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Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein

British businessman and media executive (1899–1993)

Sidney Lewis Bernstein, Baron Bernstein (30 January 1899 – 5 February 1993) was a British businessman and media executive who was the founding chairman of the London-based Granada Group and the founder of the Manchester-based Granada Television in 1954. Granada was one of the original four ITA franchises.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jan 30, 1899, died Feb 5, 1993.1

About

He believed the North's media industry had potential to be cultivated.

Although born in Essex, Bernstein became an adopted northerner, building Granada Television, which created a proud heritage of television broadcasting in Manchester; a legacy which continues. He is described by the British Film Institute (BFI) as the "dominant influence on the growth and development of commercial television in Britain".

Bernstein was awarded a life peerage by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1969 Birthday Honours List for his services to television, and in 1984 he was made a Fellow of the British Film Institute in recognition of his outstanding contribution to British television culture.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Career

Occupation: film producer, businessperson, entrepreneur, film director, politician.5

  • 1969 to 1993Member of the House of Lords4
  • Date not recordedFounded Granada plc3

Personal life

  • BornJan 30, 1899, Ilford6
  • DiedFeb 5, 1993, London7
  • CitizenshipUnited Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland8

Sidney Bernstein's first marriage, in November 1936, ended ten years later in an amicable divorce, with his first wife, Zoe Farmer, eventually marrying Robin Barry, the son of his close friend, Iris Barry, the lifelong film curator of the Museum of Modern Art and one of the founders, along with Sidney, of the London Film Society.

Bernstein remarried in 1954, to Canadian-born Sandra Alexandra Malone, with whom he had two children, a son, David, and a daughter Jane I. Wells, as well as adopting his wife's daughter from a previous marriage, Charlotte-Lynn. This marriage lasted for the rest of his life.

Bernstein's daughter is a documentarian, following in her father's footsteps by producing more than 40 short documentaries and currently lives in New York. She helped to bring about her father's last wish that the documentary on which he had done so much work, with Alfred Hitchcock and many others. The story of this documentary can be found in the HBO film Night Will Fall.

Bernstein was a keen art collector and paintings from his collection adorned the walls of the Granada Studios. On his death in 1993, he bequeathed part of his collection – which included works by Chagall and Modigliani – to the Manchester Art Gallery. Bernstein was known to be a bad driver, something that his colleagues such as Mike Scott used to joke about when Bernstein gave up driving.

In the late 1970s, Bernstein sued aerial photography company Skyviews & General Ltd. for trespass after taking aerial photographs of his Coppings Farm residence without his authorisation. The resulting court case, Bernstein of Leigh (Baron) v Skyviews & General Ltd. [1978], becoming a landmark decision on air rights within British law.

Bernstein died on 5 February 1993 in his home in London. He was 94.

From Wikipedia’s article on Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • Date not recordedInternational Emmy Directorate Award9

Sources

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