Background
Grade, the youngest of three brothers, was born in London.
Grade, the youngest of three brothers, was born in London.
In 1912, four years prior to his birth, his Jewish family had emigrated from Tokmak, Ukraine – then Imperial Russian territory – in response to pogroms. With Lew, Grade became one of the United Kingdom"s best-known and most respected media executives. During the late 1940s, his clients included Jack Benny, Bob Hope and Danny Kaye.
In the 1950s and 1960s, many artists represented by Grade appeared in the variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, broadcast by Lew"s Independent Television franchisee Associated Television (ATV).
Grade"s son – Michael Grade, Baron Grade of Yarmouth, Commander of the Order of the British Empire – is a former television executive who has held top-ranking posts within the British Broadcasting Corporation, Independent Television and Channel 4. Grade"s career was curtailed by a series of strokes in the mid-1960s, and the ownership of the Grade Organisation passed to Michael in 1966.
lieutenant was part sold the following year, and renamed London Management under Michael"s direction. Grade died in France in 1979.