Tony Hart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Tony Hart | |
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 Television Artist Tony Hart
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| Born | 15 October 1925 Maidstone, Kent |
| Occupation | Artist |
Anthony "Tony" Hart (born 15 October 1925 in Maidstone, Kent) is an English artist and a former television presenter.
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[edit] Biography
He was born in Maidstone, Kent, and began his TV career in 1952 as resident artist on the BBC children's show Saturday Special. Subsequent TV shows included Titch and Quackers, Playbox, Vision On, Take Hart, Hart Beat and Smart Hart. From the 1980s, he often appeared alongside the animated Plasticine stop-motion character Morph.
He studied art at Maidstone College of Art, which later became Kent Institute of Art and Design (and is now the University College for the Creative Arts at Maidstone). In World War II, he served as an officer in the 1st Gurkha rifles.
[edit] Career highlights
As well as demonstrating small-scale projects (the type that viewers might be able to do), Hart also created large-scale artworks on the TV studio floor, and even used beaches and other open spaces as 'canvases' (to be viewed from a camera-crane).
A regular feature of Hart's TV shows was 'The Gallery', which displayed artworks sent in by young viewers. The easy-listening vibraphone music accompanying this feature – "Left Bank", composed by Wayne Hill – has passed into British TV theme lore.
Hart also created the original design for the Blue Peter badge. He originally asked for his fee to be paid as a royalty of 1d (one pre-decimalisation penny) for each badge made, but was offered a flat fee of £100 (equivalent to around £1,600 at 2006 rates). The badges are famous throughout the UK and have been coveted by three successive generations of Blue Peter viewers.
Hart has received two BAFTA awards. His first came in 1978, and he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998.
Hart retired from regular TV work in 2002, but still makes occasional guest appearances on other shows. He also makes personal appearances at events.
On 28 December 2006, it was announced during It Started with Swap Shop that he is currently suffering from ill health.
[edit] Trivia
- In an interview Hart joked he could beat fellow artist Rolf Harris in a fight as "Rolf never stops talking".
