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Chronicle of a Showbusiness Dynasty

How the Winogradsky brothers became the Grades and transformed showbusiness

Michael Grade talks about the Hunter Davies new book, The Grades, which follows the fortunes of his father and uncles – Russian emigres called Winogradsky who became the theatrical agents and impresarios Leslie Grade, Bernard Delfont and Lew Grade. A series of Russian romantic music at the Wigmore Hall, London, reviewed. Alan Ayckbourn, Britain's "most popular, productive and successful living playwright", talks about working as a director in Scarborough, Yorkshire, and how writing is "loathesome – you sit in a room on your own" and he only does it for a month a year.

Presenter: Gillian Reynolds.

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29 minutes

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World Service Archive

This programme was restored as part of the World Service archive project