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Bernard Delfont, Baron Delfont (born Boris Winogradsky; 5 September 1909 – 28 July 1994) was a leading
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...
n-born
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
theatrical
impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...
.


Life and career

Delfont was born in
Tokmak Tokmak may refer to one of the following: * Tokmak, Ukraine, a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine *Tokmak, Uzbekistan, a city in Uzbekistan *Tokmok, a city in Kyrgyzstan, often also spelt Tokmak *Molochna The Molochna (, russian: Моло́чн ...
,
Berdyansky Uyezd Berdyansky Uyezd () was one of the subdivisions of the Taurida Governorate of the Russian Empire. It was situated in the northeastern part of the governorate. Its administrative centre was Berdyansk. Demographics At the time of the Russian Empire ...
,
Taurida Governorate The Taurida Governorate (russian: Тавріическая губернія, modern spelling , ; crh, script=Latn, Tavrida guberniyası, ) or the Government of Taurida, was a historical governorate of the Russian Empire. It included the Crime ...
,
Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
(now
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
), the second son of Isaac and Olga Winogradsky, a
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. His brothers,
Lew Grade Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Winogradsky; 25 December 1906 – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 ...
and
Leslie Grade Leslie Grade (3 June 1916 – 15 October 1979), born Laszlo (or Lazarus) Winogradsky, was a British theatrical talent agent. In 1943, he co-founded the Grade Organisation (also known as Lew and Leslie Grade Ltd) with his elder brother, the impres ...
, also entered show business and formed the Grade Organisation. Their sister, Rita Grade, later wrote a book about the family called ''My Fabulous Brothers''. In 1912, the family moved to the East End of London and at age 12, Delfont left school and followed Lew into
music halls 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 ...
and changed his name to Delfont to avoid confusion with his brother, forming a dance partnership with comic Hal Monty called The Delfont Boys. He later formed another dance partnership called Delfont & Toko. In 1937 he stopped dancing and again followed Lew in becoming an agent and impresario. 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 opposing ...
Delfont became involved in the theatre with a tour of '' Room for Two'' in 1941 and then started staging shows in London from 1942 with ''Jam Tomorrow'' at the St Martin's Theatre. He entered theatrical management in 1949 and acquired theatres in the
West End of London The West End of London (commonly referred to as the West End) is a district of Central London, west of the City of London and north of the River Thames, in which many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government build ...
. He acquired the
London Casino The Prince Edward Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Old Compton Street, just north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. History The theatre was designed in 1930 by Edward A. Stone, with an interior designed by Marc ...
and converted the
London Hippodrome The Hippodrome is a building on the corner of Cranbourn Street and Charing Cross Road 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 su ...
into the Talk of the Town nightclub, bringing in entertainers such as Lena Horne, Shirley Bassey, Frank Sinatra, Eartha Kitt,
Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...
,
The Ink Spots The Ink Spots were an American pop vocal group who gained international fame in the 1930s and 1940s. Their unique musical style presaged the rhythm and blues and rock and roll musical genres, and the subgenre doo-wop. The Ink Spots were widely ac ...
, Sophie Tucker,
Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...
,
Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, dancer, actor, comedian, film producer and television director. At age three, Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the ...
and
Laurel & Hardy Laurel and Hardy were a British-American comedy duo act during the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema, consisting of Englishman Stan Laurel (1890–1965) and American Oliver Hardy (1892–1957). Starting their career as a duo in t ...
and also secured the exclusive rights from Paul Derval to stage the
Folies Bergère The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
for the first time outside Paris. He also teamed up with former rival
Val Parnell Valentine Charles Parnell (14 February 1892 – 22 September 1972) was a British television managing director and presenter, actor and theatrical impresario. A former staple of stage production, his career in television started with the laun ...
to acquire a lease on the
Prince of Wales Theatre The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre in Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in London. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner. The theatre ...
and stage shows at the
London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...
. He presented over 200 shows in London and
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, including more than 50 musicals, such as the original productions of '' Little Me'', ''
Stop the World - I Want to Get Off Stop may refer to: Places * Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States * Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina Facilities * Bus stop * Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
'', '' City Of Angels'', '' Funny Girl'' and '' Sweet Charity''. He also presented summer variety shows in over 20 towns across the UK, mainly seaside resorts. In 1950, he became stage producer for a
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
summer variety show ''Carefree'' and soon after the launch of ITV, the variety show ''Bernard Delfont Presents'' was produced by Lew's
Associated Television Associated Television was the original name of the British broadcaster ATV, part of the Independent Television (ITV) network. It provided a service to London at weekends from 1955 to 1968, to the Midlands on weekdays from 1956 to 1968, and ...
, which ran from 1956 to 1958. From 1959 to 1962, ''Bernard Delfont's Sunday Show'' was broadcast. Delfont was instrumental in bringing Morecambe & Wise to ITV in their first successful TV show, '' Two of a Kind'' (1961 to 1968). He also helped the careers of
Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele reco ...
, Danny La Rue,
Norman Wisdom Sir Norman Joseph Wisdom, (4 February 1915 – 4 October 2010) was an English actor, comedian, musician and singer best known for a series of comedy films produced between 1953 and 1966 featuring a hapless onscreen character often called Norman ...
and Tommy Cooper. By the 1960s, the brothers were all very successful and were said to have a "Gradopoly" over British popular entertainment, with Delfont the country's leading impresario; Leslie running the UK's biggest talent agency and Lew one of the major players in British commercial television. In 1967, the Grade Organisation was acquired by
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
for $21 million and Delfont and his brothers joined the EMI board. When Leslie fell ill, Delfont was asked to help out at the Grade Organisation. As part of the deal, he became the largest individual shareholder in EMI. In 1969 he became chief executive of Associated British Picture Corporation after it was acquired by EMI and was a board member for around 30 entertainment entities, including the Blackpool Tower Company. In 1970, Delfont sold his own Bernard Delfont Organisation to EMI for $192,000, which increased his future shareholding in EMI to a value of around $8 million. As head of EMI's leisure division, Delfont oversaw film production, including '' The Go-Between'' (1971), ''
Murder on the Orient Express ''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a work of detective fiction by English writer Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the U ...
'' (1974), ''
Death on the Nile ''Death on the Nile'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 1 November 1937 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at se ...
'' and ''
The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, ...
'' (both 1978). In that role he withdrew funding for the film ''
Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It wa ...
'' in 1978 at the last moment owing to worries over the religious implications of the screenplay. He later became Chief Executive of EMI in 1979. In 1980, following the sale of EMI's leisure interests to
Trust House Forte Forte Group plc was a British hotel and restaurant company. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Granada in 1996. Its head office was in the London Borough of Camden. ...
, he became chief executive of THF Leisure Division. In 1983, he headed a management buyout under
First Leisure Corporation {{primary sources, date=January 2011 First Leisure Corporation plc was a leisure operator in the United Kingdom active between 1981 and 2004. Originally based in Soho Square, London, and with other offices in Blackpool and Leicester, its operations ...
where he was chairman until 1988 and then president. In Blackpool, First Leisure owned all three of its piers ( South Pier, Central Pier and
North Pier North Pier is the most northerly of the three coastal piers in Blackpool, England. Built in the 1860s, it is also the oldest and longest of the three. Although originally intended only as a promenade, competition forced the pier to widen its ...
). He was an active supporter of the
Variety Club of Great Britain Variety, the Children's Charity is a charitable organization founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1927. History On October 10, 1927, a group of eleven men involved in show business set up a social club which they named the "Variety Club". On ...
and was a former president. He presented the annual Royal Variety Performance from 1958 to 1978, and saw its first television broadcast in 1960, which became a ratings hit. He was also involved in other entertainment charities being life president of the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund and president of the Entertainment Charities Fund from 1983 to 1991. Delfont married the actress Carole Lynne in 1946. They had one son (David) and two daughters (Susannah and Jennifer). He was knighted in 1974 and created a life peer as Baron Delfont of
Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appli ...
in Greater London on 29 June 1976. He died from a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
at his
Angmering Angmering is a village and civil parish between Littlehampton and Worthing in West Sussex on the southern edge of the South Downs National Park, England; about two-thirds of the parish (mostly north of the A27 road) fall within the Park. It is ...
home in
Sussex, England Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English C ...
.


Portrayals

In the 2018 film ''
Stan & Ollie ''Stan & Ollie'' is a 2018 biographical comedy-drama film directed by Jon S. Baird. The script, written by Jeff Pope, was inspired by ''Laurel and Hardy: The British Tours'' by A.J. Marriot which chronicled the later years of the comedy double ...
'', which recounts the 1953 tour of the United Kingdom by Laurel & Hardy, he is portrayed by Rufus Jones. He is played by Michael Gambon in the 2019 film '' Judy'', which recounts Judy Garland's last days.


Other appointments

* Companion of the
Grand Order of Water Rats The Grand Order of Water Rats is a British entertainment industry fraternity and charitable organisation based in London. Founded in 1889 by the music hall comedians Joe Elvin and Jack Lotto, the order is known for its high-profile membership an ...
* Member of Saints and Sinners * Printers Charitable Corporation ** President 1979


References


External links


Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delfont, Bernard 1909 births 1994 deaths People from Tokmak People from Berdyansky Uyezd Ukrainian Jews Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom English people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent English theatre managers and producers Impresarios Knights Bachelor Life peers People from Bethnal Green 20th-century English businesspeople Burials at Liberal Jewish Cemetery, Willesden Life peers created by Elizabeth II