Ronald Hartley Waldman (13 May 1914 – 10 March 1978) was a British radio presenter and television executive for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Early life and education

Born in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, he was the eldest son of Michael Waldman OBE JP, a sometime Mayor of Hackney, and was educated at Dame Alice Owen's School, Islington, and

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

. His brother Stanley was a barrister.

Career

Waldman began his career as an actor and producer (1935–1938) before joining the

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

department in 1938. Following wartime service in the

Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) was established in 1936 to support the preparedness of the U.K. Royal Air Force (RAF) in the event of another war. The Air Ministry intended it to form a supplement to the Royal Auxiliary Air Force ( ...

, he became the assistant Head of Variety Productions in 1948. The British public knew him best for his work with Harry S. Pepper as presenter of the popular '' Monday Night at Eight'' radio magazine programme, which was broadcast every week live. The programme started in 1937 as "Monday Night at Seven", becoming "Monday Night at Eight" soon after the outbreak of the

Second World War 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 ...

. It was broadcast throughout the war and continued for several years after it. Waldman's speciality was "Puzzle Corner", with a "deliberate mistake" which listeners were invited to spot in time for next week's show. Each week saw a birthday guest star allowed four wishes, and one wish came true if it could be arranged. In October 1950, during Patrick Cyril Henry Hillyard's leave of absence, Waldman was appointed the temporary head of

light entertainment Light entertainment encompasses a broad range of television and radio programming that includes comedies, variety shows, game shows, quiz shows and the like. In the UK In the early days of the BBC, virtually all broadcast entertainment would b ...

for television at the BBC. He launched many distinguished names in light entertainment, such as

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over eight decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Fi ...

and

Morecambe and Wise Eric Morecambe (John Eric Bartholomew; 14 May 1926 – 28 May 1984) and Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman; 27 November 1925 – 21 March 1999), known as Morecambe and Wise (and sometimes as Eric and Ernie), were an English comic double act, working ...

. Waldman later served as the Business Manager of BBC Television Programmes (1958–1960), General Manager of BBC Television Enterprises (1960–1963), Managing Director of

Visnews {{nofootnotes, date = March 2016 Visnews was a London-based international news agency. It began as the British Commonwealth International Newsfilm Agency (BCINA), which was setup with help from The Rank Organisation when that company closed its cin ...

(1963–1977), President of the

Lord's Taverners The Lord's Taverners is a UK youth cricket and disability sports charity. Its charitable objective is to empower and positively impact the lives of young people facing challenges of inequality. Lord's Taverners was founded in 1950 by a group ...

(1966) and as a trustee of the International Institute of Communications (1975–1978).

Personal life

His recreations included music and cricket. He died from cancer in March 1978, aged 63. He left a widow, the actress

Lana Morris Lana Morris, born Avril Maureen Anita Morris (11 March 1930 – 28 May 1998) was a British film, stage and television actress during the 1950s and 1960s. She played the role of Helene Hillmer in the 1967 BBC adaptation of ''The Forsyte Saga ...

, whom he had married in 1953, and a son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Waldman, Ronnie 1914 births 1978 deaths British television executives British television producers English male radio actors People educated at Dame Alice Owen's School English people of Jewish descent Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford 20th-century British male actors Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve personnel of World War II BBC people Deaths from cancer in the United Kingdom