Kurt: /* External links */

2023-01-08T22:46:05Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:46, 8 January 2023
Line 38:		Line 38:
	* {{discogs artist\|938651}}		* {{discogs artist\|938651}}
	* {{IMDb name\|0450437}}		* {{IMDb name\|0450437}}

	~~{{Authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Kester, Max}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Kester, Max}}

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-08-25T14:49:37Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 09:49, 25 August 2022
(No difference)

en>BattyBot: General fixes, replaced: | nationality = UK | → | nationality = British |

2021-11-14T10:00:02Z

General fixes, replaced: | nationality = UK | → | nationality = British |

New page

{{Short description|British scriptwriter and lyricist}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Max Kester
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name = Max Kester Dodgson
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1901|12|11|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Leeds]], England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1991|12|14|1901|12|11|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Reigate]], [[Surrey]], England
| nationality = British
| other_names =
| occupation = Scriptwriter, lyricist
| years_active =
| known_for =
| notable_works =
}}
'''Max Kester Dodgson''' (11 December 1901 – 14 December 1991), known professionally as '''Max Kester''', was a British scriptwriter and lyricist.

==Biography==
He was born in [[Leeds]], the son of James Dodgson, an artist who drew cartoons for ''[[The Yorkshire Post]]'' under the [[pseudonym]] "Kester".<ref>[https://secretlibraryleeds.net/2019/05/31/the-leeds-savage-club-a-brief-history/ "The Leeds Savage Club: A Brief History", ''The Secret Library, Leeds'', 31 May 2019]. Retrieved 7 April 2021</ref> Max Kester Dodgson started work on the ''Yorkshire Post'',<ref name=times>[https://archive.org/details/NewsUK1992UKEnglish/Jan%2004%201992%2C%20The%20Times%2C%20%2364220%2C%20UK%20%28en%29/page/n11/mode/2up "Obituary: Max Kester", ''The Times'', 4 January 1992]. Retrieved 7 April 2021</ref> and wrote and edited early radio programmes for the [[BBC radio|BBC]] in Leeds in 1926, as Max Kester. He moved to London by the late 1920s, and worked for [[His Master's Voice]] records.<ref name=times/> He also became a singer with [[Ray Noble]]'s Orchestra, and wrote the lyrics for a number of songs composed and recorded by Noble. Most successful was "Love Locked Out", first recorded in 1933 and later sung by many artists including [[Frank Sinatra]] in 1957.<ref name=times/>

Kester recorded and broadcast as one of "Those Four Chaps", together with [[Claude Hulbert]], [[Bobbie Comber]], and [[Paul England (actor)|Paul England]]. By 1933, he worked regularly for [[BBC radio]] in London, initially writing and presenting [[variety show]]s and [[concert party (entertainment)|concert party]] broadcasts.<ref name=bbc>[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?order=asc&q=Kester#search Search, Max Kester, ''BBC Genome'']. Retrieved 7 April 2021</ref> These included ''The Air-Do-Wells'', introduced in 1934, devised and produced by Kester and [[Bryan Michie]], and for which Kester wrote the lyrics to music provided by Ray Noble.<ref>[https://www.seasidefollies.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/The_Neglected_Art_Trends_and_Transformations.pdf Bernard Ince, "The Neglected Art: Trends, Transformations, and Innovations in British Concert Party Entertainment, 1850-1950", ''SeasideFollies'']. Retrieved 7 April 2021</ref> In 1937, Kester wrote and presented ''The Plums'', described by [[Denis Gifford]] as the "first radio family to appear in a regular series" on British radio.<ref name=gifford>[[Denis Gifford]], ''The Golden Age of Radio'', B.T. Batsford Ltd, London, 1985, {{isbn|0-7134-4235-2}}, p.217</ref>

In 1939, he devised and produced ''[[Danger - Men at Work!]]'', a successful comedy series which continued intermittently until 1947, and co-wrote the political satire ''Adolf in Blunderland'', broadcast in October 1939 shortly after the outbreak of the [[Second World War]].<ref name=times/> Kester was one of the most prolific BBC radio writers and producers during the war, and worked with comic performers such as [[Robb Wilton]], [[Lupino Lane]], [[Will Hay]], and [[George Formby]] as well as on variety programmes.<ref name=bbc/>

In 1943, he wrote and produced a radio series, ''Robin Hood'', which provided the basis for the subsequent [[Robin Hood (1953 TV series)|1953 TV series]] starring [[Patrick Troughton]], and in the early 1950s he wrote plays on historical subjects for ''[[Children's Hour]]''. After the war he also worked on the theatre acts of such performers as [[Jack Hulbert]], [[Cicely Courtneidge]], [[Fred Emney]] and [[Richard Hearne]].<ref name=times/> He co-wrote the 1949 musical ''[[Her Excellency (musical)|Her Excellency]]'' starring Courtneidge.

In cinema he co-wrote the 1941 film ''[[Crook's Tour]]'', the 1946 George Formby film ''[[George in Civvy Street]]'', and the 1961 film ''[[Ticket to Paradise (1961 film)|Ticket to Paradise]]''.

He died in [[Reigate]], [[Surrey]] in 1991, aged 90.<ref name=times/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{discogs artist|938651}}
* {{IMDb name|0450437}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kester, Max}}
[[Category:1901 births]]
[[Category:1991 deaths]]
[[Category:British radio writers]]

Max Kester - Revision history

Kurt: /* External links */

Kurt: 1 revision imported

en>BattyBot: General fixes, replaced: | nationality = UK | → | nationality = British |