Christianity and television

Bedford Studios

In May 1959, ABC Television founded the world’s first Religious Training Scheme for Churchmen and women.

The Company felt that few Churchmen understood the workings of television and the exciting opportunities it offers them to influence people, so, with the co-operation of the Archbishops of Canterbury and Westminster and Church leaders, ABC now presents three Courses each year for the various denominations, on each of which twelve people are trained by the Company’s staff.

Above, the Bishop of Manchester inaugurates the first Course, flanked left to right by Mr Howard Thomas, managing director of ABC Television, Dr E. G. M. Fletcher, MP, deputy chairman of the Associated British Picture Corporation and the Rev L. G. Tyler, Anglican adviser to ABC Television.

Stanley Allen

ABC’s monthly Sunday evening religious programme Living Your Life presents many controversial aspects of religious thought.

‘The Challenge of Communication: Television’ is discussed above by a distinguished panel comprising left to right
Trevor Williams, Religious Correspondent of the Daily Herald
Canon Roy McKay, Head  of Religious Programmes for the BBC,
Michae Redington, Producer of Religious Programmes for ATV,
John Bachman, Professor of Theology at the Union Seminary in New York

The Rt Rev Dr J. C. Heenan, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Liverpool, is one of many notable churchmen of the North and Midlands who have appeared on Living Your Life

Candid comedian

Bob Monkhouse, one of the few British entertainers who is a top line comedian and comedy writer as well as a star compère, has become a resident host of ABC Light Entertainment shows.

From the long-running For Love or Money he went on to present the public to the public in Candid Camera, which spotlights in a good-natured way the generosity and sense of humour for which our island race is famous.

Ronnie Taylor directs the programme

Candid Camera’s backroom boys push jokester-in-chief Jonathan Routh towards a filling station in a car without an engine

Having coasted in to a stop, Routh asks the attendant to find out why the car refuses to start again

‘You’ve got no engine!’ says the attendant, but Routh is not satisfied

‘Something queer here’ mutters the attendant, and has a look round the back

‘This bloke’s a nut case’ says the attendant to the colleague he has called to investigate the mystery

Face in Focus

Stanley Allen

Eleven showbusiness celebrities faced ABC cameras in Face in Focus, a series designed to bring out the personality behind the public image.

Frankie Vaughan talked about the Middle Eastern problem to host David Mahlowe, who is seen below with director Marjory Ruse and another guest, Spike Milligan.

Liberace bottom discussed the life he leads away from the sequins and the candelabra

Bedford Studios

The Book Man

The first British TV programme to be devoted solely to books, authors and publishers has brought many famous names to ABC since it started three years ago.

Among them was Vladimir Nabokov, author of Lolita, seen right with the programmes’s former director, Guy Verney.

One of the popular features of the programme is The Book Man Choice of the Month, made when the picture below was taken by G.B. Stern, L.P. Hartley, Christine Brooke-Rose and Alan Pryce-Jones.

In the foreground the former Book Man, J.W. Lambert of The Sunday Times, interviews two guests

James Archer
Mark Gerson

Men of politics

Lord Morrison of Lambeth discusses his autobiography the day before publication, and Mr Emmanuel Shinwell discussed Lord Morrison’s remarks about Labour leaders

▼ The new Book Man panel choosing the Book of the Month is left to right John Betjeman, John Braine, Elizabeth Jane Howard, David Daiches and programme editor Kenneth Young.

The programme’s director is now Brian Robins

Baldpates and blondes

The television camera is no respecter of persons.

Whether you are a leading churchman, a distinguished man of letters or a blonde bombshell of the movies, the make-up girl will still have to take the shine off that Yul Brynner head and advise little grains of powder, little dabs of paint for the pretty face

Left, above the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney gets a make-up lesson on ABC’s Religious Training Course;
below Sir Charles Snow is made up for The Book Man;
lower Jayne Mansfield prepares for her guest spot in After Hours;
bottom Diana Dors shows how it’s done to Deborah Buchan, granddaughter of the famous novelist, who made her TV debut with Miss Dors in Armchair Theatre

 

Stanley Allen
1960 // THIS IS TRANSDIFFUSION