Bernard Braden
Encyclopedia
Bernard Chastey Braden (16 May 1916 – 2 February 1993) was a Canadian
-born English
actor
and comedian
.
Braden was born in Vancouver
, British Columbia
and educated at Magee Secondary School
, Kerrisdale
, Vancouver. He produced plays on CJOR Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He married Barbara Kelly
in 1942 and they moved to Toronto
the same year. Seven years later, he, his wife and two children moved to England
. (A third child, Kim
was born in London
in 1949.) The couple's first major success came in 1951 with An Evening at Home with Bernard Braden and Barbara Kelly.
The radio show Breakfast with Braden began on Saturday morning, 21 January 1950, initially putting Bernard Braden alongside his dumb girlfriend, Pearl Carr
("Sing, Pearl"), second singer stooge Benny Lee
and naive third stooge, bandleader Nat Temple
("Play, Nat!"). On 19 September the same year came the advent of the late evening Bedtime with Braden, with his signature sign-out song "Lullaby of Birdland
" which he may or may not have played himself on the piano, followed by various sequels including Between Time, Bathtime and Bedlam with Braden. The usually straight BBC announcer was Ronald Fletcher who, together with Nat (just like Wallace Greenslade
in the contemporary Goon Show), was drawn into the script which added to the ingenuity and enjoyment.
Bernard is probably best remembered for On the Braden Beat, a popular consumer affairs television programme made for ITV by Associated Television
. It championed the cause of the British consumer for five years. Jock Watson and, later, Francis Coleman
produced this Saturday late-night watchdog which also examined current political issues affecting the British public. The show was interspersed with lighthearted sketches and music and helped a number of actors to get a start on television. Frequent performers were Peter Cook
, Jake Thackray
and Tim Brooke-Taylor
. The show ran on ITV from 1962 to 1967, and a successor with essentially the same format, Braden's Week, appeared on the BBC from 1967 to 1972.
Braden fell from grace when he advertised margarine
on the BBC's commercial rival ITV; the BBC felt this was inconsistent with his role as the consumers' spokesman and the show was cancelled. Esther Rantzen
, one of the researcher/presenters, went on to front a remarkably similar consumer show called That's Life—essentially a Braden Beat sans Braden, complete with a Fletcher (Cyril
not Ronald) to read out the amusing misprints: the ITV sketch show End of Part One, scripted by Andrew Marshall
and David Renwick
, created a spoof of That's Life entitled That's Bernard Braden's Show Really.
Rantzen says in her autobiography that Braden, pressed for an explanation of his self-destructive decision, said he was unable to resist the lure of so much money for an afternoon's work; she was later to emulate Braden once again by accepting money for promoting an accident claims company.
In 1976, Braden hosted a quiz show for London Weekend Television called The Sweepstakes Game. Two contestants decided which of six star guests was most likely to help them to win cash and prizes. The first show was broadcast on Saturday, 3 July 1976 and ran for 13 weeks, plus a special show for Christmas 1976. The show proved to be unsuccessful and no further programmes were made after the original series.
Braden later presented the show All Our Yesterdays, and published an autobiography, The Kindness of Strangers, a reference to his role as Mitch in the London stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire
. Braden independently produced and shot an extended series of interviews conducted by himself (and sometimes by his wife) of public figures in 1967-68 for a series called Now and Then but the series was never completed or sold to a broadcaster.
Bernard Braden died in Camden
, London
, aged 76, following a series of strokes.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-born English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
.
Braden was born in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
and educated at Magee Secondary School
Magee Secondary School
Magee Secondary School is one of the first public high schools located in the Kerrisdale neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Magee is fed by the surrounding elementary schools in its catchment area. They include Maple Grove Elementary School, Dr. R.E. McKechnie Elementary School,...
, Kerrisdale
Kerrisdale
Kerrisdale is a neighbourhood in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.Kerrisdale is a neighbourhood featuring a mix of newer houses and older bungalows as well as various low and mid-rise rental and condo apartment buildings in its northern section. The neighbourhood is an ethnic mix of...
, Vancouver. He produced plays on CJOR Vancouver in the late 1930s and early 1940s. He married Barbara Kelly
Barbara Kelly
Barbara Kelly was a Canadian-born actress, possibly best-known for her television roles in the United Kingdom opposite her husband Bernard Braden in the 1950s and 1960s and for many appearances as a panelist on the British version of What's My Line?.-Early years:Barbara Kelly was born in...
in 1942 and they moved to Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
the same year. Seven years later, he, his wife and two children moved to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. (A third child, Kim
Kim Braden
Kim Braden is an English actor.Braden is the daughter of the actor and broadcaster Bernard Braden and the actor Barbara Kelly. She is married to the director David Carson with a son Matthew and a daughter Mimi...
was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1949.) The couple's first major success came in 1951 with An Evening at Home with Bernard Braden and Barbara Kelly.
The radio show Breakfast with Braden began on Saturday morning, 21 January 1950, initially putting Bernard Braden alongside his dumb girlfriend, Pearl Carr
Pearl Carr & Teddy Johnson
Pearl Carr and Teddy Johnson were a popular English husband-and-wife team of entertainers, during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early days:They were both successful solo singers before their marriage in 1955...
("Sing, Pearl"), second singer stooge Benny Lee
Benny Lee
Benny Lee was a British comedy actor and singer.Lee began as a performer in radio comedy programmes including Breakfast with Braden , in which he sang with Pearl Carr, Round the Bend with Michael Bentine and later It's a Square World...
and naive third stooge, bandleader Nat Temple
Nat Temple
Nat Temple was an English big band leader, and a clarinet and saxophone player.Amongst many others, he worked with Syd Roy, Harry Roy, Geraldo, Ambrose, Joe Daniels, and Lew Stone.-Career:...
("Play, Nat!"). On 19 September the same year came the advent of the late evening Bedtime with Braden, with his signature sign-out song "Lullaby of Birdland
Lullaby of Birdland
"Lullaby of Birdland" is a 1952 popular song with music by George Shearing and lyrics by George David Weiss under the pseudonym "B. Y. Forster" in order to circumvent the rule that ASCAP and BMI composers could not collaborate....
" which he may or may not have played himself on the piano, followed by various sequels including Between Time, Bathtime and Bedlam with Braden. The usually straight BBC announcer was Ronald Fletcher who, together with Nat (just like Wallace Greenslade
Wallace Greenslade
Wallace Greenslade was a BBC announcer and newsreader. He is mainly remembered for being the announcer - and frequently the straight man - for the BBC radio comedy series The Goon Show during most of its run.Greenslade was born at Formby, Lancashire...
in the contemporary Goon Show), was drawn into the script which added to the ingenuity and enjoyment.
Bernard is probably best remembered for On the Braden Beat, a popular consumer affairs television programme made for ITV by Associated Television
Associated TeleVision
Associated Television, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licences to broadcast on the ITV network from 24 September 1955 until 00:34 on 1 January 1982...
. It championed the cause of the British consumer for five years. Jock Watson and, later, Francis Coleman
Francis Coleman
Francis Coleman was a conductor and television producer and director.Born in Montreal, Canada, Coleman began working in an office at the age of fourteen while studying music at evening classes...
produced this Saturday late-night watchdog which also examined current political issues affecting the British public. The show was interspersed with lighthearted sketches and music and helped a number of actors to get a start on television. Frequent performers were Peter Cook
Peter Cook
Peter Edward Cook was an English satirist, writer and comedian. An extremely influential figure in modern British comedy, he is regarded as the leading light of the British satire boom of the 1960s. He has been described by Stephen Fry as "the funniest man who ever drew breath," although Cook's...
, Jake Thackray
Jake Thackray
John Philip "Jake" Thackray , was an English singer-songwriter, poet and journalist. Best known in the late 1960s and early 1970s for his topical comedy songs performed on British television, his work ranged from satirical to bawdy to sentimental to pastoral, with a strong emphasis on storytelling,...
and Tim Brooke-Taylor
Tim Brooke-Taylor
Timothy Julian Brooke-Taylor OBE is an English comic actor. He became active in performing in comedy sketches while at Cambridge University, and became President of the Footlights club, touring internationally with the Footlights revue in 1964...
. The show ran on ITV from 1962 to 1967, and a successor with essentially the same format, Braden's Week, appeared on the BBC from 1967 to 1972.
Braden fell from grace when he advertised margarine
Margarine
Margarine , as a generic term, can indicate any of a wide range of butter substitutes, typically composed of vegetable oils. In many parts of the world, the market share of margarine and spreads has overtaken that of butter...
on the BBC's commercial rival ITV; the BBC felt this was inconsistent with his role as the consumers' spokesman and the show was cancelled. Esther Rantzen
Esther Rantzen
Esther Louise Rantzen CBE is an English journalist and television presenter who is best known for presenting the BBC television series That's Life!, and for her work in various charitable causes. She is founder of the child protection charity ChildLine, and also advocates the work of the Burma...
, one of the researcher/presenters, went on to front a remarkably similar consumer show called That's Life—essentially a Braden Beat sans Braden, complete with a Fletcher (Cyril
Cyril Fletcher
Cyril Fletcher was an English comedian; his catchphrase was 'Pin back your lugholes'. He was most famous for his Odd Odes, which was a section of the television show That's Life!. Fletcher had first begun performing the Odd Odes in 1937, long before they first appeared on television...
not Ronald) to read out the amusing misprints: the ITV sketch show End of Part One, scripted by Andrew Marshall
Andrew Marshall (writer)
Andrew Marshall is an English comedy screenwriter, most noted for the domestic sitcom 2point4 children. He was also the inspiration for Marvin the Paranoid Android in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...
and David Renwick
David Renwick
David Peter Renwick is an English television writer, best known for creation of the sitcom One Foot in the Grave and the mystery series Jonathan Creek....
, created a spoof of That's Life entitled That's Bernard Braden's Show Really.
Rantzen says in her autobiography that Braden, pressed for an explanation of his self-destructive decision, said he was unable to resist the lure of so much money for an afternoon's work; she was later to emulate Braden once again by accepting money for promoting an accident claims company.
In 1976, Braden hosted a quiz show for London Weekend Television called The Sweepstakes Game. Two contestants decided which of six star guests was most likely to help them to win cash and prizes. The first show was broadcast on Saturday, 3 July 1976 and ran for 13 weeks, plus a special show for Christmas 1976. The show proved to be unsuccessful and no further programmes were made after the original series.
Braden later presented the show All Our Yesterdays, and published an autobiography, The Kindness of Strangers, a reference to his role as Mitch in the London stage production of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
. Braden independently produced and shot an extended series of interviews conducted by himself (and sometimes by his wife) of public figures in 1967-68 for a series called Now and Then but the series was never completed or sold to a broadcaster.
Bernard Braden died in Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, aged 76, following a series of strokes.
Discography
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