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Article: An unsettling tale of an entertainer's life Wednesday Book: It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time by Michael Grade (Macmillan, pounds 16.99)
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- October 20, 1999
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1999 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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MICHAEL GRADE is not like the television executives of today.
Where the spreadsheet, the focus group and the management consultant
now rule, once managers - such as Grade - were in the entertainment
business. Indeed, with his trademark red braces, socks and big cigar,
Grade himself often seems more like an entertainer than a mere
executive. He can crack one-liners like an old variety act and I have
seen him use a plume of smoke to raise a laugh and signify his
presence at a Channel 4 sales conference.
This high public profile was inherited in more ways than one. His
father was Leslie Grade, the agent, whose brothers were the