Author, Television Personality. He gained fame as a 20th-century British crime author and journalist who became the host of the television crime series "The Scales of Justice" from 1953 to 1961 and "Scotland Yard" from 1962 to 1967. Born into a Jewish household of East European origin, his father was a barrister. After attending local schools, he attended St John's College in Oxford, where he studied law. His years in the legal profession from 1930 to 1940 equipped him with the background of a crime author. During World War II, he was declared medically unfit for active service but worked in Radio Counter-Propaganda under the name of "Brent Wood." This was the turning point for his interest in broadcasting, abandoning his law career. After the war, he was a BBC staff producer from 1945 to 1948, the organizer of the BBC television program "In the News" from 1950 to 1954, and the producer of the ATV program "Free Speech" from 1955 to 1961. He wrote numerous articles for newspapers and presented the radio series "Advocate Extraordinary." He published his first of five crime novels, "A Case to Answer" in 1947. Starting in 1949, he published eight true crime books. At age 71, he died suddenly of a heart attack in a library while reading a newspaper. Later, in his honor, the library dedicated the area to the "true crime" section of the library. He married once, and the couple were childless before he became a widower for seven years.
Author, Television Personality. He gained fame as a 20th-century British crime author and journalist who became the host of the television crime series "The Scales of Justice" from 1953 to 1961 and "Scotland Yard" from 1962 to 1967. Born into a Jewish household of East European origin, his father was a barrister. After attending local schools, he attended St John's College in Oxford, where he studied law. His years in the legal profession from 1930 to 1940 equipped him with the background of a crime author. During World War II, he was declared medically unfit for active service but worked in Radio Counter-Propaganda under the name of "Brent Wood." This was the turning point for his interest in broadcasting, abandoning his law career. After the war, he was a BBC staff producer from 1945 to 1948, the organizer of the BBC television program "In the News" from 1950 to 1954, and the producer of the ATV program "Free Speech" from 1955 to 1961. He wrote numerous articles for newspapers and presented the radio series "Advocate Extraordinary." He published his first of five crime novels, "A Case to Answer" in 1947. Starting in 1949, he published eight true crime books. At age 71, he died suddenly of a heart attack in a library while reading a newspaper. Later, in his honor, the library dedicated the area to the "true crime" section of the library. He married once, and the couple were childless before he became a widower for seven years.
Bio by: Linda Davis
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