Forgotten interviews with late Hollywood stars including Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire are to be broadcast by Radio 2 after being unearthed in a family archive.
The conversations, featuring the biggest stars of the silver screen, were originally recorded by the saxophonist and radio presenter Benny Green and broadcast in part in the 1970s.
The interviews, which were saved in his personal archive along with transcripts of other conversations, have now been retrieved by his son, Leo Green.
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09 Oct 2013Green will now present a “Hollywood Special” for Radio 2 as part of its Christmas schedule, with material from Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand.
The two-part series will be a mixture of music and interviews, intended to explore the “greats of the silver screen”.
A BBC source said the material would be drawn partly from Benny Green’s personal collection and partly from the corporation’s archive.
The majority of the original interviews were recorded for a 26-part series called Hooray for Hollywood, written by Benny Green for Douglas Fairbanks Jnr to narrate and were aimed at celebrating 50 years of musicals.
Benny Green, a saxophonist, worked from the BBC from 1955 until 1998, when he died aged 70.
His son Leo told the Telegraph: “These songs, stories and voices deserve not to be sat in a cupboard somewhere gathering dust. The artists we’ll hear from are some of the greatest performers of all time.
“When some of my friends' dads passed away, they got left a set of golf clubs and a few ill-fitting suits.
“I have been fortunate enough to have been left an incredible and historical archive and I’m really excited to have the chance to share these interviews and celebrate both the Great American Popular Songbook and Hollywood with Radio 2 audiences.”
The two-part programme will be broadcast on December 24 and 26 as part of the festive schedule, which will also include “Michael Sheen’s 80s”.
The show, presented by actor Michael Sheen, will explore the music of his teenage years, including Alison Moyet, Tears for Fears, U2 and the Cult.
He said: “I was 11 in 1980 and every day of that decade, every crush, every fight, every hope and every heartbreak is inextricably linked for me to its music. It is as much a part of me, I realise now, as the experiences that shaped my life.”
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