Tony Hart, Artist and Broadcaster. Born 15 October 1925; Died 18 January 2009Eleven days ago, the popular children's entertainer died peacefully at the age of 83. His career spanned six decades, beginning in 1952, when he became resident artist on the BBC Saturday morning children's programme Saturday Special.
Over the years, he continued to delight 
children, inspiring them to try their hand at arts and crafts, presenting Playbox, Titch and Quackers, Vision-On, Take Hart, Hartbeat, Artbox Bunch and Smart Hart. In 1958, he created the iconic "Blue Ship" image which appeared on the iconic programme Blue Peter and its highly-coveted accompanying badge (I have two).
children, inspiring them to try their hand at arts and crafts, presenting Playbox, Titch and Quackers, Vision-On, Take Hart, Hartbeat, Artbox Bunch and Smart Hart. In 1958, he created the iconic "Blue Ship" image which appeared on the iconic programme Blue Peter and its highly-coveted accompanying badge (I have two).In the 1970s, his clay creation, Morph, made him even more popular with family audiences, eventually becoming something of a break-out of his own right, being commissioned for two short series, in the 1980s and 1990s.
As well as being an inviting, warm, fatherly figure to generations of children up and down the country, Hart was an accomplished and serious artist, occasionally appearing on more adult programmes dedicated to fine art, commenting on classical as well as contemporary artists and their work.
It is difficult to e
xplain the popularity of his programmes, but the amount of time Hart was on our screens is testament enough. Both my dad and myself enjoyed his programmes over the years, despite the lack of talent the latter has for any drawing whatsoever. The point of sending work in to Hart (which was heavily encouraged, with frequent spots of being presented throughout the airtime) was not just to learn how to draw, but aso to learn how to appreciate art and culture from an early age, and is probably responsible for several British artists working today - whether they are aware of it or not.
You can read The Guardian's obituary here, and the BBC's report of his death here.
xplain the popularity of his programmes, but the amount of time Hart was on our screens is testament enough. Both my dad and myself enjoyed his programmes over the years, despite the lack of talent the latter has for any drawing whatsoever. The point of sending work in to Hart (which was heavily encouraged, with frequent spots of being presented throughout the airtime) was not just to learn how to draw, but aso to learn how to appreciate art and culture from an early age, and is probably responsible for several British artists working today - whether they are aware of it or not.You can read The Guardian's obituary here, and the BBC's report of his death here.
Mr Hart, you will be greatly missed...
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