Lew Grade

Lew Grade, Baron Grade, (born Lev Isaakovich Winogradsky, Russian: Лев Исаакович Виноградский, romanized: Lev Isaakovich Vinogradsky; 25 December 1906 [O.S. 7 January 1907] – 13 December 1998) was a British media proprietor and impresario. Born to Jewish parents in the Russian Empire, he emigrated to the United Kingdom as a child and was raised in London. Originally a dancer, and later a talent agent, Grade's interest in television production began in 1954 when he founded the Incorporated Television Company (ITC; commonly known as ITC Entertainment) to distribute programmes. Following the success of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Grade decided to focus on bringing ITC programmes to the American market. Grade had some success in this field with such series as Gerry Anderson's many Supermarionation series such as Thunderbirds, Patrick McGoohan's The Prisoner, and Jim Henson's The Muppet Show. Later, Grade invested in feature film production, but several expensive box-office failures caused him to lose control of ITC, and ultimately resulted in the disestablishment of its associate ATV, which lost its ITV franchise.