Leslie Grade
| Leslie Grade | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Laszlo (Lazarus) Winogradsky 3 June 1916 London, England, United Kingdom |
| Died |
15 October 1979 (aged 63) Fréjus, the Var, France |
| Ethnicity | Ukrainian-Jewish |
| Occupation | Talent agent |
| Home town |
Stepney, East London |
Board member of |
Grade Organisation (1943–66) Leyton Orient F.C. |
| Spouse(s) | Audrey Smith (2nd marriage) |
| Children |
Michael Grade (1st marriage) Antony Grade and Anita Land (2nd marriage) |
| Parent(s) | Isaac and Olga Winogradsky |
| Relatives | Lew Grade and Bernard Delfont (brothers) |
Leslie Grade (born Laszlo (Lazarus) Winogradsky; 3 June 1916 – 15 October 1979) was a British theatrical talent agent.[1] In 1943, he co-founded the Grade Organisation (also known as Lew and Leslie Grade Ltd) with his elder brother, the impresario and producer Lew Grade (1906–98); during the 1940s, it became the UK's most successful light entertainment talent agency.[2]
Life and career
Grade, the youngest of three brothers, was born in London.[2] In 1912, four years prior to his birth, his Jewish family had emigrated from Tokmak, Ukraine – then Imperial Russian territory – in response to pogroms.[1] Leslie and his siblings, Lew and Bernard (1909–94), were raised in Stepney.[1] While their parents, Isaac and Olga, worked in the textile industry, the brothers left school at the age of 14 to establish themselves in showbusiness.[1]
With Lew, Grade became one of the UK's best-known and most respected media executives. During the late 1940s, his clients included Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Danny Kaye.[1] In the 1950s and 1960s, many artists represented by Grade appeared in the variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, broadcast by Lew's ITV franchisee Associated Television (ATV).[1]
Grade's son – Michael Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, CBE – is a former television executive who has held top-ranking posts within the BBC, ITV and Channel 4. Grade had two additional children by his second marriage, to Audrey Smith: theatrical agent Anita Grade (now Land) and Antony Grade, formerly Vice-President of Exterior Design for Renault and currently Head of Design for Avtovaz. With his friend Harry Zussman, Grade served, for many years, as a Director of Leyton Orient F.C.
Grade's career was curtailed by a series of strokes in the mid-1960s, and the ownership of the Grade Organisation passed to Michael in 1966.[1][2] It was part sold the following year, and renamed London Management under Michael's direction.[2] Grade died in France in 1979.[2] Unlike his brothers, he was not awarded a peerage.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Halstead, Richard (2 February 1997). "Making of the Grades: Profile: The Grade Dynasty". The Independent (Independent Print Ltd). Archived from the original on 10 November 2013. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Bevan, Ian (2002). Chambers, Colin, ed. The Continuum Companion to Twentieth-Century Theatre. London and New York City: Continuum International Publishing Group. p. 326. ISBN 978-1-847140012.