Elkan Allan (born Elkan Philip Cohen, 8 December 1922 – 25 June 2006) was a British

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of video production on a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television net ...

and print

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

. Allan is best remembered for his creation of the pioneering 1960s TV rock/pop music show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light enter ...

''. After 1968, he was for many years the television editor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''.

Early life

Allan was born Elkan Philip Cohen in

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north- ...

, London, in December 1922, the son of Rose (née Prager) and Allan Cohen. His father was a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing, and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific i ...

, who later became involved in the printing industry. Allan was educated at Quinton School in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the City of Westminster, London, lying 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Traditionally the northern part of the ancient parish and Metropolitan Borough of Marylebone, it extends east to west from ...

. At some point during his childhood, his parents changed their surname from Cohen to Allan. Elkan changed his name by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract because it binds only one party (law), party. Et ...

the day before his eighteenth birthday.

Career

Elkan Allan's career in print journalism began in 1941, when he became the assistant editor of ''The Outfitter'', a

trade journal A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this ...

for menswear retailers. Allan was exempt from military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

for health reasons. His contributions to ''The Outfitter'' included the column "Dress Circle", which featured reviews of costumes in theatre productions. He later worked for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...

'', ''

Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,700,000 copies a week after only two months. ...

'', ''

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of the United Kingdom in general and England in particular, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter- ...

'' and ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'' appeared first on Saturday 14 May 1842, as the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. Founded by Herbert Ingram, it appeared weekly until 1971, then less frequently thereafter, and ceased publication in ...

''. In the mid-1940s, Allan became a radio broadcaster, developing and overseeing the first quiz shows on BBC radio, ''Quiz Time'' and ''Quiz Team''. In 1953, he began working for the BBC Television Service, initially presenting ''Armchair Traveller''. When

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

was launched in 1955, he joined the new network as a reporter, later becoming a producer for '' This Week'' current affairs programme. In 1960, Allan began writing and producing documentaries for television. This included ''Freedom Road'', which won three awards at the 1961 Berlin television festival. In 1962, he became the head of entertainment at

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

, producing shows such as ''

Double Your Money ''Double Your Money'' was a British quiz show hosted by Hughie Green. Originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg since 1950 and based on the American radio quiz '' Take It Or Leave It'' (1940–1947), it transferred to ITV in September 1955, a fe ...

'' and ''

Take Your Pick ''Take Your Pick!'' is a United Kingdom game show originally broadcast by Radio Luxembourg starting in 1952. The show was transferred to television in 1955 with the launch of ITV, where it continued until 1968. It was the first game show broad ...

''. In 1963, he created and produced the music show ''

''.

Personal life

Allan was married twice. His first marriage was to journalist Mary Ingham, on 27 November 1947 at Kensington register office. They had two sons and a daughter. They later divorced and, on 5 September 1970, Allan married journalist Angela Willment at Hampstead register office. They had a son and a daughter. He had a long interest in

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

, and worked on an encyclopedia for the game. This was unfinished when he died, but was posthumously completed by Hannah Mackay. With his second wife, Allan also wrote three film guides. Allan died from a stroke in June 2006, at the

Whittington Hospital Whittington Hospital is a district general and teaching hospital of UCL Medical School and Middlesex University School of Health and Social Sciences. Located in Upper Holloway, it is managed by Whittington Health NHS Trust, operating as Whitting ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

. He was survived by his second wife and all of his children.

Television credits

As producer: * ''"Hippodrome Show"'' (1966) TV series * ''"

"'' (1963) TV series * ''"

Stars and Garters ''Stars and Garters'' was a British television variety show produced by Associated Television, ATV from 1963 until 1965, set in a fictional public house. Hosted by comedian Ray Martine, regulars included singers Kathy Kirby, Vince Hill, Tommy Bruc ...

"'' (1963) TV series As a writer: * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' (TV series, "

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. It was originally a settlement established on the current site of the City of London around AD 47–50. It sat at a key cross ...

", 1967) *'' Out of Step'' As director: *''

Love in Our Time ''Love in Our Time'' is a 1968 British film documentary about sex. It was directed and narrated by Elkan Allan.John Hamilton, ''Beasts in the Cellar: The Exploitation Film Career of Tony Tenser'', Fab Press, 2005 p 123-124Simon Sheridan, ''Keeping ...

'' (1968) As an actor: *''

'' (1968) .... Narrator As consultant *''

Heads Up with Richard Herring ''Heads Up with Richard Herring'' or ''HUWRH'', is a British celebrity chat show written by and starring Richard Herring, who is best known as one half of comedy duo Lee and Herring, the stars of BBC Two shows ''Fist of Fun'' and '' This Morning ...

'' (2005) TV series TV appearances: * ''ITV 50 Greatest Shows'' (2005) * ''

Celebrity Poker Club ''Celebrity Poker Club'' is a British television series featuring celebrities playing poker. It aired on Challenge for three series from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off from Channel 4's popular ''Late Night Poker'' series. Liam Flood was the casino ...

'' (1 episode, 2004) *'' Heat Seven'' (2004) TV episode

Published works

*''Good Listening: A Survey of Broadcasting'' (1951) *''The Sunday Times Guide to Movies on Television'' (1973, edited with Angela Allan) *''The Sunday Times Guide to the Movies'' (1977, edited with Angela Allan) *''The Virgin Video Guide'' (1982, edited with John Hazelton and Patrick Newley) *''A Guide to World Cinema'' (1985, editor) *''The Poker Encyclopedia'' (2007, with Hannah Mackay)

References

External links

Obituary
by

Neil Lyndon Neil Alexander Lyndon (born Neil Alexander Barnacle; 12 September 1946) is a British journalist and writer. He has written for ''The Sunday Times'', ''The Times'', ''The Independent'', the ''Evening Standard'' the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Tele ...

in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 30 June 2006
Obituary
from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'', 1 July 2006
Obituary
in ''The Independent'' 29 June 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Elkan 1922 births 2006 deaths British television producers British television writers British television directors British newspaper editors People from Cricklewood People educated at Quintin Kynaston School Daily Express people 20th-century screenwriters