by Louis Barfe
Aston Astoria, 87
Aston Hippodrome, 79
Astoria Theatre, 21
At Last the 1948 Show, 181
Atkins, Arthur, 144
Atkinson, Rowan, 338
Attenborough, David, 71
Attenborough, Richard, 68
Attlee, Clement, 81
Attlee, Mrs, 63
Auguste, Père, 58
Australia, 19
Aylward, Fred, 349
Bacharach Sound, The, 243
Bachelors, 242, 246
Baddeley, Hermione, 93
BAFTA awards, 101, 208
Bailey, Kenneth, 147
Baird, John Logie, 29–32, 122
Bajot, Carmen, 251
Baker, Hylda, 222
Baker, Joe, 112
Baker, Kenny, 135, 160, 186
Baker, Peter, 193
Baker, Richard, 237–8
‘Balham: Gateway to the South’, 52
Ball, Kenny, 242
Bandwaggon, 34, 36
Bangor, 36–7, 52
Barbirolli, Sir John, 206
Barclay, Humphrey, 195, 270, 285
Barker, Bob, 300
Barker, Eric, 36
Barker, Ronnie, 271, 279–82
Barnes, Fred, 33
Barnes, Sir George, 83, 119
Barnsley Gaumont, 222
Baron, The, 153
Barr, Robert, 58–9
Barrière, Alain, 157
Barron Knights, 261
Barry, Michael, 58–9
Barry, Sir Gerald, 82
Barrymore, Michael, 267, 341–2
Bart, Lionel, 169
Bartholomew, Sadie, 146
Bassey, Shirley, 136, 154, 194, 202, 234, 258, 269
Bath, Lord, 299
Batley Variety Club, 232, 241–2, 249
Baverstock, Donald, 165, 177, 256
Bax, Peter, 87–8
Baxter, Stanley, 99–102, 264, 266–71, 281, 304
BBC, 22–8
and alternative comedy, 328–9, 335–6
Appreciation Index, 106
BBC2 launch, 182–4
Birt reforms, 342–6, 350
and commercial television, 81, 87, 89–91, 98–9, 102–3, 105, 328
and continental rivals, 24, 50
contracts and salaries, 108–10
current affairs programming, 105, 162
drinking culture, 283–4
and financial control, 345
fined by HSE, 317
Forces Programme, 49–50
‘green book’, 51–2
Home Service, 34, 49, 91, 130
and licence fees, 24, 28, 57, 105, 224
Light Programme, 49–50, 91, 128, 130
and music provision, 160–1
North region, 48–9, 135–8
and politicians, 224, 342
politics and bureaucracy, 63, 210, 345
and prizes, 351
and Producer Choice, 342
production staff, 118–19
radio reorganization, 130–1
regulation of, 163, 165
and Royal Variety Performance, 139
and satire boom, 161–3, 165, 171–2
snobbery at, 58
Sunday broadcasts, 23–4
and television, 29–33, 57–8, 63–4, 72–3
Third Programme, 50–1, 91, 130
and training, 71, 114–15, 184, 186
and wartime broadcasting, 33–7
and weekly scheduling, 103
BBC Dance Orchestra, 23, 26
BBC Enterprises, 119
BBC Show Band, 52
BBC Television Orchestra, 31
BBC3, 172
Beadle, Gerald, 119
Beadle, Jeremy, 295
Beatles, 55, 134, 151–2, 175–7, 244
Beaverbrook, Lord, 89, 155
Before Your Very Eyes, 95, 102
Belfast, 26, 37
Bell, David, 264, 266–70, 277, 285, 289, 295, 304, 308
Bellisario, Ray, 215
Bells of St Martins, The, 113
Bennett, Alan, 222
Bennett, Betty, 186
Bennett, Cyril, 164, 195–7, 263–4, 270, 276
Benny, Jack, 103–5, 116, 139
Bentine, Michael, 52–3, 78, 140
Bentley, Dick, 46, 69, 73
Bergen, Edgar, 47
Bernstein, Sidney and Cecil, 85, 87, 97–8, 243
Betjeman, Sir John, 283
Betting and Gaming Act, 127
Bevin, Ernest, 47
Bevins, Reginald, 172
Beyond Our Ken, 101, 128
Beyond the Fringe, 161, 189
Big Brother, 324
Big Night Out, 145–6, 256
Bigden, Alf, 161
Biggins, Christopher, 305–6
Bilk, Acker, 174, 254
‘Bill’, 297
Bill, The, 324
Billy Cotton Band Show, 44, 102–3, 106, 115–16, 160, 199, 254
bingo, 127
Binyon, Laurence, 91
Bird, John, 165–7
Birdsall, Timothy, 167
Birmingham, 24, 79, 155
Birt, John, 276, 303–4, 306–8
and BBC reforms, 342–6, 350
Bit of Fry and Laurie, A, 328, 333
Black and White Minstrel Show, The, 7, 134, 156, 160, 169, 225, 236, 301
Bill Cotton and, 290, 312
and racial attitudes, 122–3, 289–90
Black and White Minstrels, 248
Black Bottom, the, 21
Black, Cilla, 189, 198–200, 269, 279, 304–6, 322, 324–5
Black, George, 17–20, 27, 124
Black, Peter, 95–6
Blackburn, Tony, 130
blackface performers, 7, 12, 27, 122–3, 289–90
Blackpool, 99, 145, 147, 245, 247–9, 261, 303
Blackpool Night Out, 145, 256
Blair, Joyce, 112
Blair, Lionel, 112, 142
Blake, Susie, 267
Blanchflower, Danny, 273
Blankety Blank, 259, 294, 304, 351
Bless This House, 271
Bligh, Jasmine, 57
Blind Date, 306–8
Blue Peter, 108, 286
Bluett, Kitty, 44–5
Blumlein, Alan Dower, 30
Boer War, 12
Bogart, Humphrey, 299
Bond, Derek, 254
Bonham-Carter, Lady Violet, 82
Booker, Christopher, 168, 207
Boom Boom Out Go The Lights, 329, 332
Booth, Webster, 228
Border Television, 85
Bostock-Smith, Colin, 285
Bough, Frank, 234, 238
Boulter, John, 123
Bowen, Jim, 244
Boy Meets Girls, 140
Boyd, Alan, 223, 268, 283–4, 287, 294–6, 304–8, 352
Boyer, Jacqueline, 157
Boyle, Katie, 157
Braben, Eddie, 150, 233–4, 236
Braden, Bernard, 57, 163–4, 208
Brahms, Caryl, 167
Braine, John, 195
Brains Trust, The, 67
Brainsby, Tony, 212
Brake, Patricia, 285
Brambell, Wilfrid, 238
Bregman, Buddy, 160, 180
Bremner, Rory, 328
Briers, Richard, 330
Briggs, David, 351
Bristol, 11, 34, 36, 52, 65, 346
Bristol Hippodrome, 77
Britain’s Got Talent, 352
British Film Institute, 98
Brixton Empress, 14, 18
Brixton riots, 258
Broad and Narrow, 333
Broadcasting Act, 338
Broadcasting House, 26, 29, 34
broadcasting unions, 337
Bron, Eleanor, 167
Brooke, Henry, 168
Brooke-Taylor, Tim, 131, 181
Brookmeyer, Bob, 187
Brooks, Mel, 94, 189
Brough, Peter, 46–7, 57, 64
Brown, B
ill, 68
Brown, Faith, 265–7
Brown, Georgia, 162
Brown, Janet, 239, 264–5
Brown, Joe, 301
Brown, Ray, 187
Browne, Jill, 179
Brownrigg, Thomas, 176–7
Bruce, Brenda, 68
Brühl, Heidi, 157
Bryants, The, 32
BSkyB, 323
Buchanan, Jack, 25, 37, 146
Buck and Bubbles, 31
Buffalo Bill, 7
Burdon, Albert, 266
Burkiss Way, The, 131
Burnaby, Dave, 24
Burnand, Wilf, 12
Burns, George, 139, 217–18
Burns, Tito, 192, 212
Burton, Humphrey, 186, 222
Burton, Richard, 154, 216, 219
Busby, Sir Matt, 206
Bush, Kate, 265
Butlins holiday camps, 248–9, 301–2
Butterworth, Peter, 60
Buxton, Sheila, 136
Bygraves, Max, 46, 134, 212, 300, 308
Byrne, Gay, 244
cabaret, 124–6
cable television, 323
Caesar, Sid, 94, 189
Café Continental, 58, 88, 250
Cahn, Sammy, 218
Caine, Marti, 277
Caine, Michael, 327
Caldwell, Henry, 58, 65, 250
Callas, Maria, 98
Camden Town Bedford Theatre, 72
Cameron, Ray, 292
Campaign for Quality Television, 338
Campbell, Ken, 198
Campey, George, 156
Canasta, Chan, 310
Candid Camera, 144, 295
Cannon and Ball, 245, 335
Canterbury Hall, 1–3, 7, 10, 13–14
Capital FM, 351
Captain Woodward’s Performing Seals, 11
Cardiff, 6, 202
Cargill, Patrick, 271
Carissima, 61
Carling, Will, 323
Carlisle, Harry, 157
Carlton Television, 340–1
Carman, George, 261
Carmichael, Hoagy, 169
Carr, Pearl, 157
Carrott, Jasper, 285–6, 331
Carry On films, 61
Carson, Frank, 244–5
Carson, Jeannie, 66
Carson, Johnny, 165, 205–7
Carter, Ken, 93, 272
Caryll, Billy, 19
Casey, Jack, 75
Cash, Dave, 130
Casson, Philip, 239
Castle, Roy, 75, 112, 219–20, 286
Castling, Harry, 13
Catchpole, Charlie, 322
Cave-Browne Cave, B.W., 49
Cavendish, Kay, 37
CBS, 180, 300
Celebrity Squares, 277
Cellar Tapes, The, 332
Central Television, 297, 300, 303, 339–41
Chacksfield, Frank, 109
Chambers, Garry, 285
Champion, Harry, 33
Channel 4, 329, 340, 347
Channel Television, 85
Chant, Mrs Ormiston, 15–16
Chapman, Graham, 181
Charing Cross Road Hippodrome, 6, 124–5
Charles, Prince of Wales, 240
Charleston, the, 42
Charlot, André, 124
Charman, Colin, 210, 228
chat shows, 131, 205–24
Checkland, Michael, 342
Chelsea at Nine, 97
Chelsea Palace, 5, 243
Chester, Charlie, 36
Chester, Maurice, 11
Chevalier, Albert, 10, 17
Children’s Hour, 100
Chirgwin, G.H., 7, 17
Chisholm, George, 186
Chung Ling Soo (William Robinson), 11, 311
Churchill, Ben, 142
Churchill, Winston, 16, 81–2, 92
Cinderella, 266
Cinema, 214
cinemas, 17, 22, 28, 79, 87, 226
Clapham Grand Theatre, 14
Clark, Petula, 67, 110, 174
Clark, Robert, 275
Clark, Sir Kenneth, 84, 88
Cleese, John, 131, 181, 193, 252, 257, 279
Clement, Dick, 160
Cleveleys Odeon, 146
Clews, Colin, 149, 152, 225
Cliff, Laddie, 32
Clifton, Bernie, 240–1
Clouston, George, 135
Club Night, 137, 243
Coates, Eric, 28
Cochran, C.B., 64
Cock, Gerald, 30, 34
Codd, Pat, 322
Coe, Tony, 186
Cogan, Alma, 46
Cole, Nat ‘King’, 139, 189
Cole, Reg, 113
Colehan, Barney, 65, 136–7, 243
Colin, Sid, 22, 56, 61, 174, 256
Coliseum, 6–7, 33
Collins, Charles, 8
Collins, Joe, 42
Collins, Norman, 83–4, 86, 89, 92
Collins, Sam (Samuel Vagg), 4
Collins’s Music Hall, 79
Combined Services Entertainment, 253
comedians, 9–10
and advent of broadcasting, 23
and BBC auditions, 54
and The Goon Show, 55
Comedians, The, 244–5, 247
comedy writers, 55–7
Comic Strip, 329
Como, Perry, 116–17, 201–2
Composer at the Piano, 33
‘Congratulations’, 158
Conley, Brian, 341
Connery, Sean, 348
Connolly, Billy, 218
Conrad, Hamilton, 11
Conservative Party, 81–2, 265, 293, 327, 337, 342
Coogan, Steve, 344
Cook, Peter, 162, 165, 168, 170, 189, 213–14
Cooke, Alastair, 216
Cooke, Brian, 271
Cool for Cats, 108
Cooper, George, 275
Cooper, Tommy, 64, 216–17, 253–5, 271
his death, xii, 308–9
Co-Optimists, 24
Cope, Kenneth, 167
Corbett, Harry H., 206–7, 238
Corbett, Ronnie, 181, 279–82
Cordet, Hélène, 58, 88–9
Coronation Street, 167, 303
Corrigan, Jimmy, 242–3
Cotton, Bill, junior, 40, 44, 106, 110, 114–17, 353–4
heads BBC light entertainment, 132–3
and Black and White Minstrel Show, 290, 312
and Blankety Blank, 294
and Bruce Forsyth, 227–8
and Cilla Black, 199–200
and Eurovision Song Contest, 158–9
and jazz shows, 186–8
and Kathy Kirby, 181, 199
and Maschwitz appointment, 119–20
and Michael Lush accident, 316
and Michael Parkinson, 214, 221
and Morecambe and Wise, 231–2, 238
and Peter Cook, 213–14
and satire, 162
and Simon Dee, 207–8, 212–13
and Tommy Cooper, 254
and Top of the Pops, 177–8
and the Two Ronnies, 281
Cotton, Billy, 21, 40–1, 43–4, 88, 106, 110, 115–16
Billy Cotton Band Show, 44, 102–3, 106, 115–16, 160, 199, 254
Billy Cotton’s Music Hall, 225
Countdown, 222, 329
Covent Garden Theatre, 2–3
Cowell, Simon, 352
Cowgill, Bryan, 328, 339
Crackerjack, 206, 275, 301, 326
Crawley, Aidan, 191
Crazy Gang, 18–21, 40, 74, 93, 95, 123–4, 138
Crewe, Bertie, 5
Crier, Gordon, 68
Criss-Cross Quiz, 98, 243
Critchley, Julian, 195–6
Croft, David, 93
Crombie, Tony, 75
Crompton, Colin, 245–7
Cromwell, Oliver, 4
Crosby, Bing, 97
Crowther, Leslie, 123, 301–3, 326–7
Croydon transmitter, 87
Crui
ckshank, Stewart, 101
Cryer, Barry, 193, 257, 264, 285, 292
Cuckoo College, 62
Cudlipp, Hugh, 155
Culshaw, John, 235
Dad’s Army, 83, 131
dance bands, 21–3, 27, 49
Danger – Men at Work, 27
Danger Man, 153
Danielle, Suzanne, 240
Daniels, Paul, 245, 310–12, 345–6
Dankworth, John, 145, 162, 177, 187
Dave Clark Five, 187
Dave King Show, 103
Davidson, Jim, 52
Davis, Arthur, 282
Davis, Clifford, 90, 95
Davis, Sammy, Junior, 139, 142–4, 154, 210–12, 219–20, 258
Davison, Harold, 187
Dawson, Dickie, 298
Dawson, Les, xii, 255–60, 351
Day, Darren, 325
Day, Robin, 171
De Paul, Lynsey, 161
Deal or No Deal, 91
Deayton, Angus, 346–7
Dee, Kiki, 208
Dee, Simon, 207–13, 313–15
Delfont, Bernard, 41–2, 77, 124–5, 139, 148, 256
Dennis, Les, 300
Dennis, Pamela, 116
Devant, David, 11, 17, 26
Dhéry, Robert, 95
Diana, Princess of Wales, 240
Dickson, Barbara, 280
Didsbury Capitol, 87, 146
Dig This!, 118, 173
Discoveries, 240
Disorderly Houses Act, 4
Dixon, Adele, 31
Dixon, Pat, 52
Dixon, Reg, 40, 47
Dobereiner, Peter, 168
Docherty, David, 263, 303
Doctor in the House, 196
Doctor Who, 212, 278
Dodd, Ken, 233, 260–1, 324
dog acts, 11–12, 62, 181
Domingo, Placido, 218
Donegan, Lonnie, 97, 139, 242
Donnelly, Declan, 353
‘Don’t Dilly Dally on the Way’, 8–9
Doonican, Val, 198, 201–2, 242, 279, 348
Dorfman, Stanley, 198–9
Dorgan, Arlene, 179
Double Your Money, 91, 174, 224, 272, 351
Douglas, Jack, 112
Douglas, Josephine, 107
Douglas-Home, Alec, 185
Downes, Johnny, 270
Dragnet, 90, 182
Drake, Charlie, 225, 285
Drewett, Richard, 212–15, 218, 285
Drumbeat, 118, 173
Duncan, Jack, 168, 170, 256–7
Duncan, Vic, 12
Dunkley, Chris, 213–14
Dwyer, Penny, 332
Dyall, Valentine, 93
Eager, Vince, 108
EastEnders, 223
Eckersley, Peter, 29
Eclair, Jenny, 347
Ed Sullivan Show, 187
Eden, Sir Anthony, 163
Edgware Road Metropolitan, 18, 40, 92
Edmonds, Noel, 307, 313–25, 348, 350, 353
Edmondson, Adrian, xiii, 329–30, 334
Edward VII, King, 16
Edwardes, George, 15–16
Edwards, Jimmy, xii, 45–6, 78, 94, 279, 285
Edwards, Ralph, 272–3
Eldon, Kevin, 347
Eldorado, 224
Elen, Gus, 10, 14, 17
Elephant and Castle Trocadero, 45
Elizabeth, Queen, the Queen Mother, 345
Elizabeth II, Queen, 65, 268