Post by T Morgan on Mar 24, 2021 2:32:50 GMT
Do any audio recordings survive of any of the missing shows? I read somewhere that apparently subjects would get presented with a copy of the book and a soundtrack of the show years ago (obviously before the video age) - pity they didnt present the subject with the film seeing that some ended up been destroyed anyway!
I know a small section of Clive Dunn's This is your Life (1971) survives on audio - i wonder if anyone else recorded it or indeed other shows?
Yes! They do. See TV Brain search results. A number of programmes have the note "a domestic audio recording exists of the soundtrack, but the programme itself is missing". I have a digital audio transfer of the Jean Kent episode from 01.01.1975.
The Big Red Book site has done a great job in interviewing living subjects or, in the case of those who are deceased, their family, a close friend or biographer. Tony Lee runs the site and about nine years ago he interviewed journalist Michael Thornton about Chili Bouchier's edition of TIYL. Michael also knew Jean Kent, who was still living then. I think that's how Tony managed to get Jean's big red book loaned to him. I lived near Tony at the time, and got to actually hold the book myself. I seem to recall there was a vinyl disc inside with the programme transcribed. That's how I got an audio transfer of Jean's show, I'm pretty sure. Tony also copied the script for Margaret Lockwood's TIYL for me, which is a missing episode. I imagine Tony has other audio editions too. As Rich Cornock suggested, those audio recordings would probably still be held by the subjects or their estates. Tony helped out with the Kaleidoscope listing. Will have to alert him to this Geoff Love discovery (actually TX a week after Jean Kent's).
A number of subjects were done twice - see here. Petula Clark was the only subject done three times.
It's a good point about the inserts of archive clips. They could well include clips of shows which have since been lost.