Born Louis Winogradsky (anglicised as Lew Grade) in Tokmak, near Odessa, Ukraine. In 1912 his family emigrated to London to escape antisemitism. He started his career as a dancer and arranged entertainment for troops in WW2. He was part of the consortium which successfully bid for the first British commercial television station. He was responsible for many popular programmes, including Sunday Night at the London Palladium, The Prisoner, The Muppet Show and Gerry Anderson's various puppet series. In the cinema, he was involved with many successful films, but is probably best remembered for 'Raise the Titanic' which was a massive box-office flop, and of which he said 'It would have been cheaper to lower the Atlantic'.
This photo was taken by Lord Snowdon in 1997.
Credit for this entry to: Alan Patient of www.plaquesoflondon.co.uk
