From TV Back to Radio

New Zealand Listener, Volume 28, Issue 726, 12 June 1953, Page 16

From TV Back to Radio

\V HEN Alan Morris arrived in England five years ago he had only £5 in his pocket. With two years’ experience of broadcasting-as a copywriter at 4ZB-behind him, he had gone to the other side of the world "on his own steam" to find out what he could about how the job was done there. Now back home again, Mr, Morris has joined the staff of 3YA to do special programme work and write scripts-a job which will include some producing as well; and the other day he told The Listener about some of the things he had done while overseas, That £5, Mr. Morris knew, wasn’t going to last very long in England, so he was relieved when he heard of a job with the publishing firm of Cassells. "They wanted someone for publicity work," Mr. Morris said. "The job covered anything I could devise that would help to sell their books in England and abroad. During the seven months I was with them I had a hand in floating the first volume of Winston Churchill’s War Memoirs. I was also able to do something for ZB Book Review-I recorded one of our authors for this session.’ At the end of 1948 Mr. Morris went through a staff training course at the

BBC with a number. of people from broadcasting organisations in several countries. "I think I was the first one not attached to any broadcasting organisation to go through the course," he said. "When I’d completed it I went to Holland-that was at the beginning of 1949--where I worked with Radio Nederland till the end of August, 1950." (continued on next page)

'. (continued from previous page) Tt was during this time that Mr, Morris his is Holland, a)-series of about life in Holland ‘which + been" treard from NZBS stations. When hi ‘stay on the Continent came to an end Mr, Morris felt he had earned a holiday, so he took a fairly nominal job as second cook on a vessel bound for the Mediterranean. Leaving their year-old baby ‘with friends, his wife joined the same ship as a stewardessan equally nominal position. A voyage of six weeks took them into the Mediterranean ford. back to England by way of Spain. I n Englendthey met their son, who: had flown -over from Holland to joim them. "He was also met by a bevy of press photographers," Mr, Morris said, "and one of the London papers carried a picture of him chewing his passport. They headed it ‘Meal Ticket?’ " From then until he sailed for New Zealand a few months ago Mr. Morris was with the BBC. His first job was as a talks producer in the Pacific Service -~-he succeeded Keith Hay, now NZBS Senior Talks. Officer-where he handled magazine programmes and talks. After three months of this work he joined the Television Service, where his main job was as a floor producer for outside broadcasts, He was on outside broadcasts throughout the Festival of Britain, was one of the team that covered the funeral of King George VI, and stage managed the first television transmission from Scotland. He also wrote scripts and gave commentaries for television programmes. In all, he worked,on about 300 television shows during his stay with the BBC, The opportunities some of them gave to sit in on big events would turn the man in the street green with envy, but Mr. Morris made it clear that after a time the producer and his staff regard almost any job-even Wimbledon -and the Boat Race-as just part of another day’s work. His recent stay in England and Europe is not the first Mr. Morris has had, for he served overseas in the Navy during the war. He was in France a few days after D Day and in the war in the East took part in landing operations on the Arakan coast. Later he was at Singapore when Lord Mountbatten took the surrender and was one of the first men ashore in Java when the war ended there. He tells an entertaining story of going ashore in "shorts, sandals, cap and a tin of © cigarettes" after he had taken a Javanese vessel in through the minefields. All the Javanese were interned, but Mr. Morris found himself with car and interpreter making a royal progress through lines of bowing Japanese soldiers, Mr. Morris is specially interested in sophisticated variety programmes, which he would like-to see produced in New Zealand, "They say we haven't a sense of humour here," he said, "but we can and do appreciate good sophisticated |- humour. Everyone likes Take It From Here." .