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Jack Gold was born in London, After leaving UCL, he began his career as a film editor on the BBC's Tonight programme. Gold became a freelance documentary filmmaker, making dramas as a platform for his social and political observationsFor television, his best known work is The Naked Civil Servant (1975), based on Quentin Crisp's 1968 book of the same name and starring John Hurt.[2] He had previously directed the 1964 crime series Call the Gun Expert for the BBC.Other television credits include The Visit (1959), the BBC Television Shakespeare productions of The Merchant of Venice (1980) and Macbeth (1983) - the latter starring Nicol Williamson - as well as the made-for-TV adaptation of Graham Greene's The Tenth Man (1988), starring Anthony Hopkins and Charlie Muffin (1979, USA: A Deadly Game). In 1998, he directed an award-winning-adaption of the 1981 children's book Goodnight Mister Tom by Michelle Magorian, featuring John Thaw in the lead. He also directed films such as The National Health (1973), Man Friday (1975),[4] Aces High (1976), The Medusa Touch (1978), The Chain (1985) and Escape From Sobibor (1987).[5]Gold directed the final episode of ITV's television detective drama Inspector Morse. Other work includes the television drama series Kavanagh QC and The Brief.[5]Gold was an Honorary Associate of London Film School.Jack was a BAFTA award-winning film and TV director of confrontational documentaries and touching dramas, including Aces High, Goodnight Mister Tom and The Naked Civil Servant.

Senior Secretary behp0423-elizabeth-forty-summary[Original note describes this as the first intimate one on the inner workings of the Corporation – the BBC – and very rewarding]SIDE ONE [NB The original log sheet does not indicate where SIDE 4 begins and ends.DS]Born 1926, family in poor financial situation. Brought up by grandmother, educated locally, won a scholarship but due to financial situation unable to take it up. Uncle paid for a secretarial course (one year) told her she must finish it in 6 months; got her first job with a Slough firm in 1940. Royal Star policies at Lloyds at £1 a week, of which 7/6 [7 shillings and 6 pence, 37 ½ p] to Aunt, 7/6 for night school and 5 shillings [25p] for herself. At 17 she decided to try for somewhere else, and asked for an advert for the BBC and another for the Daily Mirror [newspaper]; the Mirror offered £2 15 shillings a week [£2.75p], the BBC £2.10 shillings [£2.50p]. First she worked in the general office which she found boring, then Lines Department, then Overseas Programme Planning. She talks about 200 Oxford Street, and the various people she met there.SIDE TWOShe talks about doing VAD work [Voluntary Aid Detachment, a form of nursing care] in the evenings. Later she moved to Audience Research, then applied for a job of secretary to the Duty Room, which she talks about in detail.SIDE THREEStill talks about the Duty Room work; she leaves the BBC because her mother had a nervous breakdown, while she took a part-time job at the Royal College of Nursing. Then back to the BBC to the Eastern Talks Department, then moves to Reception at Broadcasting House where she stayed for five years. Again, she talks about that in detail. Then she moved to the Secretariat with Sir Ian Jacobs as the new Director-General. Again, she talks in detail (part of this section has been deleted).[Possibly SIDE FOUR?]She then became secretary to Cecil McGivern, she talks about her time with him and the various people with whom she came into contact. After Cecil McG she moved to work with Sir Gerald Beadle and she talks about the relationship between Beadle and [Hugh] Carleton Greene.SIDE FIVEHere she talks about Grace Wyndham Goldie, Joanna Spicer and Michael Peacock. Then she moves on to talk about Paul Fox [a section of this has been deleted]. When Sir Gerald Beadle retired, Ken Adams took over. “A very difficult start”. Stuart Hood moved from News to become Controller of Programmes with Adam as Director (Television). This situation, she says was not a success. She talks about difficult times, the arrival of AMPEX recordings, and the establishment of EBU (European Broadcasting Union) arrived at the right moment. The success of That Was the Week That Was, a programme idea that was inspired by Beadle; she talks about the purchase by BBC Enterprises of the RKO library, with its 50 feature films for £50,000 and the sale of the Langham sit for the same amount.SIDE SIXShe talks about the role of Controller (Finance) in blocking a BBC Pension Fund purchase. She moves back to talk about Cecil McGivern.[END]

Early Life & EducationJulia Cave was born on 1 June 1937 in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. IMDb+1Her father was a mining engineer. Her mother, using the stage name Magarey Lorring, had acted in early films. British Entertainment History Project+1Her family moved frequently during her childhood (she attended about ten different schools). For a time they lived in Scotland, then her father was posted to India, where she spent about three years, including attending Bombay High School. British Entertainment History ProjectShe developed an early interest in reading thrillers, and the exposure to multiple cultures and schooling environments shaped her adaptability and interest in varied subject-matter. British Entertainment History ProjectCareer BeginningsJulia began working in television with the BBC. She started as a production secretary, working on shows such as This Is Your Life and What’s My Line? in the Light Entertainment department. British Entertainment History Project+1She then moved into directing/producing film-based television: For example, she worked on the programme series Chronicle (where she made documentary-style pieces). British Entertainment History Project+1Major AchievementsShe became a staff producer for BBC at the age of 29. British Entertainment History ProjectAmong her noteworthy works:A documentary for Chronicle on the treasure of Heinrich Schliemann and Troy, filmed in Greece and Berlin. British Entertainment History ProjectA film for the series Omnibus titled Figaro in Peking (1984), where members of a Western opera company taught Chinese students to sing Mozart in Beijing. British Entertainment History Project+1A series of investigative “art-market” or heritage documentaries: e.g., The Plunderers, exploring illicit antiquities, smuggling and the art trade—the Euphronios Vase case is mentioned. British Entertainment History ProjectStyle & ImpactJulia Cave was known for combining studio-work and film-location work, often travelling internationally to capture stories on culture, archaeology, heritage and sometimes undercover investigations. British Entertainment History ProjectShe recalls that early days of television were expansive and open to experimentation; later she noted increasing constraints (budgets, staffing, format changes) in the industry. British Entertainment History ProjectHer career demonstrates a strong thread of curiosity about history, culture, art markets and heritage — not just “pure entertainment”.Personal LifeShe married a medical doctor, David Cooper, and had two children during her time working at the BBC. British Entertainment History ProjectHer career spanned both producer/director roles, and she continued working freelance into later years, adapting to changing television production models. British Entertainment History ProjectJulia Cave passed away on 21 October 2019 in the UK, aged 82. IMDbNotable Works & PublicationsShe authored at least one book: A Touch of Genius: The Life of T.E. Lawrence (1988) under the name Julia Cave. obnb.ukIn the realm of television, her contributions include both documentaries and hybrid drama-documentary formats. See  Julia Cave video interview  715

Born 1910 in Bradford, moved to Nelson,  schooling in the North, then the family moved to Dorset. Poole Grammar School (war years). Got a scholarship to St John’s Oxford doing history, but with difficulty changed over to do English and got a first. Was cox of St John’s rowing eight; whilst there joined the RNVR [Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve] also took Russian language course, trained at Portsmouth; then sent to Coulsden Camp for intensive Russian course; became a “coder”, promoted to Midshipman and became an interpreter. Spent three months in Germany, tapping phones. On demob saw an advert in The Times for BBC wanting general trainees.   Spent the next two years working in various departments of the General Overseas Service, then sent to Television script department, attached to Gil Calder on his Tear Away series. Then moved to Talks Department.He was offered a 15 minute slot on Saturday night by Huw Wheldon, and his idea cost £500 and was with the cartoonist Fougasse; he worked on Portraits of Power, with Terasa Denny.. He applied for and got a job as Producer. He talks about his programme with General Horrocks on the Zeebrugge Incident. In 1960 he joined with David Wheeler to make The Uncrowned King, then in 1961 he made a programme about the Berlin Wall, with Philip Donellan,  He then embarked on a programme about Nehru, Man of Two Worlds. His next programme of substance was Man Alone, about T.E.Lawrence. After the Lawrence programme, he and Donnellan went their separate ways, but he said he learned a great deal from him. His next assignment was to make something out of a whole lot of rushes, shot by Andrew Miller Jones on High Places of the Mind; together with Pamela Wilcox Bower, they produced a programme using C P Snow; then a programme about Ireland, I’m a Stranger Here Myself; then a programme about Japan, A Place in the Sun; he then goes on to talk about a programme with Frank O’Connor on Yeats, Horseman Pass By. with Ludovic Kennedy Scapa Flow (1966). His first colour was shot on 16mm (1967) World Turned Upside Down with Fitzroy MacLean. He then made Battle of the Somme, with Leo McKern reading the commentary voiceover (1975-6). His next was a series of programmes, One Pair of Eyes, which he produced until 1975. He then made a programme about Willy Brandt, A Man called Willy Brandt, with Lord Chalfont, and then embarked on a series of programmes, Mrs Ghandi, Sadat of Egypt, The Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan. Continuing with One Pair of Eyes, publication of a book based on his research for the Western Front programmme. With the twentieth anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall, he made the programme Checkpoint Charlie after which he made another programme about Berlin dealing with relations between British, French and American troops, Flashpoint Berlin. He then returned to the UK, by which time Talks Features had moved from the East Tower to Kensington House and he talks about the problems he faced getting his programme suggestions dealt with. He was able to make Gordon of Khartoum with Robert Hardy in the leading role. Another of his programmes was The Shetland Bus. Experiences of War, about working with Philip Donnellan and the two books about T.E. Lawrence, again from his own research.He had now become an academician with the Imperial War Museum ; working as a consultant on a forthcoming series on war for the BBC.   Behp0372-malcolm-brown-summary SIDE ONE [n.b. Source notes do not indicate where Side 2 begins or ends]Born 1910 in Bradford, moved to Nelson, talks about his schooling in the North, then the family moved to Dorset. Poole Grammar School (war years). Got a scholarship to St John’s Oxford doing history, but with difficulty changed over to do English and got a first. Was cox of St John’s rowing eight; whilst there joined the RNVR [Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve] also took Russian language course, trained at Portsmouth; then sent to Coulsden Camp for intensive Russian course; became a “coder”, promoted to Midshipman and became an interpreter. Spent three months in Germany, tapping phones. On demob saw an advert in The Times for BBC wanting general trainees.   Spent the next two years working in various departments of the General Overseas Service, then sent to Television script department, attached to Gil Calder on his Tear Away series. Then moved to Talks Department. He talks about a lunch he had with Leonard Miall and Grace Wyndham Goldie. He was offered a 15 minute slot on Saturday night by Huw Wheldon, and his idea cost £500 and was with the cartoonist Fougasse. Talks at some length about Huw Wheldon; he worked on Portraits of Power, with Terasa Denny. SIDE THREE He talks about the Lloyd George Portrait of Power. He applied for and got a job as Producer. He talks about his programme with General Horrocks on the Zeebrugge Incident. In 1960 he joined with David Wheeler to make The Uncrowned King, then in 1961 he made a programme about the Berlin Wall, with Philip Donellan, which was greatly liked by the pundits. He then embarked on a programme about Nehru, Man of Two Worlds. His next programme of substance was Man Alone, about T.E.Lawrence. He also talks about the tensions within the Talks Dept. SIDE FOUR After the Lawrence programme, he and Donnellan went their separate ways, but he said he learned a great deal from him. His next assignment was to make something out of a whole lot of rushes, shot by Andrew Miller Jones on High Places of the Mind; together with Pamela Wilcox Bower, they produced a programme using C P Snow; then a programme about Ireland, I’m a Stranger Here Myself; then a programme about Japan, A Place in the Sun; he then goes on to talk about a programme with Frank O’Connor on Yeats, Horseman Pass By. SIDE FIVE Still talking about Horseman Pass By, then his programme with Ludovic Kennedy Scapa Flow (1966). His first colour was shot on 16mm (1967) World Turned Upside Down with Fitzroy MacLean. He then made Battle of the Somme, with Leo McKern reading the commentary voiceover (1975-6). His next was a series of programmes, One Pair of Eyes, which he produced until 1975. He then made a programme about Willy Brandt, A Man called Willy Brandt, with Lord Chalfont, and then embarked on a series of programmes, Mrs Ghandi, Sadat of Egypt, The Shah of Iran, King Hussein of Jordan. SIDE SIX Continuing with One Pair of Eyes, publication of a book based on his research for the Western Front programmme. With the twentieth anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall, he made the programme Checkpoint Charlie after which he made another programme about Berlin dealing with relations between British, French and American troops, Flashpoint Berlin. He then returned to the UK, by which time Talks Features had moved from the East Tower to Kensington House and he talks about the problems he faced getting his programme suggestions dealt with. He was able to make Gordon of Khartoum with Robert Hardy in the leading role. Another of his programmes was The Shetland Bus. SIDE SEVENHe talks about the BBC ethos, the relations between the presenters and himself; he then talks about Experiences of War, about working with Philip Donnellan and the two books about T.E. Lawrence, again from his own research. SIDE EIGHT He had now become an academician with the Imperial War Museum asking him to look into the possibility of further publications; now working as a consultant on a forthcoming series on war for the BBC. He then talks about the changes he has seen since he first started. This interview although perhaps a bit disorganised, nevertheless gives a very clear idea of the difficulties and advantages of working within the BBC

Born 25th April 1925 Croydon/Redhill. Father an engineer. Whitgift School, at 14 years got a four-year apprenticeship with an engineering firm. After the war his National Service was with the Royal Air Force and then transferred into the Army with Signals, commissioned. After demobilisation he had ideas of being a stockbroker or a broadcaster; after various interviews and failures he went to Bush House, BBC Overseas Service.He then went on to be a general trainee. He worked at Bush House and then moved into administration, which he hated; then moved into Schools TV which he greatly enjoyed. There he met Michael Gill who had moved into Art Features; he followed in persuading Huw Wheldon and David Attenborough to take on Civilisation, having poached Kenneth Clarke from Lew Grade. He then moved to become the first Head of Open University TV in 1969, where he remained for three years. Then he asked to go back ‘on the road’ as had David Attenborough. Then in 1973-74 together with Oliver Hunkin (who had been Head of Religious TV) they put forward the suggestion for a series on world faiths,[ The Long Search DS].. After that he made a programme about Tibet. Then he started to make a drama-documentary, The Tunnel, from a script by Elwyn Jones, but this had to be abandoned because of War Department requirements. He resigned from the BBC and started up his own company, Antelope Films, making a series of programmes on the Impressionists. He talks about the setting up of a series on China for Channel Four.He talks about a deal his company was entering with Robert Maxwell, who had bought 49% of Antelope shares.  behp0370-peter-montagnon-summarySIDE ONEBorn 25th April 1925 Croydon/Redhill. Father an engineer. Whitgift School, at 14 years got a four-year apprenticeship with an engineering firm. He talks about his war years there. After the war his National Service was with the Royal Air Force and then transferred into the Army with Signals, commissioned. After demobilisation he had ideas of being a stockbroker or a broadcaster; after various interviews and failures he went to Bush House, BBC Overseas Service.SIDE TWOHe then went on to be a general trainee. He worked at Bush House and then moved into administration, which he hated; then moved into Schools TV which he greatly enjoyed. There he met Michael Gill who had moved into Art Features; he followed in persuading Huw Wheldon and David Attenborough to take on Civilisation, having poached Kenneth Clarke from Lew Grade. He talks a great deal about the making of Civilisation. He then moved to become the first Head of Open University TV in 1969, where he remained for three years. Then he asked to go back ‘on the road’ as had David Attenborough.SIDE THREEHe backtracks to talk about Anne James, who had looked after all the ‘benchwork’ for Civilisation, and the sound recordist Basil Harris (Peter couldn’t remember his surname) and Basil’s relationship with Clarke. Then in 1973-74 together with Oliver Hunkin (who had been Head of Religious TV) they put forward the suggestion for a series on world faiths,[ The Long Search DS]. They started with David Attenborough as the anchor-man, but it didn’t work, and then settled for Ronald Eyre. This was a three-and-a half year project. After that he made a programme about Tibet. Then he started to make a drama-documentary, The Tunnel, from a script by Elwyn Jones, but this had to be abandoned because of War Department requirements. He resigned from the BBC and started up his own company, Antelope Films, making a series of programmes on the Impressionists. He talks about the setting up of a series on China and the various probables [?problems DS] in making a 14-part series for Channel Four.SIDE FOURHe talks about a deal his company was entering with Robert Maxwell, who had bought 49% of Antelope shares. He then talks in detail about working for the BBC.[END]

JIM CLARK  - ( May 24 1931 to February 25  2016) British film editor, Jim Clark, who died on 25th February, aged 84,  is best-known for his Oscar-winning work on Roland Joffe’s Cambodian civil war drama, ’The Killing Fields’ (1984).  He worked with an impressive list of directors over 50 years including John Schlesinger and Mike Leigh. Clark formed many close relationships with directors in the editing suite. Over time he met actors including Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Dustin Hoffman and Leonardo DiCaprio.  Tellingly, he admitted that if he had been a less discreet man, he could have enlarged his memoir, ‘The Dream Repairman’, with gossip. A skilled and instinctive editor, he was also a candid one: ‘If you’re handed a boring load of old tosh, it’s rather difficult to weave into a masterpiece, but often a fine film can be carved out of confusing footage’.As a young man working on ‘The Prince and the Showgirl ’(1957) at Pinewood studios, he witnessed the egos of Lawrence Olivier, (both its director and lead actor) and Marilyn Monroe. He recalled that when Monroe was persuaded to retake scenes, she arrived ‘quite pickled’ on champagne and kept bumping into furniture resulting in only 2 feet out of 2000 feet of reel being useable. His job was to overlay the sound of footsteps.Born in 1931 in Boston, Lincolnshire, Clark was a boarder at Oundle school where he set up a weekly film society. His interest in cinema had been fired earlier  when aged ten, his father bought him a 9.5mm projector; he described it as ‘the great toy of my life, which changed it; one day it occurred to me that in some way the scenes changed from one angle to another and I became interested in the reason why.. Then I became interested in the manipulation of images to tell a story’.Clark’s grandfather was a shareholder in several cinemas and gave him a special pass , but Clark was forced to admit that, in terms of the film industry, Lincolnshire was a ‘backwater’. He worked briefly in the family printing firm before moving to London and taking a job as cutting room assistant at Ealing Studios. He assisted on the sound for ‘The Cruel Sea’ (1953). After several projects for Stanley Donen, Clark made his name with Jack Clayton’s ‘The Innocents’ (`1961), which starred Deborah Kerr. His editing was instrumental in orchestrating the subtly ambiguous play of tension. Shortly afterwards, he worked with Donen again, this time on ‘Charade’ (1963) starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn It was on this picture that he met his second wife, the French editor, Laurence Mery – Clark. In 1955, Clark had married his first wife, Jessie Holling, a secretary at Ealing Studios. Tragically, he was widowed when she died suddenly while eight months pregnant and found himself left to raise two children, her son, David whom Clark adopted and Kate, the daughter they had together. He married Laurence in 1963 and had another daughter, Sybil. who is now a design studio manager.    One of Clark’s most significant professional relationships was with the director, John Schlesinger for whom he cut ‘Darling’ (1965) and ‘Marathon Man’ (1976. Schlesinger admitted that Clark ‘saved my bacon many times’.  For ‘Far from the Madding Crowd’ (1967), Clark was given thousands of feet of film for the scene in which sheep are driven over a cliff. ‘I cut it silent as I always do with action scenes with no dialogue’.Later Clark worked closely with Mike Leigh on films including ‘Vera Drake’, (2004). Leigh said: ‘He really brought 100 years of experience to it’.During the lengthy cutting of ‘The Killing Fields’, Clark took a ‘stress test’ which showed that his arteries were blocked and he underwent a heart bypass operation. Many directors called him ‘Doctor’ Clark for his ability to ‘cure’ sick films. He was credited with saving the ‘unreleasable film, ‘Midnight Cowboy, ((1969) when he stepped in as ‘creative consultant’ and recut the film. Outside the cutting room, he was an avid photographer and a keen walker. As a film editor, he described his job as being a dream repairman. "That’s what I do. I repair other men’s dreams". Derek Threadgall See also: Jim Clarke (Video Interview) #564.

Born in Newcastle in 1922, Allan Prior was a British television and radio screenwriter and novelist. He wrote 20 novels, 50 original TV plays, 70 radio plays and 250 television episodes  from the 1950s onwards. He was a founding writer of the BBC’s seminal TV police drama “Z-Cars” with Troy Kennedy Martin. He wrote five of the first ten episodes and more than 80 scripts during the programme’s 16-year run .  He went on to write 37 episodes of the Z Cars spin-off serve , “Softly Softly”, which ran for ten years from 1966.   He also wrote several episodes of the popular BBC drama series Dr Finlay’s casebook ( 1965-67). In the seventies he wrote   episodes of popular television  series such as  “Blake’s 7” , “The Onedin Line” and “The Sweeny” .  Along with producer Gerard Glaister he co-created the BBC drama series Howard’s Way in 1985. He wrote several plays for ITV’s “Armchair Theatre”. Later works include “The Charmer” in 1987 and in 1991 “A Perfect Hero”. In 1995 his radio play Führer was BBC ’Radio 4’ s flagship drama to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the end of the 2nd World  War in Europe. His daughter  Maddy Prior is the singer with the band Steeleye Span . Allan died on June 1, 2006. aged 84. Please note that at the end of Side 4 of the interview there is a postcript added by Roy Fowler on th 17th March 1994 on behalf of Allan Prior. Roy says that " Allan wishes to point out that on Side 1 he seems to get mixed up as he refers to himeslf as being jewish which he says he is not.He was referring to Vivian Daniels who is and it came out wrong. So that's a matter he wants to make clear for the record".    

Aubrey Singer was a distinguished former Managing Director of both BBC Television and Radio. He joined the BBC in 1949.Aubrey founded science programmes including Tomorrow's World and Horizon and led the modernisation of BBC Radio in the Seventies.He spent much of his career at the BBC, and was Head of Science and Features for BBC TV in 1961 until 1974. During that time he was responsible for  popular high quality science programmes most notably the ‘Ascent of Man’ in 1973.; He was Controller of BBC Two from 1974 to 1978 and  was responsible for bringing classic dramas such as "I Claudius" to our screens. He was Managing Director of Radio from 1978 to 1982; and Managing Director of Television from 1982 to 1984. In 1984 he was awarded the CBE. He was Managing Director of White City Films until 1996.   behp0309-aubrey-singer-summarySIDE ONEBorn Bradford, 1927; Bradford Grammar School. Joined GB Instructional Films as trainee Editor on £2 10 shillings [£2.50] a week, went to Africa for GBI in 1946-7. Returned and worked for Mary Field making children’s films as assistant to her. Had a board for BBC OB [Outside Broadcasts] Producer with the BBC in 1949, stayed with OBs then went to Scotland as OB Producer stayed 18 months, then got New York BBC representative’s job 1953-1956. He returned to OBs, then started to do science features. Made Assistant Head of OB Science Features. He talks about a programme he produced with Phil Daly on the Geophysical Year, then the satellite OBs for the European Broadcasting Union to the USA.SIDE TWOHe continues to talk about Our World; he then goes on to talk about [Donald] Baverstock, Humphrey Burton and Michael Peacock deserting the BBC for commercial [television]. When that happened Huw Wheldon offered Singer ‘Head of Features 2’. Alasdair Milne returned to the BBC as Controller, BBC2. He talks about the financial side of TV; after six years he is offered MD [Managing Director] Radio, where he stayed 1978 to 1984. He said it was most exciting. He talks about the problems he had to face. Was called to a board for Director General, but Milne got that appointment. He became MD Television, working as Milne’s No 2. He relates the circumstances on how he was asked to take early retirement, and the final settlement he got. He then talks about the setting up of his own company White City Films Ltd., and the various ideas that didn’t reach fruition.SIDE THREEHe says he became disillusioned with television as a recording medium – he says that film is much better. He goes back to talk about his departure from the BBC and how he was very upset by what happened. He then goes on to talk about the difficulties of making ‘co-productions’. He then goes back to talk about when he was Head of Features Group – they were heady days.SIDE FOURScience Features were closest to his heart, he says – he speaks of Phil Daly. He talks about his time as Controller of BBC2, in 1972 when Robin Scott left that post – then he became MD Television and he was far way from [making] programmes, then came MD Radio. He then goes on to talk about the ‘Yorkshire Influence’. He talks about Cecil McGivern. He relates an amusing story about when he was in the USA and was doing a live interview with Rogers and Hammerstein. He talks about Richard Dimbleby. He talks about the joys of travelling that he experienced during his career with the BBC, and finishes with  a poem he wrote about China (he is a Sinophile).[END]