Elkan Allan (born Elkan Philip Cohen, 8 December 1922 – 25 June 2006) was a British

television producer A television producer is a person who oversees one or more aspects of a television show, television program. Some producers take more of an executive role, in that they conceive new programs and pitch them to the television networks, but upon acce ...

and print

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

. Allan is best remembered for his creation of the pioneering 1960s TV rock/pop music show ''

Ready Steady Go! ''Ready Steady Go!'' (or ''RSG!'') was a British rock/pop music television programme broadcast every Friday evening from 9 August 1963 until 23 December 1966. It was conceived by Elkan Allan, head of Rediffusion TV. Allan wanted a light ente ...

''. After 1968, he was for many years the television editor of ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''.

Early life

Allan was born Elkan Philip Cohen in

Cricklewood Cricklewood is a town in North London, England, in the London Boroughs of Camden, Barnet, and Brent. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north-west of Charing Cross. Cricklewood was a small rural hamlet ...

, London, in December 1922, the son of Rose (née Prager) and Allan Cohen. His father was a

furrier Fur clothing is clothing made from the preserved skins of mammals. Fur is one of the oldest forms of clothing and is thought to have been widely used by people for at least 120,000 years. The term 'fur' is often used to refer to a specific item ...

, who later became involved in the printing industry. Allan was educated at Quintin School in

St John's Wood St John's Wood is a district in the London Borough of Camden, London Boroughs of Camden and the City of Westminster, London, England, about 2.5 miles (4 km) northwest of Charing Cross. Historically the northern part of the Civil Parish#An ...

. At some point during his childhood, his parents changed their surname from Cohen to Allan. Elkan changed his name by

deed poll A deed poll (plural: deeds poll) is a legal document binding on a single person or several persons acting jointly to express an intention or create an obligation. It is a deed, and not a contract, because it binds only one party. Etymology Th ...

the day before his eighteenth birthday.

Career

Elkan Allan's career in print journalism began in 1941, when he became the assistant editor of ''The Outfitter'', a

trade journal A trade magazine, also called a trade journal or trade paper (colloquially or disparagingly a trade rag), is a magazine or newspaper whose target audience is people who work in a particular trade or industry. The collective term for this a ...

for menswear retailers. Allan was exempt from military service 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 ...

for health reasons. His contributions to ''The Outfitter'' included the column "Dress Circle", which featured reviews of costumes in theatre productions. He later worked for the ''

Daily Express The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first ...

'', ''

Picture Post ''Picture Post'' was a photojournalistic magazine published in the United Kingdom from 1938 to 1957. It is considered a pioneering example of photojournalism and was an immediate success, selling 1,000,000 copies a week after only two months. ...

'', ''

John Bull John Bull is a national personification of England, especially in political cartoons and similar graphic works. He is usually depicted as a stout, middle-aged, country-dwelling, jolly and matter-of-fact man. He originated in satirical works of ...

'' and ''

The Illustrated London News ''The Illustrated London News'', founded by Herbert Ingram and first published on Saturday 14 May 1842, was the world's first illustrated weekly news magazine. The magazine was published weekly for most of its existence, switched to a less freq ...

''. In the mid-1940s, Allan became a radio broadcaster, developing and overseeing the first quiz shows on BBC radio, ''Quiz Time'' and ''Quiz Team''. In 1953, he began working for the BBC Television Service, initially presenting ''Armchair Traveller''. When ITV was launched in 1955, he joined the new network as a reporter, later becoming a producer for '' This Week's'' current affairs programme. In 1960, Allan began writing and producing documentaries for television. This included ''Freedom Road'', which won three awards at the 1961 Berlin television festival. In 1962, he became the head of entertainment at

Associated-Rediffusion Associated-Rediffusion, later Rediffusion London, was the British ITV franchise holder for London and parts of the surrounding counties, on weekdays between 22 September 1955 and 29 July 1968. It was the first ITA franchisee to go on air, ...

, producing shows such as ''

Double Your Money ''Double Your Money'' was a British game show hosted by Hughie Green. Originally broadcast on Radio Luxembourg since 1950 and based on the American radio quiz '' Take It Or Leave It'' (1940–1947), it transferred to ITV in September 1955, a ...

'' and ''

Take Your Pick ''Take Your Pick!'' is a British game show originally broadcast by Radio Luxembourg starting in 1952. The show was transferred to television in 1955, one day after the launch of ITV, where it continued until 1968. It was the first game show ...

''. In 1963, he created and produced the music show ''

''.

Personal life

Allan was married twice. His first marriage was to journalist Mary Ingham, on 27 November 1947 at the Kensington register office. They had two sons and a daughter. They later divorced and, on 5 September 1970, Allan married journalist Angela Willment at Hampstead register office. They had a son and a daughter. He had a long interest in

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

, and worked on an encyclopedia for the game. This was unfinished when he died, but was posthumously completed by Hannah Mackay. With his second wife, Allan also wrote three film guides. Allan died from a stroke in June 2006, at the

Whittington Hospital Whittington Hospital is a district general hospital, district general and teaching hospital of UCL Medical School and Middlesex University School of Health and Social Sciences. Located in Archway, London, it is managed by Whittington Health NH ...

Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...

. He was survived by his second wife and all of his children.

Television credits

As producer: * ''"Hippodrome Show"'' (1966) TV series * ''"

"'' (1963) TV series * ''"

Stars and Garters ''Stars and Garters'' is a British television variety show produced by Associated-Rediffusion from 1963 until 1966, set in a fictional public house. Hosted by comedian Ray Martine, regulars included singers Kathy Kirby, Vince Hill, Tommy Bruc ...

"'' (1963) TV series As a writer: * ''

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

'' (TV series, "

Londinium Londinium, also known as Roman London, was the capital of Roman Britain during most of the period of Roman rule. Most twenty-first century historians think that it was originally a settlement established shortly after the Roman conquest of Brit ...

", 1967) *'' Out of Step'', (1957), with

Daniel Farson Daniel James Negley Farson (8 January 1927 – 27 November 1997) was a British writer and broadcaster, strongly identified with the early days of commercial television in the UK, when his sharp, investigative style contrasted with the BBC's mor ...

As director: *'' Love in Our Time'' (1968) As an actor: *'' Love in Our Time'' (1968) .... Narrator As consultant *''

Heads Up with Richard Herring ''Heads Up with Richard Herring'' or ''HUWRH'', is a British celebrity chat show written by and starring Richard Herring, who is best known as one half of comedy duo Lee and Herring, the stars of BBC Two shows ''Fist of Fun'' and '' This Morning ...

'' (2005) TV series TV appearances: * ''ITV 50 Greatest Shows'' (2005) * ''

Celebrity Poker Club ''Celebrity Poker Club'' is a British television series featuring celebrities playing poker. It aired on Challenge for three series from 2003 to 2005 as a spin-off from Channel 4's popular '' Late Night Poker'' series. Liam Flood was the casin ...

'' (1 episode, 2004) *'' Heat Seven'' (2004) TV episode

Published works

*''Good Listening: A Survey of Broadcasting'' (1951) *''The Sunday Times Guide to Movies on Television'' (1973, edited with Angela Allan) *''The Sunday Times Guide to the Movies'' (1977, edited with Angela Allan) *''The Virgin Video Guide'' (1982, edited with John Hazelton and Patrick Newley) *''A Guide to World Cinema'' (1985, editor) *''The Poker Encyclopedia'' (2007, with Hannah Mackay)

References

External links

Obituary
by

Neil Lyndon Neil Alexander Lyndon (born Neil Alexander Barnacle; 12 September 1946) is a British journalist and writer. He has written for ''The Sunday Times'', ''The Times'', ''The Independent'', the ''Evening Standard'' the ''Daily Mail'' and the ''Tele ...

in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', 30 June 2006
Obituary
from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', 1 July 2006
Obituary
in ''The Independent'' 29 June 2006 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Allan, Elkan 1922 births 2006 deaths 20th-century British screenwriters British male television writers British newspaper editors British television directors British television producers Daily Express people People educated at Quintin Kynaston School People from Cricklewood British television show creators