Today happens to be the 44th anniversary of Doctor Who. Unfortunately, it's not a very happy birthday, as the news has just come out that Verity Lambert, the show's first producer, has died. Those of you who've been watching Who this season may remember "John Smith" giving his parents' names as "Sidney and Verity." Well, Ms. Lambert was the "Verity." She was, in a fairly literal sense, the mother of Doctor Who. She was also the BBC's first female TV producer, and went on from that ground-breaking achievement to have a long and highly distinguished career.
I'll observe a moment of silence for her... And a moment of gratitude for helping to bring the world such a great and iconic TV series. I very nearly included Doctor Who in yesterday's list of things I appreciate in life.
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Apparently her production company was called "Cinema Verity." I think maybe, for that pun alone, she would be worth remembering.
ReplyDelete71 isn't that old...
Yes, that may well be one of the better names for anything ever. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd 71 really isn't all that old, in this day and age. She was very young when she started producing Doctor Who, which makes her accomplishments with it, IMHO, all the more impressive.
Indeed. I don't suppose that the BBC of the early 1960s was the most welcoming of places for a young woman.
ReplyDeleteThe quality of Wikipedia articles is very uneven, but the one on her is quite good. As you say, 71 is no age nowadays, especially for a woman. It's a pity that she couldn't at least have lived another six years and seen the Doctor Who fiftieth anniversary celebrations. (Which could be quite something.)