Harry Noel Pringle (25 December 190330 March 1985) was an Australian

radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

and television producer who worked on

light entertainment Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies, variety shows, game shows, quiz shows and the like. In Great Britain In the early days of the BBC virtually all broadcast entertainment wou ...

programmes in England and Australia.

Biography

Harry Pringle was the son of Edith Ogilvie Benzley, and Harry Lempriere Pringle (1869,

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, Tasmania1914, London, England). His father was an operatic

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

who sang at

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

, London and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is operat ...

, New York. Pringle worked in

music hall Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Bri ...

, until in 1937 he became one of the first producers on

BBC Television BBC Television is a service of the BBC. The corporation has operated a public broadcast television service in the United Kingdom, under the terms of a royal charter, since 1927. It produced television programmes from its own studios from 193 ...

. Between February 1937 and August 1939, he was credited 112 times as TV producer (nearly six programmes a month), three times as director, and once as editor; he was at the same time producing radio programmes. On 1 September 1939,

broadcasting was suspended because of the outbreak of World War II, and only resumed in June 1946. In 1940, Pringle relocated to Australia, where he was appointed to take charge of radio light entertainment for the

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

(ABC). He created ''Out of the Bag'' (first broadcast, 31 August 1940), a radio series described by the editor of ''Wireless Weekly'' as "the best variety show yet heard here". In June 1941, he moved to 3DB, a commercial radio station in Melbourne. In 1944, he returned to ABC as federal director of light entertainment. In 1946, he resigned to return to the BBC. In 1947, he was reappointed by ABC to his former position. In 1949, he spent six months on leave in England; while there, he produced several more programmes for the BBC. He resigned from the ABC in 1954. In 195759, he produced several programmes for ABC television on a contract basis.

Selected productions

The listings include the network for which the programme was made; the years in which Pringle was involved; and (where known) the number of episodes (in parentheses). * ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...

'', BBC 193739, 1946 (68) * ''

Cabaret Cruise ''Cabaret Cruise'' is a live variety programme series broadcast 193739, 1946 and 1949 on BBC Television. It was one of several spin-offs from the BBC series ''Cabaret''. Its distinctive feature was that it was set on the fictional ship RMS '' ...

'', BBC 193739, 1946, 1949 (15) * '' Cafe Continental'', ABC 195860 * ''

Comedy Cabaret ''Comedy Cabaret'' is a British television programme broadcast 193839 on BBC Television. It was one of several spin-offs from the BBC series ''Cabaret''. It was a live variety programme. There were five episodes, three in 1938 and two in 1939. ...

'', BBC 1938 (5) * ''

Intimate Cabaret ''Intimate Cabaret'' was a British television programme broadcast from 1937 to 1939 on BBC Television. It was one of several spin-offs from the BBC series ''Cabaret''. It was a live variety programme. There were 24 episodes. The first seven we ...

'', BBC 193738 (7) * ''Out of the Bag'', ABC (radio) 194041 * '' Rooftop Rendezvous'', ABC 1959 * '' Tele-Variety'', ABC 195758 (3) * ''Variety'', BBC 193739, 1946, 1949 (32) * ''

Western Cabaret ''Western Cabaret'' was a live variety programme series broadcast in 1939 on BBC Television. It was one of several spin-offs from the BBC series ''Cabaret''. It was compered by Big Bill Campbell and produced by Harry Pringle. Four episodes ...

'', BBC 1939 (5)

Notes

References

External links

* ; in England 193739, 194546, 1949 * ; in Australia 195759 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pringle, Harry 1903 births 1985 deaths Australian radio producers Australian television producers BBC television producers