Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Carl DAVIS (1936-2023)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Carl Davis, conductor and composer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews - with the help of a group of friends gathered to wish him an early happy 50th birthday - onboard a boat moored next to Thames Television's Teddington Studios, having been led to believe he was there for a photo call.
Carl, who was born in Brooklyn, New York, attended the New England Conservatory of Music, where he began to compose, and later, Bard College, where he studied composition. In 1961, he performed his award-winning revue Diversions at the Edinburgh Festival, which led to a commission to compose music for the BBC satirical comedy programme That Was The Week That Was.
Carl wrote music for other television programmes, including the landmark ITV series The World At War in 1973 and Hollywood in 1980, composed numerous film scores, including The French Lieutenant's Woman in 1981, wrote ballet and concert scores, and created new scores for cinema performances of vintage silent movies, beginning with the restoration of the 1927 epic Napoleon.
"But I've just begun! How extraordinary!"
programme details...
- Edition No: 707
- Subject No: 702
- Broadcast date: Wed 29 Oct 1986
- Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
- Recorded: Wed 15 Oct 1986
- Venue: Teddington Studios
- Series: 27
- Edition: 3
- Code name: Theme
on the guest list...
- Barbara Dickson
- Paul Jones
- Philip Saville
- John Willan
- Willie Rushton
- Lance Percival
- John Bird
- Jean Boht - wife
- Hannah - daughter
- Jessie - daughter
- Madeline Smith
- John Wells
- Sara - mother
- Isadore - father
- Sylvia - aunt
- Milton - uncle
- Janet - aunt
- Irvie - uncle
- Anton Rodgers
- Kevin Brownlow
- David Gill
- Jeremy Isaacs
- Jenny Anajayan
- Mark Kewminster
- Desmond Milling
- Clare Mottershead
- John Black
- Laurie Kent
- Tanya McPherson
- Valerie Cherry
- Matthew Cornford
- George Crawford
- Ernestine Goldstein Filmed tributes:
- Kiri Te Kanawa
- Henry Mancini
- Barry Humphries Recorded tribute:
- Christopher Dean
related appearance...
- Jean Boht - Nov 1989
production team...
- Researcher: Claire Jenkinson
- Writer: Roy Bottomley
- Directors: Terry Yarwood, Michael D Kent
- Associate Producer: Brian Klein
- Producer: Malcolm Morris
- names above in bold indicate subjects of This Is Your Life
a symphony of subjects
keeping it in the family
the iconic titles and theme tunes
the programme's best kept secrets
Screenshots of Carl Davis This Is Your Life
Series 27 subjects
Bill Waddington | Robert Foote | Carl Davis | Gorden Kaye | Teddy Johnson and Pearl Carr | Monty Fresco | Joe JohnsonSusan George | Bill Ward | Rachel Kempson | Gary Wilmot | Cliff Michelmore and Jean Metcalfe | Liz Hobbs | Jack Berg
Derek Scott | Patricia Hodge | Harry Friend | Norman Wisdom | Denis Compton | Christopher Cazenove | Dudley Moore
Terry Marsh | David Jacobs | William Rushton | Gabrielle Drake