Big Red Book
Celebrating television's This Is Your Life
Monty FRESCO (1919-1997)
THIS IS YOUR LIFE - Monty Fresco, photographer, was surprised by Eamonn Andrews at Thames Television's Teddington Studios, having been led to believe the subject was to be the Daily Mail columnist Nigel Dempster and he was there to photograph the moment of surprise.
Monty, who was born in Spitalfields, London, began working in Fleet Street as a messenger boy for the Topical Press picture agency after leaving school at the age of 14. Within a year, he became a junior photographer, and his first published picture appeared in the London Star. During the Second World War, he enlisted in the British Army and saw action in Italy.
After the war, Monty became the Topical Press Agency's top photographer for almost ten years before working with the Daily Sketch and, later, the Daily Mail. Having covered show business, including 25 years with Miss World, sporting events and war reporting, including the 1973 Arab-Israeli War and the Vietnam War, he was about to retire after 50 years as a professional photographer.
"No wonder I couldn't get my wife on the phone today!"
programme details...
- Edition No: 710
- Subject No: 706
- Broadcast live: Wed 19 Nov 1986
- Broadcast time: 7.00-7.30pm
- Venue: Teddington Studios
- Series: 27
- Edition: 6
- Code name: Al
on the guest list...
- Steve Curry
- Peter Tory
- Ann Leslie
- Lynda Lee-Potter
- Derek Jameson
- John Edwards
- David English
- Nigel Dempster
- Mary Stavin
- Simmie - wife
- Michael - son
- Linda - daughter
- Rosalyn - daughter-in-law
- Nicole - granddaughter
- Daniel - grandson
- Colin - son-in-law
- Adam - grandson
- Joanna - granddaughter
- Monte Fresco - nephew
- Lily - sister
- Sophie - sister
- Betty - sister
- Mick McManus
- Katie Boyle
- John Lloyd
- Terry Lawless
- Frank Bruno
- Joe Loss
- Alfred Marks - live link
- Max Petar
- Brian Park
- Lin Pha
- Giselle Laronde Filmed tributes:
- Michael Crawford
- Ian Wooldridge
- Paul McCartney
- Ilie Nastase
production team...
- Researchers: David N Mason, Christine Fanthome
- 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
headlining Fleet Street's finest
the applause, laughter and tears
Screenshots of Monty Fresco 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