Jack Hylton Presents - Tapa blanda

From 1955 to 1960, Jack Hylton, former theatre impresario and band leader, presented some of the greatest names in British variety for Associated-Rediffusion - from Tony Hancock and the Crazy Gang to Dickie Henderson and Arthur Askey. This volume tells his story. It chronicles Hylton's time as ITV's first independent light entertainment producer and explores the background of the 100 surviving programmes. The research is based on study of all the films in the NFTVA's Hylton collection, as well as on interviews with many of the people who worked on the programmes, including writers Dick Vosburgh and Eric Sykes, and artist Alfred Marks. The book also contains cast and credit details for all the surviving programmes.

Jack Hylton, impresario and former band leader, was adviser on light entertainment to the first ITV company, Associated-Rediffusion, and formed his own independent company to make programmes for A-R. Throughout the late 1950s Jack Hylton Television Productions presented some of the greatest names in British variety theatre. The list of artists who appeared under his banner reads like a Who's Who of variety, from Tony Hancock, Arthur Askey and the Crazy Gang to Dickie Henderson, Alfred Marks and Anne Shelton. Remarkably, over 100 of Hylton's programmes have survived and are now in the care of the National Film & Television Archive. This book tells the fascinating and sometimes surprising story of Hylton's ultimately unsuccessful foray into television. Also included are details of all the programmes held by NFTVA, along with full cast lists and credits for this exciting collection.