Tony Hart
Encyclopedia
Norman Antony "Tony" Hart (15 October 1925 – 18 January 2009) was an English
artist
and children's television presenter. He was famous for television shows such as Vision On
, Playbox, Take Hart
and Hartbeat
.
Resident Choir School and then Clayesmore School
in Dorset
, where art was his best subject.
He left school in 1944 and wanted to join the Royal Air Force
, but as he would have been unable to fly owing to slightly deficient eyesight, he instead signed up with the British Indian Army
and served as an officer in the 1st Gurkha Rifles. After the war, he was told that low-ranked British officers would be replaced by Indians when India became independent and he decided to leave the army.
After being demobilised, Hart decided to become a professional artist and studied art at Maidstone College of Art, which later became Kent Institute of Art & Design
(and is now the Maidstone
campus of the University for the Creative Arts). He graduated in 1950 and, after working as a display artist in a London
store, became a freelance artist. The outbreak of the Korean War
saw him being re-commissioned in the Territorial Army, attached to the Royal Artillery
, from 23 November 1948 to 1 July 1950.
work came in 1952, after his brother persuaded him to attend a party where he met a BBC
children's TV producer. After an interview, in which Hart drew a fish on a napkin while the producer was looking for paper, Hart became resident artist on the Saturday Special programme. Subsequent TV shows included Playbox
(1954–59), Tich and Quackers, Vision On
(1964–76) Take Hart
(1977–83), Hartbeat
(1984–93), Artbox Bunch (1995–96) and Smart Hart (1999–2000). From the 1970s, he often appeared alongside the animated Plasticine
stop-motion character Morph
whom he had invented.
Hart was a regular face on the BBC children's programme Blue Peter
in the 1950s and presented a number of programmes in 1959. Richard Marson's book Blue Peter: Inside the Archives lists Hart as a presenter in November 1959 but he is not officially listed as a host. As well as demonstrating small-scale projects (the type that viewers might be able to do), Hart also created large-scale artworks on the TV studio floor, and even used beaches and other open spaces as 'canvases' (to be viewed from a camera-crane).
A regular feature of Hart's TV shows was 'The Gallery', which displayed artworks (paintings, drawings and collages) sent in by young viewers. One of the pieces of easy-listening vibraphone
music accompanying this feature—"Left Bank Two
", composed by Wayne Hill and performed by the Lance Gambit Trio—has passed into British TV theme lore. This was first introduced in the show Vision On. Hart also created the original design for the Blue Peter badge
, also used as the programme's logo. He originally asked for his fee to be paid as a royalty of 1d (one pre-decimalisation
penny) for each badge made, but was offered a flat fee of £100 (equivalent to around £1,600 at 2006 rates). The badges are famous throughout the UK and have been coveted by three successive generations of Blue Peter
viewers.
Hart received two BAFTA awards. His first came in 1978 for a series of comic shorts about a plasticine character named 'Junfan' (a spin off from Morph, a similar character who was the star of animated shorts on Hart's TV shows), and he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. He retired from regular TV work in 2001.
published on 30 September 2008, revealing that two stroke
s had robbed him of the use of his hands and left him unable to draw. He described this as "the greatest cross I have to bear". Hart died peacefully on 18 January 2009 at the age of 83.
Hart's funeral took place in the village of Shamley Green
, where the artist had lived for more than 40 years.
organised through the Facebook
social networking website paid tribute to Hart with around two hundred Morph
figures displayed outside the Tate Modern
art gallery. Hart's daughter, Carolyn Ross, attended and judged the "Best Morph in Show".
A memorial plaque is displayed in Hart's birthplace, the town of Maidstone
, where he studied art at the town's art college. The plaque was unveiled by his daughter in May 2009 at the Hazlitt Arts Centre.
In September 2010 Carolyn Ross published 'Tony Hart: A Portrait of My Dad', a deeply affectionate biography of Tony by his daughter.
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...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
and children's television presenter. He was famous for television shows such as Vision On
Vision On
Vision On was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976 and designed specifically for deaf children. It was conceived and developed by BBC producers Ursula Eason and Patrick Dowling to replace a monthly series For the Deaf, a programme paced slowly enough for...
, Playbox, Take Hart
Take Hart
Take Hart is a British children's television show about art, fronted by the late Tony Hart. It took over from Vision On, and ran from 1977 until 1983. The show featured Hart and the animated Plasticine character Morph, and other characters created by David Sproxton like 'Smoulder the Moulder',...
and Hartbeat
Hartbeat
Hartbeat was a Children's BBC television arts programme presented by the late Tony Hart. It was broadcast between 1984 and 1993. The series was a follow on from Take Hart and taught children how to design art features and use everyday items to make objects.-History:Like its predecessor Take Hart,...
.
Early life
Hart was interested in drawing from an early age. He attended All Saints, Margaret StreetAll Saints, Margaret Street
All Saints, Margaret Street is an Anglican church in London built in the High Victorian Gothic style by the architect William Butterfield and completed in 1859....
Resident Choir School and then Clayesmore School
Clayesmore School
Clayesmore School is an independent school for boys and girls of the English public school tradition in the village of Iwerne Minster, Dorset, England. It is a member of The Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference ....
in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, where art was his best subject.
He left school in 1944 and wanted to join the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, but as he would have been unable to fly owing to slightly deficient eyesight, he instead signed up with the British Indian Army
British Indian Army
The British Indian Army, officially simply the Indian Army, was the principal army of the British Raj in India before the partition of India in 1947...
and served as an officer in the 1st Gurkha Rifles. After the war, he was told that low-ranked British officers would be replaced by Indians when India became independent and he decided to leave the army.
After being demobilised, Hart decided to become a professional artist and studied art at Maidstone College of Art, which later became Kent Institute of Art & Design
Kent Institute of Art & Design
The Kent Institute of Art & Design was an art school based across three campuses in the county of Kent, in the United Kingdom. It was formed by the amalgamation of three independent colleges: Canterbury College of Art, Maidstone College of Art and Rochester College of Art...
(and is now the Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
campus of the University for the Creative Arts). He graduated in 1950 and, after working as a display artist in a 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...
store, became a freelance artist. The outbreak of the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
saw him being re-commissioned in the Territorial Army, attached to the Royal Artillery
Royal Artillery
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery , is the artillery arm of the British Army. Despite its name, it comprises a number of regiments.-History:...
, from 23 November 1948 to 1 July 1950.
Television career
Hart's break into broadcast televisionTelevision
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
work came in 1952, after his brother persuaded him to attend a party where he met a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
children's TV producer. After an interview, in which Hart drew a fish on a napkin while the producer was looking for paper, Hart became resident artist on the Saturday Special programme. Subsequent TV shows included Playbox
Playbox
Playbox was a TV programme for pre-school children aged 2-5, which ran during the late 1980s and early 1990s in the United Kingdom on ITV and was produced by Central Independent Television. It was the first ragdoll show to be made by ITV...
(1954–59), Tich and Quackers, Vision On
Vision On
Vision On was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976 and designed specifically for deaf children. It was conceived and developed by BBC producers Ursula Eason and Patrick Dowling to replace a monthly series For the Deaf, a programme paced slowly enough for...
(1964–76) Take Hart
Take Hart
Take Hart is a British children's television show about art, fronted by the late Tony Hart. It took over from Vision On, and ran from 1977 until 1983. The show featured Hart and the animated Plasticine character Morph, and other characters created by David Sproxton like 'Smoulder the Moulder',...
(1977–83), Hartbeat
Hartbeat
Hartbeat was a Children's BBC television arts programme presented by the late Tony Hart. It was broadcast between 1984 and 1993. The series was a follow on from Take Hart and taught children how to design art features and use everyday items to make objects.-History:Like its predecessor Take Hart,...
(1984–93), Artbox Bunch (1995–96) and Smart Hart (1999–2000). From the 1970s, he often appeared alongside the animated Plasticine
Plasticine
Plasticine, a brand of modelling clay, is a putty-like modelling material made from calcium salts, petroleum jelly and aliphatic acids. The name is a registered trademark of Flair Leisure Products plc...
stop-motion character Morph
Morph (character)
Morph is an animated Plasticine stop-motion character that appeared with the late Tony Hart, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK TV programmes, notably Take Hart and Hartbeat.-Details:...
whom he had invented.
Hart was a regular face on the BBC children's programme Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
in the 1950s and presented a number of programmes in 1959. Richard Marson's book Blue Peter: Inside the Archives lists Hart as a presenter in November 1959 but he is not officially listed as a host. As well as demonstrating small-scale projects (the type that viewers might be able to do), Hart also created large-scale artworks on the TV studio floor, and even used beaches and other open spaces as 'canvases' (to be viewed from a camera-crane).
A regular feature of Hart's TV shows was 'The Gallery', which displayed artworks (paintings, drawings and collages) sent in by young viewers. One of the pieces of easy-listening vibraphone
Vibraphone
The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....
music accompanying this feature—"Left Bank Two
Left Bank Two
"Left Bank Two" is a piece of library music composed by Wayne Hill in 1963 and performed by the Noveltones, a group of session musicians from Holland...
", composed by Wayne Hill and performed by the Lance Gambit Trio—has passed into British TV theme lore. This was first introduced in the show Vision On. Hart also created the original design for the Blue Peter badge
Blue Peter badge
A Blue Peter badge is a much coveted award for Blue Peter viewers, given by the children's television programme for those appearing on the show, or in recognition of achievement...
, also used as the programme's logo. He originally asked for his fee to be paid as a royalty of 1d (one pre-decimalisation
Decimal Day
Decimal Day was the day the United Kingdom and Ireland decimalised their currencies.-Old system:Under the old currency of pounds, shillings and pence, the pound was made up of 240 pence , with 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a...
penny) for each badge made, but was offered a flat fee of £100 (equivalent to around £1,600 at 2006 rates). The badges are famous throughout the UK and have been coveted by three successive generations of Blue Peter
Blue Peter
Blue Peter is the world's longest-running children's television show, having first aired in 1958. It is shown on CBBC, both in its BBC One programming block and on the CBBC channel. During its history there have been many presenters, often consisting of two women and two men at a time...
viewers.
Hart received two BAFTA awards. His first came in 1978 for a series of comic shorts about a plasticine character named 'Junfan' (a spin off from Morph, a similar character who was the star of animated shorts on Hart's TV shows), and he was given a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. He retired from regular TV work in 2001.
Personal life
Hart met his wife, Jean Skingle, while working in television; they married in 1953. They were married for 50 years until she died in 2003. They had a daughter, Carolyn, and two grandchildren.Death
On 28 December 2006, it was announced during the reunion programme It Started with Swap Shop that Hart was in poor health, though this was not elaborated upon until an interview with The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
published on 30 September 2008, revealing that two stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
s had robbed him of the use of his hands and left him unable to draw. He described this as "the greatest cross I have to bear". Hart died peacefully on 18 January 2009 at the age of 83.
Hart's funeral took place in the village of Shamley Green
Shamley Green
Shamley Green is a small village in the county of Surrey, England. Neighbouring villages include Wonersh, Chilworth, Farncombe and Bramley. Nearby railway stations include Chilworth railway station and Farncombe railway station . Although Shalford Station is in fact closer as the route to...
, where the artist had lived for more than 40 years.
Tributes
On 1 March 2009, a flashmobFlashMob
FlashMob is a band formed in Nashville, Tennessee featuring Meghan Kabir. The band signed a record deal with Warner Brothers in spring 2010....
organised through the Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
social networking website paid tribute to Hart with around two hundred Morph
Morph (character)
Morph is an animated Plasticine stop-motion character that appeared with the late Tony Hart, beginning in 1977, on several of his UK TV programmes, notably Take Hart and Hartbeat.-Details:...
figures displayed outside the Tate Modern
Tate Modern
Tate Modern is a modern art gallery located in London, England. It is Britain's national gallery of international modern art and forms part of the Tate group . It is the most-visited modern art gallery in the world, with around 4.7 million visitors per year...
art gallery. Hart's daughter, Carolyn Ross, attended and judged the "Best Morph in Show".
A memorial plaque is displayed in Hart's birthplace, the town of Maidstone
Maidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, where he studied art at the town's art college. The plaque was unveiled by his daughter in May 2009 at the Hazlitt Arts Centre.
In September 2010 Carolyn Ross published 'Tony Hart: A Portrait of My Dad', a deeply affectionate biography of Tony by his daughter.
External links
- Official site
- History Of 'Vision On'
- Obituary, The TimesThe TimesThe Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, 18 January 2009 - Obituary, Daily Telegraph, 18 January 2009
- Obituary, The GuardianThe GuardianThe Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 19 January 2009 - Interview with Tony Hart
- Tony Hart article about Morph