''The Valiant Years'' was a documentary produced by

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

based on the memoirs of

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...

, directed by Anthony Bushell and

John Schlesinger John Richard Schlesinger (; 16 February 1926 – 25 July 2003) was an English film and stage director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for ''Midnight Cowboy'', and was nominated for the same award for two other films ('' Darling'' a ...

, narrated by

Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill (August 2, 1915 – March 5, 1990) was an American film and television actor whose credits included more than 50 feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances. He starr ...

and with extracts from the memoirs voiced by

Richard Burton Richard Burton (; born Richard Walter Jenkins Jr.; 10 November 1925 – 5 August 1984) was a Welsh actor. Noted for his baritone voice, Burton established himself as a formidable Shakespearean actor in the 1950s, and he gave a memorable ...

. It ran in the United States from 1960 to 1961, in 27 30-minute episodes and was broadcast in the UK by the

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. ...

from February to August 1961. Its incidental music was written by

Richard Rodgers Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most well-known American ...

, who won an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for it in 1962. Scriptwriters included Victor Wolfson a dramatist and writer, playwright William Templeton, Quentin Reynolds,

William L. Shirer William Lawrence Shirer (; February 23, 1904 – December 28, 1993) was an American journalist and war correspondent. He wrote ''The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich'', a history of Nazi Germany that has been read by many and cited in scholarly w ...

, an American journalist, war correspondent and historian, and

Richard Tregaskis Richard William Tregaskis (November 28, 1916 – August 15, 1973) was an American journalist and author whose best-known work is '' Guadalcanal Diary'' (1943), an account of just the first several weeks (in August - September 1942) of the U.S. M ...

. One of the programme's London-based producers was actor

Patrick Macnee Daniel Patrick Macnee (6 February 1922 – 25 June 2015) was a British film and television actor. After serving in the Royal Navy during World War II, he began his acting career in Canada. Despite having some small film roles, Macnee spent much ...

, just prior to his being cast as secret agent

John Steed Major The Hon. John Wickham Gascoyne Beresford Steed usually known as John Steed, is a fictional character and the central protagonist on the 1960s British spy series '' The Avengers'' and its 1970s sequel '' The New Avengers'', played by Patri ...

in the long-running cult TV series '' The Avengers''.

Awards

won an

Emmy award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

in 1962 for the music he wrote for the programme. * Victor Wolfson, who wrote several episodes, won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

1960-1961 for Outstanding Writing Achievement in the Documentary Field.

List of episodes

# The Gathering Storm # Combat Deepens # Dunkirk # French Agony # Take One with You # The Ravens Remain # Struggle at Sea # Hinge of Fate # Alone no More # Out of the East # The Torch is Lit # Sand and Snow # Strike Hard, Strike Home! # Closing the Ring # Be Sure you Win # Turning of the Tide # The Die is Cast # D-Day # Europe Set Ablaze # Triumph in France # Beginning of the End # Final Christmas # Yalta # Tying the Knot # Götterdämmerung # Goodbye, Mr Churchill # The Will to Victory

References

External links

* Films about Winston Churchill {{BBC-tv-prog-stub