- Eric Maschwitz
Albert Eric Maschwitz OBE (
10 June 1901 –27 October 1969 ), known as Eric Maschwitz and sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an Englishentertainer , writer, broadcaster and broadcasting executive.Born in
Edgbaston ,Birmingham , the descendant ofSilesia n immigrants, Maschwitz was educated atRepton School andGonville and Caius College, Cambridge .As a lyricist, Maschwitz wrote the
screenplay s of several successful films in the 1930s and 1940s, but he is perhaps best remembered today for his lyrics to 1940s popular songs such as "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square" (music byManning Sherwin andJack Strachey ) and "These Foolish Things" (music byJack Strachey ). Romantically linked to the Chinese-American actressAnna May Wong while working in Hollywood, the lyrics of "These Foolish Things" are evocative of Maschwitz' longing for her after they parted and he returned to England.Maschwitz started his stage acting career in the early 1920s and joined the
BBC in 1926. His firstradio show was "In Town Tonight " and his first television show was "The Black and White Minstrel Show ". In 1939, he went toHollywood under contract toMGM , where he worked on "Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (for which he shared an Academy Award nomination) and "Queen of Song ", among other successfulfilm s.From August 1939, he was a postal censor in Liverpool. From November 1939, he served with the
Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)/MI-6 D Section (sabotage). In 1940, he briefly worked to establish a resistance organization inBeverley , Yorkshire, and for Army Welfare in London; and then was assigned to theSpecial Operations Executive (SOE). In 1940 he was commissioned into theIntelligence Corps . He was then sent to New York City to work for theBritish Security Coordination (BSC). In 1942, he returned to London. In 1942, he briefly supervised radio programs for the troops. He then transferred to thePolitical Warfare Executive (PWE). He ended the war as chief broadcasting officer with the21st Army Group . He left the army as aLieutenant-Colonel .In 1958, at the start of the BBC/
ITV ratings wars, he rejoined the BBC asHead of Television Light Entertainment . About the job he said, "I don't think the BBC is a cultural organisation. We've got to please the people. The job of a man putting on a show is to get an audience." Maschwitz left to join the rival ITV in 1963.During the course of his varied entertainment career, Maschwitz also adapted French comedies such as "
Thirteen For Dinner "; wrote the book and lyrics for numerous musicals, amongst them "Balalaika", "Summer Song ", "The Ghost Train " and "Zip Goes a Million "; and created "Café Collette ". He also edited theRadio Times , and even turned his hand to the detective novel: "Death at Broadcasting House", co-written withVal Gielgud and published in 1931, revolves around a radio play disrupted by the murder of one of the cast.Maschwitz was married twice: firstly to
Hermione Gingold , who was granted a divorce in 1945, and then immediately toPhyllis Gordon who remained his wife until his death.He was created an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) in 1936.
External links
*imdb name|id=0556178|name = Eric Maschwitz
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