill Maynard
Walter Frederick George Williams , better known by the stage name Bill Maynard, is an English comedian and actor.-Early life and career:...
and Anthony Steel.
"Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", filmed in July, 1973 and broadcast on Wednesday, October 24 of that year, dealt with the British record industry's efforts to find a new pre-teen (or weenybopper) boy singing star to rival Americans such as Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
. Although it featured, among others, eleven years old Ricky Wilde
Ricki Wilde
Ricky Wilde is a British songwriter, musician, record producer and brother of singer Kim Wilde, and son of the singer and actor, Marty Wilde....
(son of Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde
Marty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singers Ricky Wilde, Kim Wilde and Roxanne Wilde.-Career:Wilde was performing under the name Reg Patterson at London's Condor Club in...
), the programme primarily concerned itself with the ill-fated eleven year old Darren Burn, an ex-Christ Church Senior Chorister from Southgate in north London and the son of EMI executive Colin Burn. 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...
spent a lot of money promoting him and, although his initial record releases in 1973 were produced by Eric Woolfson
Eric Woolfson
Eric Norman Woolfson was a Scottish songwriter, lyricist, vocalist, executive producer, pianist, and creator of The Alan Parsons Project. He has sold over 50 million albums world-wide....
, his record career failed to take off....although his first single, "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart", backed with "True Love Ways" (EMI 2040), did manage to get to number 60 in the charts. The programme contains an interview with Darren Burn by reporter John Pitman, in which Burn comes across as very intelligent and sophisticated for his age. In July, 1988, during his last BBC Television interview ("People...Whatever Happened To Darren Burn?"), Burn, then aged 26, referring to his ill-fated launch in 1973, told John Pitman that it had been "a very strange thing for a young child to go through" and that it had left him "with a feeling of failure." He also appeared to be blaming his parents for allowing him go through the whole affair and told Pitman: "I certainly wouldn't allow one of my children to do that...should I ever have any." He took his own life in October, 1991, aged 30, in his flat in Southwark, south London, after taking an overdose of anti-depressants. Music critic Roy Carr, a contributor to "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star", said on the programme: "There are a lot of charlatans in this business who are out to make a quick buck and they don't care who they get it off!".
In October 1979, Man Alive also covered the contraction of the Triumph motorcycles factory at Meriden
Meriden, West Midlands
-External links:*****...
with many original members of the workers' co-operative that was keeping the last British motorcycle in production being made redundant. Their leaving enabled Triumph to survive a further 4 years although, as shown on the programme, there was much bitterness and regret surrounding their departure, particularly as many participated in the original sit-in
Sit-in
A sit-in or sit-down is a form of protest that involves occupying seats or sitting down on the floor of an establishment.-Process:In a sit-in, protesters remain until they are evicted, usually by force, or arrested, or until their requests have been met...
that stopped the new owners, NVT
Norton Villiers Triumph
Norton Villiers Triumph was a British motorcycle manufacturer, formed by the British Government to continue the UK motorcycling industry, but the company eventually failed.-Formation:...
, closing Meriden down.
One of Man Alive's most eloquent, if least known, films was "Alone", which was broadcast over Christmas 1970. Looking at loneliness through a range of candid interviewees, including a widower who was desperate not to burden anyone else but could find no solace in his life since the death of his wife, a man who had found himself gradually losing touch with his family, and a girl who dwelt at busy railway stations to feel a sense of company.
By 1975, there were fewer Man Alive programmes being made: 28 that year, followed by one in 1976, eight in 1978. The number of programmes commissioned did go back up to beyond 20 a year for the last three years; though the final documentary series in 1981 included a notable polemic on road accidents called "The biggest epidemic of our times" which was directed by Nick Ross
Nick Ross
Nick Ross is a British radio and television presenter across a wide range of factual programmes and during the 1980s and 90s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters, but he is best known for his long-running co-hosting of the BBC TV show Crimewatch which he left on 2 July 2007...
and which went on to be transferred to BBC1 and repeated and updated for several years, and turned out to have a major impact on government policy.
But overall, the film which perhaps best sums up the series' strengths is "Gale is Dead", the story of 19 year old Gale Parsons, who died a drug addict on 11 January 1970, during the making of the film. She had been brought up in no less than 14 institutions and was convinced that she mattered to no one. Her story was told mainly through the eyes of Mrs. Nancy David, a teacher who became a key figure in her life.
Beyond Man Alive
The Man Alive films were followed in 1982 by an attempt to create 'studio documentaries' called the Man Alive Debate, each of which tried to created a live documentary-style narrative with the story's cast of characters gathered at the BBC Television CentreBBC Television Centre
BBC Television Centre at White City in West London is the headquarters of BBC Television. Officially opened on 29 June 1960, it remains one of the largest to this day; having featured over the years as backdrop to many BBC programmes, it is one of the most readily recognisable such facilities...
in west London. Although it held its own for a while the strand was eventually replaced by 40 Minutes
40 Minutes
40 Minutes was a BBC TV documentary strand broadcast on BBC Two between 1981 and 1994.Some documentaries in the original series were revisited and updated in a 2006 version, Forty Minutes On....
, which returned to the all-film format but without presenter or reporter, thus marking a turn towards the so-called fly-on-the-wall documentary. The new replacement for Man Alive was edited by Edward Mirzoeff
Edward Mirzoeff
Edward Mirzoeff CVO, CBE is a prominent British television producer and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He went to Hasmonean Grammar School in Hendon...
. (The Times 1989).
Wilcox set up the Man Alive Group, an independent production company formed with original Man Alive producer Michael Latham - he died in January 2006.
Desmond Wilcox continued to make television programmes as an independent producer, in 1983 his film, "The Boy David" for the BBC's The Visit strand earned him critical acclaim (Observer obituary). It centred on David Lopez, abandoned as a baby in Peru, who had a disease eating away at his face. Desmond Wilcox died in September 2000.
Notable Man Alive reporters
- Anna FordAnna FordAnna Ford is a retired English journalist and television presenter, best known as a newsreader....
- Angela HuthAngela HuthAngela Huth is an English novelist and journalist.-Personal life and career:Huth is the daughter of the actor Harold Huth. She left school at age 16 in order to paint and to study art in both France and Italy. At 18 she travelled, mostly alone, across the United States before returning to England...
- Malcolm MuggeridgeMalcolm MuggeridgeThomas Malcolm Muggeridge was an English journalist, author, media personality, and satirist. During World War II, he was a soldier and a spy...
- John Pitman
- Nick RossNick RossNick Ross is a British radio and television presenter across a wide range of factual programmes and during the 1980s and 90s he was one of the most ubiquitous of British broadcasters, but he is best known for his long-running co-hosting of the BBC TV show Crimewatch which he left on 2 July 2007...
- Desmond WilcoxDesmond WilcoxDesmond John Wilcox was a British documentary maker at the BBC and ITV. He was producer of This Week, Man Alive and That's Life!.- Early life :...