Hollywood Greats
Barry Norman profiled Hollywood legends for the BBC.
Barry Norman wrote and narrated the BBC Television series Hollywood Greats, which originally ran from 1977 to 1985. The show offered in-depth profiles of major Hollywood film personalities, with Norman interviewing surviving associates of each star. Norman also wrote and narrated a related series called British Greats in 1980. Beyond the screen, he authored three books: The Hollywood Greats, The Movie Greats, and The Film Greats. A later series with the same title was narrated by Ian McShane in 1999 and presented by Jonathan Ross from 2002 to 2007.
Quick Facts
- Writer
- Barry Norman
- Series
- 4
- Episodes
- 20
- Network
- BBC
- First aired
- 1977
- Last aired
- 1985
Facts from the source article.
Background
The original Hollywood Greats series ran for four seasons. Series One (1977) covered Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Spencer Tracy, Gary Cooper, and Humphrey Bogart. Series Two (1978) profiled Joan Crawford, Ronald Colman, Jean Harlow, Judy Garland, and Charles Laughton. Series Three (1979) featured Edward G. Robinson, Groucho Marx, Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe, and a special episode titled 'Hollywood – The Golden Years.' The final series, Series Four (1984–1985), looked at John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Steve McQueen, David Niven, and Bing Crosby. The 1999–2007 revival began with a series narrated by Ian McShane in 1999, covering Cary Grant, Bette Davis, Robert Mitchum, and Katharine Hepburn. A special on Audrey Hepburn aired in 2001, two months before Series Two. Jonathan Ross presented all subsequent series, which included profiles of Judy Garland, Gene Kelly, Sammy Davis Jr., Steve McQueen, Doris Day, Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, Michael Caine, Kirk Douglas, James Stewart, Dustin Hoffman, Richard Harris, John Wayne, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Lauren Bacall, Jane Fonda, David Niven, Harrison Ford, Jack Lemmon, Marlon Brando, and a 2007 special on Dame Helen Mirren.
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