Hector William Crawford CBE AO (1913 - 1991)

Born 14 Aug 1913 in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia

Ancestors

Husband of Glenda (Raymond) Crawford — married 10 Nov 1950 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Died 11 Mar 1991 at age 77 in Kew, Victoria, Australia

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Biography

Hector Crawford CBE AO is Notable.

Hector William Crawford CBE AO was an Australian entrepreneur, conductor and media mogul, best known for his radio and television production businesses. He and his sister Dorothy Crawford founded Crawford Productions, which was responsible for many iconic programs and initiated the careers of a number of notable Australian actors and entertainers. His influence on the Australian entertainment industry was immense and enduring, and one obituary described him as 'one of the best-known and most respected names in the history of Australian entertainment'.

Hector William Crawford was born on 14th August 1913 in Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia. He was the only son of William Crawford, a commercial traveller, and his wife, Charlotte Turner, a contralto and organist.^[1] He studied at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music and later conducted the orchestra there.^[2]

Hector Crawford married Melbourne coloratura soprano, Glenda Raymond, on 10th November 1950 in the Collins Street Independent Church, Melbourne, Victoria.^[3] They had two children, Joanne and Tim.^[2]

Career

In 1940 Crawford became the musical and recording director of Broadcast Exchange of Australia, a radio broadcasting house, and its managing director in 1942.^[2]

In 1945 he and his sister Dorothy Crawford founded Crawford Productions. Hector managed music, administration and sales, while Dorothy attended to script-editing and casting. They produced musical radio programs in Melbourne such as Music for the People, in which concerts at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne, often conducted by Hector, were attended by large crowds and broadcast live on radio. The concept developed, and culminated in the concert given by The Seekers at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in 1967, which attracted a record-breaking crowd of 200,000 people. Crawfords became the first independent producer to screen a programme on Australian television. Australia's first hour-long television drama series, Consider Your Verdict premiered in 1961, and the hugely successful police drama Homicide in 1964, which lasted till 1977.^[2]

Honours

The Whitlam Government appointed Crawford a member of the Australian Film and Television School in 1973, and a member of the Australian Film Commission in 1974.^[2]

Hector Crawford was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the New Year's Honours of 1968, 'in recognition of service as Director of Music for the People'.^[4] In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1980, he was raised to Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE), 'in recognition of service to the arts'.^[5]

In the Queen's Birthday Honours of 1986, he was made Officer of the Order of Australia (AO), 'for service to Australian television production'.^[6]

Crawford was awarded special Logie Awards in 1969, 1971, 1975 and 1976, for outstanding contribution to Australian television and show business. In 1984, he was the first inductee into the Logie Hall of Fame.

Other awards included the Footlighter's Award, the Colin Bednall Award, the Chips Rafferty Memorial Award, the Sir Charles McGrath Award of the Australian Marketing Institute, an Advance Australia Award, the Hartnett Medal of the Royal Society of Arts, the Sir Arthur Cowan Award, the inaugural BHP Australian Television Festival Award for Excellence, and Life Membership of the Screen Production Association of Australia (SPAA).^[2]

Retirement

Crawford sold his controlling interests in Crawford Productions in 1987^[2] and retired in 1989. He passed away, aged 77 years, on 11th March 1991 at Kew, Victoria and was survived by his wife and children.

Sources

1. ↑ Victoria Birth Index #21774/1913
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6} Bazzani, Rozzi. 'Crawford, Hector William (1913–1991)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, published online 2014, accessed online 28 Mar 2020
3. ↑ Victoria Marriage Index #18563/1950
4. ↑ Australian Honours: OBE; accessed 28 Mar 2020
5. ↑ Australian Honours: CBE; accessed 28 Mar 2020
6. ↑ Australian Honours: AO; accessed 28 Mar 2020

See also

• IMDb profile: Hector Crawford; accessed 28 Mar 2020.
• Wikipedia profile: Hector Crawford; accessed 28 MAr 2020.