Stuart Hood
Encyclopedia
Stuart Hood is a Scottish
novelist, translator and a former British
television producer and Controller of the BBC's most popular television network, BBC One
. He was born in Edzell
, Angus
, Scotland
.
. After school the son attended the University of Edinburgh
between 1934 and 1938.
During the Second World War he served in the British Army as an Intelligence Officer. He spent a year in Italy as a prisoner of war before joining the partisans
. His memoir of this period, 'Pebbles from my Skull' was published in 1963, and a revised version in 1985. This is an unromantic account of the partisans in Italy and their relationship to the official allied forces.
From 1961 until 1963 Hood was the Controller of the BBC Television Service
. He became the overall Controller of BBC Television in 1963 with the preparations for the launch of BBC Two
, with his former assistant Donald Baverstock
working under him to Control BBC One
and Michael Peacock
doing the same for the new channel.
On resigning from the BBC, he worked briefly at Rediffusion London as Controller.
During the 1970s he was Professor of Film and Television at the Royal College of Art, School of Film and Television.
He was active in the ACTT union and was a member of the Socialist Labour League between 1973 and 1978.
's On the Marble Cliffs
" in 1946. He also translated Erich Fried
, Dario Fo
and Pier Paolo Pasolini
.
'Pebbles from My Skull' about the partisans in war-time Italy, was published in 1963 (Hutchinson) and revised in 1985 (Carcanet).
He has also written several books that analyze and critique the broadcasting industry including:
A Survey of Television (1967), The Mass Media (Studies in Contemporary Europe) (1972), Radio and Television (Professions) (1975), Questions of Broadcasting with Garret O'Leary (1990), Behind the Screens: The Structure of British Television (1994), and On Television with Thalia Tabary-Peterssen (1997).
He has also written the novels A Storm From Paradise (1985) and The Upper Hand (1987).
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
novelist, translator and a former British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television producer and Controller of the BBC's most popular television network, BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. He was born in Edzell
Edzell
Edzell is a village in Angus, Scotland. It is located 5 miles north of Brechin, by the River North Esk. Edzell is a Georgian-era planned town, with a broad main street and a grid system of side streets. Originally called Slateford, Edzell was renamed in 1818 after an earlier hamlet, located 1.5...
, Angus
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Life
Hood's father was an infant school headmaster, firstly in Edzell and then in MontroseMontrose, Angus
Montrose is a coastal resort town and former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. It is situated 38 miles north of Dundee between the mouths of the North and South Esk rivers...
. After school the son attended the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
between 1934 and 1938.
During the Second World War he served in the British Army as an Intelligence Officer. He spent a year in Italy as a prisoner of war before joining the partisans
Italian resistance movement
The Italian resistance is the umbrella term for the various partisan forces formed by pro-Allied Italians during World War II...
. His memoir of this period, 'Pebbles from my Skull' was published in 1963, and a revised version in 1985. This is an unromantic account of the partisans in Italy and their relationship to the official allied forces.
From 1961 until 1963 Hood was the Controller of the BBC Television Service
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
. He became the overall Controller of BBC Television in 1963 with the preparations for the launch of BBC Two
BBC Two
BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, with his former assistant Donald Baverstock
Donald Baverstock
Donald Baverstock was a British television producer and executive, born in Cardiff, Wales. He initially worked for BBC Television in their Talks Department, where he was the Editor of the topical magazine programme Highlight and then co-devised and edited its more ambitious and better-remembered...
working under him to Control BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
and Michael Peacock
Michael Peacock
Michael Peacock was a British television executive, who from 1963 until the spring of 1965 was the first ever Controller of BBC Two, the Corporation's second television channel....
doing the same for the new channel.
On resigning from the BBC, he worked briefly at Rediffusion London as Controller.
During the 1970s he was Professor of Film and Television at the Royal College of Art, School of Film and Television.
He was active in the ACTT union and was a member of the Socialist Labour League between 1973 and 1978.
Writings
Hood is known as a translator, beginning with Ernst JüngerErnst Jünger
Ernst Jünger was a German writer. In addition to his novels and diaries, he is well known for Storm of Steel, an account of his experience during World War I. Some say he was one of Germany's greatest modern writers and a hero of the conservative revolutionary movement following World War I...
's On the Marble Cliffs
On the Marble Cliffs
On the Marble Cliffs is a novella by Ernst Jünger published in 1939 describing the upheaval and ruin of a serene agricultural society...
" in 1946. He also translated Erich Fried
Erich Fried
Erich Fried , an Austrian poet who settled in England, was known for his political-minded poetry. He was also a broadcaster, translator and essayist....
, Dario Fo
Dario Fo
Dario Fo is an Italian satirist, playwright, theater director, actor and composer. His dramatic work employs comedic methods of the ancient Italian commedia dell'arte, a theatrical style popular with the working classes. He currently owns and operates a theatre company with his wife, actress...
and Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini
Pier Paolo Pasolini was an Italian film director, poet, writer, and intellectual. Pasolini distinguished himself as a poet, journalist, philosopher, linguist, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, newspaper and magazine columnist, actor, painter and political figure...
.
'Pebbles from My Skull' about the partisans in war-time Italy, was published in 1963 (Hutchinson) and revised in 1985 (Carcanet).
He has also written several books that analyze and critique the broadcasting industry including:
A Survey of Television (1967), The Mass Media (Studies in Contemporary Europe) (1972), Radio and Television (Professions) (1975), Questions of Broadcasting with Garret O'Leary (1990), Behind the Screens: The Structure of British Television (1994), and On Television with Thalia Tabary-Peterssen (1997).
He has also written the novels A Storm From Paradise (1985) and The Upper Hand (1987).