Carroll Richard Levis (March 15, 1910 – October 17, 1968) was a Canadian talent scout, impresario and radio and television broadcaster, mainly working in Britain.

Biography

Born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

and brought up in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, the son of a murdered policeman, he grew up wanting to be an actor, but held various jobs in

movie theatre A movie theater (American English) or cinema (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as a movie house, cinema hall, picture house, picture theater, the movies, the pictures, or simply theater, is a business ...

s and as a deckhand before doing some work as a comedian and stage hypnotist. He began broadcasting as an announcer with CKWX in Vancouver. When working in

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

, on one occasion he had time to fill in during a live broadcast and persuaded a boy in the audience to sing a song. Following a good listener reaction, he started a local radio

talent show A talent show or talent contest is an event in which participants perform the arts of singing, dancing, lip-syncing, acting, martial arts, playing an instrument, poetry, comedy or other activities to showcase skills. Many talent shows are p ...

, ''Saturday Night Club of the Air'', and then a similar programme in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 1935, he decided to move to England. He met radio producer

Eric Maschwitz Albert Eric Maschwitz Order of the British Empire, OBE (10 June 1901 – 27 October 1969), sometimes credited as Holt Marvell, was an English entertainer, writer, editor, broadcaster and broadcasting executive. Life and work Born in Edgbaston, ...

, and they developed a tour of British cities to find new talent. His touring stage shows attracted thousands of applicants from potential performers, as well as large theatre audiences, and his first radio shows, ''Carroll Levis and his Discoveries'', were broadcast in September 1936. Search: Carroll Levis, ''Radio Times''
Retrieved 13 December 2020 The ''

Radio Times ''Radio Times'' is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in September 1923 by John Reith, then general manage ...

'' reported the following year that "in the last two years ehas heard thirty thousand people. Of the amateur acts he has introduced, forty-five have turned professional. Not one of them is earning less than £5 a week, and one is getting as much as £25." Levis also presented talent shows on

Radio Luxembourg Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg). The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...

, from 1937,

Denis Gifford Denis Gifford (26 December 1927 – 18 May 2000)Holland, Steve, Obituaries: Denis Gifford', ''The Guardian'', 26 May 2000. was a British writer, broadcaster, journalist, comic artist and historian of film, comics, television and radio. In h ...

, ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, , pp.150-152 and in 1939 played himself in a comedy film, '' Discoveries'', which introduced the song " There'll Always Be an England". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he presented other programmes on BBC radio, such as the

variety show Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...

s ''Carroll Levis Carries On'' and ''The Carroll Levis Hour'', and toured military outposts in Europe and the Middle East. In 1945, Levis was featured in a concert show which entertained troops of the

First Canadian Army The First Canadian Army () was a field army and a formation of the Canadian Army in World War II in which most Canadian elements serving in North-West Europe were assigned. It served on the Western Front from July 1944 until May 1945. It was Cana ...

. Among the performers "discovered" by Levis were comedian and actor

Jim Dale Jim Dale (born James Smith; 15 August 1935) is an English actor, composer, director, narrator, singer and songwriter. In the United Kingdom he is known as a pop singer of the 1950s who became a leading actor at the National Theatre. In British ...

, comedian

Barry Took Barry Took (19 June 192831 March 2002) was an English writer, television presenter and comedian. His decade-and-a-half writing partnership with Marty Feldman led to the television series '' Bootsie and Snudge'', the radio comedy ''Round the Hor ...

, and actress

Anne Heywood Anne Heywood (born Violet Joan Pretty; 11 December 1931 – 27 October 2023) was a British film actress, who is best known for her Golden Globe-nominated performance in the 1967 film version of D.H. Lawrence's ''The Fox''. She was known in pa ...

. After the end of the war, Levis continued with his stage shows and radio broadcasts. In 1946, ''The Carroll Levis Show'' introduced

Cardew Robinson Douglas John Cardew Robinson (14 August 1917 – 28 December 1992) was a British comic whose career was rooted in the music hall and Gang Shows. Early life and career Born in Goodmayes, Essex, Robinson was educated at Harrow County Schoo ...

and

Avril Angers Florence Avril Angers (18 April 1918 – 9 November 2005) was an English stand-up comedian and actress. In 2005 ''The Daily Telegraph'' described her as "one of the most zestful, charming and reliable character comediennes in the postwar Lon ...

. In 1948 he starred in the British mystery film ''Brass Monkey'', in which he played himself. He suffered a mental breakdown in the late 1940s, and for a time was replaced by his brother, Cyril Levis, the show being renamed ''Carroll Levis' Discoveries''. He started a comeback on radio in 1950, and in 1953 ''The Carroll Levis Discovery Show'' moved to television, showcasing the talents of young people, with the

catchline In papyrus rolls and manuscripts, a ''reclamans'' (plural: ''reclamantes'') is a catchline included at the end of a section of text showing the first line or sentence of the subsequent roll or codex, thus ensuring that the reader could quickly dete ...

: "Truly, the discoveries of today are the stars of tomorrow".Roy Hudd and Philip Hindin, ''Roy Hudd's Cavalcade of Variety Acts'', Robson Books, 1998, , p.104 At the opening of his TV show, the banner read, "TeLEVISion", utilising his name, "Levis", which formed part of the word, "Television". However, his appearances on television were deemed "patronising and insincere". He also had an acting role in ''

The Depraved The Depraved may refer to: * ''Adélaïde'' (film), also known as ''The Depraved'', a 1968 French drama film * ''The Depraved'' (1957 film), a British crime film * ''The Depraved'' aka ''Urban Explorer Urban exploration (often shortened as ...

'' (1957), which featured his discovery, Anne Heywood. In 1961, he removed himself from the public eye, only to attempt a return in 1968 after a four-year struggle with a stomach ailment. However, he died the same year, in London, aged 58.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Levis, Carroll 1910 births People from Toronto 1968 deaths British radio personalities Canadian radio personalities Canadian expatriates in England BBC radio presenters BBC television presenters