Pat Dixon (BBC Producer)
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Patrick "Pat" Kenneth Macneile Dixon (15 June 1904 – 8 October 1958) was an English radio producer for
BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...
.


Biography

Dixon was born on 15 June 1904; his parents were Professor
William Macneile Dixon William Macneile Dixon (1866 – 31 January 1946) was a British author and academic. Biography Dixon was born in India, the only son of the Reverend William Dixon and attended Methodist College Belfast. He studied at Trinity College, Dublin, wh ...
(1891–1946) and Edith (née Wales, ?–1945). He was educated at
Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
and
Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...
. Dixon worked for a time as a journalist with the ''Glasgow Herald'', and then in the publicity section of
Gaumont British The Gaumont-British Picture Corporation produced and distributed films and operated a cinema chain in the United Kingdom. It was established as an offshoot of the Gaumont Film Company of France. Film production Gaumont-British was founded in 18 ...
before moving to the advertising agency Mather & Crowther. He joined the
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. ...
...
in October 1940 as a producer and, in the summer of 1948, produced ''Listen, My Children'', a series which included
Harry Secombe Sir Harold Donald Secombe (8 September 1921 – 11 April 2001) was a Welsh comedian, actor, singer and television presenter. Secombe was a member of the British radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'' (1951–1960), playing many characters, m ...
and
Benny Hill Alfred Hawthorne "Benny" Hill (21 January 1924 – 20 April 1992) was an English comedian, actor, singer and writer. He is remembered for his television programme ''The Benny Hill Show'', an amalgam of slapstick, burlesque and double ente ...
in the cast. At the end of 1948 he produced the radio series ''Third Division'', which was broadcast in early 1949; the shows were written by
Frank Muir Frank Herbert Muir (5 February 1920 – 2 January 1998) was an English comedy writer, radio and television personality, and raconteur. His writing and performing partnership with Denis Norden endured for most of their careers. Together they wro ...
and
Denis Norden Denis Mostyn Norden (6 February 1922 – 19 September 2018) was an English comedy writer and television presenter. After an early career working in cinemas, he began scriptwriting during the Second World War. From 1948 to 1959, he co-wrote the ...
and the cast included Secombe,
Michael Bentine Michael Bentine, (born Michael James Bentin; 26 January 1922General Register Office for England and Wales – Birth Register for the March Quarter of 1922, Watford Registration District, Reference 3a 1478, listed as "Michael J. Bentin", mother ...
and
Peter Sellers Peter Sellers (born Richard Henry Sellers; 8 September 1925 – 24 July 1980) was an English actor and comedian. He first came to prominence performing in the BBC Radio comedy series ''The Goon Show'', featured on a number of hit comic songs ...
. Bentine noted that Dixon was "scholarly and intelligently humorous ... and as radical in his approach to comedy as we were", while Muir considered him "a terrific chap, and a rebel ... he started all sorts of ideas and shows. In 1951 Dixon agreed to a request from
Spike Milligan Terence Alan "Spike" Milligan (16 April 1918 – 27 February 2002) was an Irish actor, comedian, writer, musician, poet, and playwright. The son of an English mother and Irish father, he was born in British Raj, British Colonial India, where h ...
to record an audition tape which included Milligan, Sellers, Bentine and Secombe; he passed the tape on to the BBC planners and stressed that a series would be an asset to the corporation. They agreed and ''Crazy People'' was produced, which was subsequently re-named ''
The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...
'', although Dixon was not the producer. Dixon had a further impact on the show as he introduced
Max Geldray Max van Gelder (12 February 1916 – 2 October 2004), professionally known as Max Geldray, was a Dutch jazz harmonica player. Best known for providing musical interludes for the BBC radio comedy programme ''The Goon Show'', he was also cr ...
and
Ray Ellington Henry Pitts Brown (17 March 1916 – 27 February 1985), known professionally as Ray Ellington, was an English singer, drummer and bandleader. He is best known for his appearances on ''The Goon Show'' from 1951 to 1960. The Ray Ellington Quartet h ...
into the format. Towards the end of the sixth series of ''The Goon Show'', the regular producer,
Peter Eton Peter Randolph Eton (28 May 1917 – December 1979) was a producer for BBC radio and television. He was invalided out of the navy after being wounded during the Dunkirk evacuation and joined the BBC. He worked at the Variety Department of th ...
, left the show to work 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 ...
: Dixon became the show's producer for the remaining six episodes. Dixon was less disciplinarian that Eton in his approach, although there was some friction with Milligan and Eton returned to produce the first two shows of series seven, before Dixon completed the rest of the 25 episode series. His last ''Goon Show'' was broadcast on 28 March 1957. During his tenure as ''Goon Show'' producer, Dixon came under pressure from the BBC to ensure no overtly political preferences or jokes were in the script; he resented such coercion, and wrote to the Assistant Head of Variety, "I think it is very dangerous to have these subtle encroachments on free speech". Spike Milligan considered that Dixon was, "the only producer ... who knows what the ''Goon Show'' is all about". Dixon worked with
Tony Hancock Anthony John Hancock (12 May 1924 – 25 June 1968) was an English comedian and actor. High-profile during the 1950s and early 1960s, he had a major success with his BBC series ''Hancock's Half Hour'', first broadcast on radio from 1954, ...
, when he produced the first episode of the fifth series of
Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the r ...
, ''The New Radio Series''. He also produced the series ''Ignorance is Bliss'' and ''These Foolish Things''. Dixon also worked again with Michael Bentine on the first series of ''Round the Bend in Thirty Minutes''. He died of cancer on 8 October 1958, aged 54.


Selected credits

* ''
Take It From Here ''Take It from Here'' (often referred to as ''TIFH'', pronounced – and sometimes humorously spelt – "TIFE") is a British radio comedy programme broadcast Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audie ...
'' (Radio) * ''
It's That Man Again ''It's That Man Again'' (commonly contracted to ''ITMA'') was a BBC radio comedy programme which ran for twelve series from 1939 to 1949. The shows featured Tommy Handley in the central role, a fast-talking figure, around whom the other cha ...
'' (Radio, 1941–44) * ''Tom Arnold's Hoop-La!'' (Radio, 1944–45) * ''It's a Pleasure'' (Radio, 1945) * ''Our Shed'' (Radio, 1946) * ''Ignorance is Bliss'' (Radio, 1947–1949) * ''Night Comes too Soon'' (Film script, 1947) * ''Listen, My Children'' (Radio, 1948) * ''Third Division'' (Radio, 1949) * ''The Bradens'' (Radio, 1950–1956) * ''Let's Settle For Music with the Baker's Dozen'' (Radio, 1952-?) * ''In All Directions'' (Radio, 1952–55) * ''Starstruck'' (Radio, 1955) * ''Finkel's Café'' (Radio, 1956) * ''These Foolish Things'' (Radio, 1956) * ''
The Goon Show ''The Goon Show'' is a British radio comedy programme, originally produced and broadcast by the BBC Home Service from 1951 to 1960, with occasional repeats on the BBC Light Programme. The first series, broadcast from 28 May to 20 September 19 ...
'' (Radio, 1956–1957) * ''Passing Parade'' (Radio, 1957) * ''Round the Bend in Thirty Minutes'' (1957–58) * ''
Hancock's Half Hour ''Hancock's Half Hour'' was a BBC radio comedy, and later television comedy series, broadcast from 1954 to 1961 and written by Galton and Simpson, Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. The series starred Tony Hancock, with Sid James, Sidney James; the r ...
'' (Radio, 1958)


Notes and references

Notes References


Bibliography

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External links


Pat Dixon
at
British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixon, Pat 1915 births 1958 deaths British radio producers The Goon Show