Tony Hart
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Tony Hart (b. October 15, 1925) is a British television presenter and artist.
He was born in Maidstone, Kent, and began his TV career in 1952 as resident artist on the BBC children's show Saturday Special. Subsequent TV shows included Titch and Quackers, Playbox, Vision On, Take Hart, Hart Beat and Smart Hart. From the 1980s, he often appeared alongside the animated Plasticine stop-motion character Morph.
As well as demonstrating small-scale projects (the type that viewers might be able to do), Hart also created large-scale artworks on the TV studio floor, and even used beaches and other open spaces as 'canvases' (to be viewed from a camera-crane).
A regular feature of Hart's TV shows was 'The Gallery', which displayed artworks sent in by young viewers. The easy-listening vibraphone music accompanying this feature – 'Left Bank', by Wayne Hill – has passed into British TV theme lore.
Less well known is that Hart designed the badges for the long running children's magazine show Blue Peter. The badges are famous throughout the UK and have been coveted by three successive generations of young television viewers.
Hart has received two BAFTA awards. His first came in 1978 and he was given a lifetime achievement award in 1998.
External link
- Official site (http://www.tonyhart.co.uk/)