Editing Lew Grade (section)

==Media career==

===Television: 1954–1962===
In 1954, Grade was contacted by the manager of singer [[Jo Stafford]], Mike Nidorf,<ref name="Ellis1">Carl Ellis: [http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/lewgrade/index3.php Lew Grade, Part 3: the War and After] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905211110/http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/lewgrade/index3.php |date=5 September 2008 }}, TV Heroes, Transdiffusion.</ref> who notified him of an advertisement in ''[[The Times]]'' inviting franchise bids for the new, commercial [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] network.

Assembling a consortium that included impresarios Val Parnell and Prince Littler, the Incorporated Television Programme Company (ITP), which soon changed its name to [[ITC Entertainment|Incorporated Television Company]] (ITC; also known as ITC Entertainment), was formed. ITC's bid to the [[Independent Television Authority]] (ITA) was rejected on the grounds of its conflict of interest from its prominence and involvement in artist management.<ref name="ATV1">{{cite web  |title =ATV  |publisher =[[British Film Institute|BFI]]  |url =http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/459509/  |access-date =15 April 2008 |quote =the ITA felt that the enormous amount of talent ITC controlled could easily lead it to monopolise the fledgling network  |archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090211140307/http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/459509/  |archive-date =11 February 2009 |url-status =live  |df =dmy-all  }}</ref> 

The Associated Broadcasting Development Company (ABD) had gained ITA approval for both the London weekend and [[English Midlands|Midlands]] weekday contracts, but was undercapitalised; Grade's consortium joined with the ABD to form what became [[Associated Television]] (ATV). Reflecting his background in variety, Grade's favourite show<ref name="Palmer112">Michael Palmer and Jeremy Tunstal [https://books.google.com/books?id=XliIAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 ''Media Moguls''], Routledge, 1991, p. 112<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref> and a success for the new company was ''[[Sunday Night at the London Palladium]]'' (1955–1967, 1973–1974), one of the most popular programmes on British television in its day. Grade did not avoid the other end of the cultural spectrum and in 1958 [[Kenneth Clark|Sir Kenneth Clark]]<!-- Not a peer until 1969. --> began to talk about the history of art on television.<ref>Jonathan Bignell ""And the Rest is History: Lew Grade, Creation Narratives and Television Historiography", in Catherine Johnson and Rob Turnock (eds.) [https://books.google.com/books?id=vbLlAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA60 ''Itv Cultures: Independent Television Over Fifty Years''], Maidenhead: Open University Press, 2005, p. 50<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref>

Meanwhile, Grade committed the funds for what would become the first trans-Atlantic success of the ITP subsidiary: ''[[The Adventures of Robin Hood (TV series)|The Adventures of Robin Hood]]'' (1955–1960), commissioned by UK-based American producer [[Hannah Weinstein]]. ITC became a wholly owned ATV subsidiary in 1957,<ref name="AngeliniITC">Sergio Angelini: [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/563524/index.html ITC], BFI screenonline.</ref> That same year ATV established a music publishing division with [[Sony/ATV Music Publishing|ATV Music]] and gained a half interest in [[Pye Records]] in 1959;<ref>Louis Barfe [https://books.google.com/books?id=AhLwEqh8xlkC&pg=PT134 ''Where Have All the Good Times Gone? The Rise and Fall of the Record Industry''], London: Atlantic Books, 2005, p. 134<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref> later Pye became a wholly owned subsidiary.

===Television: 1962–1968===
Grade was deputy managing director of ATV under Val Parnell until 1962, when he became managing director having contrived to have the board oust Parnell.<ref name="Angelini">Sergio Angelini [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/people/id/482705/index.html "Grade, Lord Lew (1906–1998)"], BFI Screenonline</ref> Grade soon decided that the Midlands deserved its own regular soap opera as a rival to ''[[Coronation Street]]''. ''[[Crossroads (soap opera)|Crossroads]]'', much derided but ultimately a serious challenge to Granada's series in the ratings, began its initial quarter century run in November 1964.<ref>John Williams [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1357782/index.html "''Crossroads'' – The 1960s"], BFI Screenonline</ref>

ITC's success continued and had many internationally successful TV series, leading [[Howard Thomas (producer)|Howard Thomas]], managing director of [[ABC Weekend TV]], to complain that Grade distributed programming for "[[Birmingham, Alabama]], rather than [[Birmingham]], England".<ref name="Ellis2">Carl Ellis [http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/lewgrade/index4.php Lew Grade, Part 4: Embracing the 1950s] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728124700/http://www.transdiffusion.org/emc/tvheroes/lewgrade/index4.php |date=28 July 2011 }}, TV Heroes, Transdiffusion.</ref> These series included ''[[The Saint (TV series)|The Saint]]'' (1962–1969), which was sold to over 80 countries,<ref name="Chapman">James Chapman [https://books.google.com/books?id=rW7nJMJ-WloC&pg=PA100 ''Saints and Avengers: British Adventure Series of the 1960s''], London: I.B Tauris, 2002, p.100</ref> and two featuring [[Patrick McGoohan]]: ''[[Danger Man]]'' (1960–1968) and ''[[The Prisoner]]'' (1967–1968). The series, exclusively thrillers, were normally used as summer replacements for American-made programmes until the mid-1960s.<ref>Stuart Hood [http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/25th-november-1966/12/export-backlash "Export Backlash"], ''The Spectator'', 25 November 1966, p. 12</ref> While many of Grade's series used American actors in lead roles (''[[The Baron (TV series)|The Baron]]'' and ''[[Man in a Suitcase]]'', for example) it was those series which used an exclusively British cast, such as ''The Saint'' (and ''[[The Avengers (TV series)|The Avengers]]'', made by another ITV contractor), which were more successful in the United States.<ref>Chapman, ''Saints and Avengers'', p. 11</ref>

In 1962, [[AP Films]] became a subsidiary of ITC. Co-founded by [[Gerry Anderson]], AP Films produced two marionette puppet ("[[Supermarionation]]") series for children during the 1960s: ''[[Thunderbirds (TV series)|Thunderbirds]]'' (1965–1966) and (as Century 21) ''[[Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons]]'' (1967–1968). After a screening of the pilot for ''Thunderbirds'' ("[[Trapped in the Sky]]", 1964), Grade insisted that the episodes be lengthened to fill a one-hour slot.<ref>{{Cite journal |title=Thunderbirds |url=http://www.classictv.info/show/trivia.asp?show=21 |website=Classic TV Info |access-date=12 April 2017}}</ref> Unusually for [[children's television series]], these [[Color television|colour]] programmes were generously budgeted for the time.  Grade paid £22,000 per episode (£{{formatnum:{{inflation|UK|22000|1966|r=-2}}}} as of {{CURRENTYEAR}}).
They were also successfully repeated internationally.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gilhooly |first=Rob |date=26 December 2001 |title=Still F.A.B. after all these years |work=The Japan Times |url=http://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2001/12/26/arts/still-f-a-b-after-all-these-years/#.WO67dlPyutg |access-date=12 April 2017}}</ref> 
 
In 1966, Grade's companies were re-organised again to form the Associated Communications Corporation (ACC). That year, ''[[The Sunday Times]]'' investigated the interconnected nature of the companies controlled by Grade and his two brothers, Bernard Delfont and Leslie Grade. Their firms, effectively amounting to a "cartel", were agents for most of the major talents in acting as well as entertainment and controlled theatres in both London and the rest of the UK and ATV was a major provider of televised entertainment.<ref name="Palmer112"/>

===Later television productions===
The following year, ATV lost its London franchise to what would become [[London Weekend Television]] (LWT);<ref name="Elen">Richard G. Elen; [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/459509/index.html ATV], BFI screenonline.</ref> at the same time, however, ATV's Midlands franchise was expanded to run throughout the week from July 1968. Through ATV Music, Grade acquired [[Northern Songs]], gaining control of the [[Lennon–McCartney]] song catalogue.<ref>Philip Norman [https://books.google.com/books?id=l2I0twz__BIC&pg=PA422&lpg=PA422 ''Shout!: The Beatles in Their Generation''],  New York: Fireside, 2005, pp. 422–24</ref>

Foreign sales remained strong for a time (valued at $30&nbsp;million in 1970)<ref name="Time">[https://web.archive.org/web/20081221205506/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,905454,00.html Entrepreneurs: Top Grade], ''TIME'', 4 October 1971.</ref> and the ACC received the [[Queen's Awards for Enterprise|Queen's Awards for Export]] in both 1967 and 1969.

Some of the 1970s distributions performed poorly: these included ''[[The Julie Andrews Hour]]'' (1972–73), which aired for only one season on the [[ABC Television Network]] in the United States. This received positive reviews and seven [[Emmy Award]]s, including the title of 'Best Variety Series'. The action series ''[[The Protectors]]'' (1972–74) and ''[[The Persuaders!]]'' (1971–72),<ref name="AngeliniITC" /> were not especially successful. Gerry Anderson moved to live action [[British television science fiction|science fiction]] shows ''[[UFO (British TV series)|UFO]]'' (1969–71) and ''[[Space: 1999]]'' (1975–77). After ''Space: 1999'', Anderson made no new series for ITC, but maintained a connection with Grade until Grade lost control of his companies in 1982.

In the mid-1970s, Grade approached American puppeteer [[Jim Henson]], who was in need of assistance for his latest television project. Henson wanted to create a new [[variety show]] starring his [[The Muppets|Muppet]] characters, but had been dismissed by American networks on account of his contributions to children's programmes such as ''[[Sesame Street]]'' (1969–present).{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} [[CBS]] came close to agreeing to broadcast ''[[The Muppet Show]]'', but only if it was during a [[Broadcast syndication|syndicated block]] of its programming.{{clarify|date=June 2018}} After watching one of Henson's pilots and recalling a special made in one of his studios, Grade allowed Henson to realise his project in Britain (the series was recorded at the [[ATV Elstree Studios]], later bought by the BBC, primarily used for ''[[EastEnders]]'') and distributed internationally by ITC. Grade's action was instrumental in bringing ''The Muppet Show'' to the screen in 1976 and ensuring its success; it ran until 1981.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}

Grade's other accomplishments in television included the mini-series ''[[Jesus of Nazareth (film)|Jesus of Nazareth]]'' (1977), which was successfully sold to the American market and secured a record-breaking $12&nbsp;million in revenue. Several years in preparation, the deal with the Italian broadcaster [[RAI]] and director [[Franco Zeffirelli]] had been announced three years previously.<ref>Martin Sullivan [http://archive.spectator.co.uk/article/24th-august-1974/15/religion " A television Jesus"], ''The Spectator'', 23 August 1974, p. 15</ref>

===Film===
Grade approached [[Blake Edwards]] to revive the Pink Panther franchise as a TV series, an option Edwards was not keen on,<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/film-obituaries/8207853/Blake-Edwards.html Obituary: Blake Edwards], telegraph.co.uk, 16 December 2010</ref> but he did work on developing scripts. Eventually, he persuaded Grade to finance the property as a feature film project with he and [[Peter Sellers]] waiving their fees in return for a profit-sharing arrangement.<ref>Julian Upton [https://books.google.com/books?id=Gb5ci9IF_SMC&pg=RA1-PT28 ''Fallen Stars: Tragic Lives and Lost Careers''], Manchester, Headpress, 2004, p.28</ref> Both men's careers had not been prospering for a few years.<ref>Bob Thomas [https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19751117&id=BQ9PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=QgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=7275,4848771 "Pink Panther Sequel Spelled Success"], ''The Blade'' (Toledo, Ohio), 17 November 1975, p. 18</ref> Only Grade's second big budget feature,<ref name="Angelini" /> ITC produced the eventual film ''[[The Return of the Pink Panther]]'' (1975), while [[United Artists]] (UA), who had earlier rejected the project themselves, gained distribution rights and a 5% share of the profits.<ref>Roger Lewis [https://books.google.com/books?id=biKazcH-dXoC&pg=PA845 ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers''], London: Arrow Books, 2004 [1994], p. 845n.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed --></ref> Distribution in other countries was undertaken by ITC. ''The Return of the Pink Panther'' was a commercially successful release.<ref name="Angelini" />

It also prompted Grade to move into the film industry, where he had success with ''[[Farewell, My Lovely (1975 film)|Farewell My Lovely]]'' (1975).<ref>"Sir Lew Grade the new knight in shining armour for British films", ''The Irish Times'', Dublin, Ireland, 27 October 1975, p. 14.</ref> Other films of the period made with Grade's involvement include the co-releases ''[[The Boys from Brazil (film)|The Boys From Brazil]]'' (1978) with [[20th Century Fox]] and ''[[Movie Movie]]'' (also 1978) with [[Warner Bros.|Warner Bros]]. He was a producer on the [[Ingmar Bergman]] films ''[[Autumn Sonata]]'' (1978) and ''[[From the Life of the Marionettes]]'' (1980). Grade was executive producer of ''[[The Muppet Movie]]'' (1979) and ''[[The Great Muppet Caper]]'' (1981); [[Orson Welles]] portrayed a studio executive named "Lew Lord" in the first film. One domestic British film made by the ITC subsidiary Black Lion Films, ''[[The Long Good Friday]]'' (1980) was purchased and released by [[HandMade Films]] after Grade and his company had effectively disowned it for, in Grade's reputed opinion, seeming to be sympathetic to the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army|IRA]].<ref name="Duguid">Mark Duguid [http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/480130/index.html "''Long Good Friday, The'' (1979)"], BFI Screenonline; accessed 24 December 2015.</ref>

Grade's backing of an expensive "all-star" flop was to prove decisive. Of ''[[Raise the Titanic (film)|Raise the Titanic]]'' (1980), an adaptation of [[Raise the Titanic!|the novel]] by [[Clive Cussler]], Grade himself observed that "It would have been cheaper to lower the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]".<ref name="Hoge">{{Cite news |last=Hoge |first=Warren |date=14 December 1998 |title=Lew Grade, 91, Flamboyant Shaper of British TV and Movies |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/14/nyregion/lew-grade-91-flamboyant-shaper-of-british-tv-and-movies.html |access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref><ref name="AngeliniITC" /> The film was panned by critics and, after costing $36&nbsp;million, returned only $8&nbsp;million in rentals.<ref name="Raines" /> This film along with other expensive box office failures – including ''[[Saturn 3]]'' (1980) and ''[[The Legend of the Lone Ranger]]'' (1981) – marked the end of Grade's involvement in major film production.{{citation needed|date=December 2015}} Despite this, several of the most critically acclaimed films produced by Grade were released after the failure of ''Raise the Titanic'': these included ''[[On Golden Pond (1981 film)|On Golden Pond]]'' (1981) and ''[[Sophie's Choice (film)|Sophie's Choice]]'' (1982), both winners of [[Academy Award]]s, as well as ''[[The Dark Crystal]]'' (1982), which was Jim Henson's final project created in association with ITC.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Vagg |first=Stephen |date=10 March 2020 |title=Ten Billionaires Who Were Stung by Hollywood |url=https://www.filmink.com.au/ten-billionaires-stung-hollywood/ |magazine=Filmink}}</ref>

===Later years===
In 1980, Grade's standing in the mass media industry was damaged by two events: the poor reception for ''Raise the Titanic'', and a decision that, effective from 1 January 1982 [[ATV Midlands]] would be permitted to keep its licence only on the condition that it terminate its association with Grade and ITC (ultimately leading to its re-branding as [[ITV Central|Central Television]]). Grade resigned his position in the company while it underwent a series of partnerships and mergers. In 1982, he lost control of ACC to [[Robert Holmes à Court]], who dismissed him and all his staff.<ref name="Economist_obit" />

Grade was brought in by American producer [[Norman Lear]] in June 1982 to head the London division of [[Embassy Pictures|Embassy Communications International]], to be involved in the production and distribution of films and television programmes.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cuff |first=Daniel F. |date=24 June 1982 |title=Lord Grade Joins Norman Lear Team |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/24/business/business-people-lord-grade-joins-norman-lear-team.html |access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> Subsequently, he became a producer of [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]]'s musical ''[[Starlight Express]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bennetts |first=Leslie |date=23 February 1987 |title=A Transformed ''Starlight Express'' Strives Towards Broadway Opening |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/02/23/theater/a-transformed-starlight-express-strives-toward-broadway-opening.html |access-date=13 July 2017}}</ref> After [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]] had bought Embassy, he became the head of a new venture, the Grade Company, in 1985, and was elected a vice-president of the [[Loews Cineplex Entertainment|Loews Group]] chain of cinemas in the United States.<ref name="Hoge" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Lew Grade Biography (1906–1998) |url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/54/Lew-Grade.html |access-date=12 August 2017 |website=Film Reference}}</ref> The Grade Company produced adaptations for television of works by novelist Dame [[Barbara Cartland]]; he owned the rights to 450 of her romances.<ref name="Raines" />

By the early to mid-1990s, Grade had returned to ITC to head the company one final time until his death in 1998. Grade was a member of the Founding Council of the [[Rothermere American Institute]] at the [[University of Oxford]].{{citation needed|date=December 2015}}