Jack Hylton
| Jack Hylton (born John Greenhalgh Hilton) | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Jack Elton |
| Born | 2 July 1892, Great Lever, Bolton, Lancashire, England, U.K. |
| Died | 29 January 1965 (aged 72) Marylebone, London, England, U.K. |
| Occupations | Band leader, impresario |
| Years active | 1917–1965 |
Jack Hylton (2 July 1892, Great Lever, Bolton, Lancashire – 29 January 1965, London) was a British band leader and impresario.
He was born John Greenhalgh Hilton in the Great Lever area of Bolton, Lancashire, the son of George Hilton, a cotton yarn twister. His father was an amateur singer at the local Labour Club and Jack learned piano to accompany him on the stage. Jack later sang to the customers when his father bought a pub in nearby Little Lever, becoming known as the "Singing Mill-Boy". He also performed as a relief pianist for various bands.
His early career involved moving to London as a pianist in the 400 club and playing with the Stroud Haxton Band. During the first world war he moved to be a musical director of the band of the 20th Hussars and the Director of the Army Entertainment Division. After the war he went on to play with the Queen's Dance Orchestra where he wrote arrangements of popular songs and had them recorded under the label 'Directed by Jack Hylton'. He went on from here to form his own band, recording the new style of jazz derived American dance music under the Jack Hylton name from 1923. Hylton became a respected band leader with a busy schedule; his band had developed into an orchestra and toured America and Europe into the 1940s until it disbanded due to the war. He became a director and major shareholder of the new Decca record label.
At this point in his career he became an impresario discovering new stars and managing radio, film and theatre productions from Ballets to Circuses. His productions dominated the London theatres with such productions as The Merry Widow, Kiss Me, Kate and Kismet.
Contracted as Advisor of Light Entertainment to Associated-Rediffusion (A-R), winners of the London weekday franchise in the recently established ITV network, he founded Jack Hylton Television Productions Ltd in that same month to produce a range of light entertainment programming exclusively for that company. At the same time he was still producing stage shows, as well as taking a leading role in organising various Royal Command Performances, until his final stage production Camelot in 1965. He helped to develop the careers of many famous performers such as Shirley Bassey, Maurice Chevalier, Morecambe and Wise, Tony Hancock, Arthur Askey, the Crazy Gang, George Formby and Liberace.
In 1965 a televised tribute to Hylton, The Stars Shine for Jack, was held in London on Sunday 30 May at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane with many artists including Arthur Askey, The Crazy Gang, Marlene Dietrich, Dickie Henderson, and Shirley Bassey.
He was married twice; firstly in 1922 to bandleader Ennis Parkes (they separated in 1929) and secondly, in Geneva in 1963, to Australian model and beauty queen Beverley Prowse (1932–2000).
He had a son, Jack (b.1947), by Pat Taylor, a singer and actress and two daughters, Frederika (b.1932) and Georgina (b.1938), by model Frederika Kogler ("Fifi").
[edit] Death
On 26 January 1965, complaining of chest and stomach pains, Hylton was admitted to the London Clinic. He died there three days later, on 29 January, from a heart attack, aged 72.
Hylton's spending habits and generosity left his estate with £242,288 gross, despite the many millions which he earned during his career. With duty (taxes) of £83,484, this left £151,160 to be distributed among his heirs, with the first £30,000 reserved for his widow, Beverley. As Hylton said to his son during his latter years, "I won't leave you much, but we'll have a good laugh spending it while I'm here!"[1]
[edit] External links
- Lancaster University Library – Jack Hylton Archive
- Jack Hylton biography and credits at the British Film Institute's Screenonline
- Jack Hylton Music Downloads
- You Tube: Jack Hylton plays "Say Yes" February 1931
