Jack de Manio

Jack de Manio (Giovanni Batista de Manio) [Massingberd, H. "The Very Best of the Daily Telegraph Obituaries" (Pan 2001), p.54] MC and Bar (26 January, 1914 - 28 October 1988) was a British journalist, best known as a radio presenter.

His father was an Italian aviator, who died in a flying accident before he was born, and his mother was Polish. He attended Aldenham School. As a young man he worked as an invoice clerk and then as a waiter. He was commissioned into the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1939 and during the World War II he fought with the British Expeditionary Force in 1939-40 and was awarded the Military Cross. On 20 March 1944, as a Lieutenant, he was dismissed the service following a Field General Court Martial. ["London Gazette", 17 March 1944]

His first experience of radio came when he joined the Forces Broadcasting Unit in Beirut in 1944. He became an announcer on the BBC Overseas Service on leaving the army in 1946. He transferred to the Home Service in 1950.

His career nearly crashed in 1956 when he was duty announcer for the BBC's Home Service. A major radio feature, 'The Land of the Niger' was broadcast worldwide to mark the independence of Nigeria. Carelssly he back-announced it as 'The Land of the Nigger'. There was outrage; he was immediately suspended and then returned to the General Overseas Service.

In 1958 he was chosen to present the morning current affairs programme "Today", which had begun a few months earlier. The programme was less hard news oriented than it is today and was well suited to De Manio’s relaxed, humorous style. He became famous for the number of occasions on which he gave the time incorrectly. In 1969 he was the first radio broadcaster to be permitted to interview Prince Charles. He was voted British Radio Personality of the Year in 1964 and 1971. In 1970 the programme format was changed so that there were two presenters each day. Uneasy with the new format, de Manio left the following year. From 1971 to 1978 he presented an afternoon show, "Jack de Manio Precisely" on Radio 4. Subsequently he was an occasional contributor to "Woman’s Hour".

His home was a flat on Chelsaea Embankment in London. It has been described as a 'council flat' but though for historical reasons it was the property of Kensington and Chelsea Council it was a well-appointed residence in a smart area.

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.radioacademy.org.uk/record.jsp?type=celeb&ID=34 The Radio Academy: Jack de Manio]