©2013 Tal Zalmanovich ALL RIGHTS RESERVED SHARING A LAUGH: SITCOMS AND THE PRODUCTION OF POST-IMPERIAL BRITAIN, 1945-1980 by TAL ZALMANOVICH A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in History Written under the direction of Prof. Bonnie Smith And Approved by ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------- New Brunswick, New Jersey May, 2013 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Sharing a Laugh: Sitcoms and the Production of Post-Imperial Britain, 1945-1980 By Tal Zalmanovich Dissertation Director: Bonnie Smith Sharing a Laugh examines the social and cultural roles of television situation comedy in Britain between 1945 and 1980. It argues that an exploration of sitcoms reveals the mindset of postwar Britons and highlights how television developed both as an industry and as a public institution. This research demonstrates how Britain metamorphosed in this period from a welfare state with an implicit promise to establish a meritocratic and expert-based society, into a multiracial, consumer society ruled by the market. It illustrates how this turnabout of British society was formulated, debated, and shaped in British sitcoms. This dissertation argues that both democratization (resulting from the expansion of the franchise after World War I) and decolonization in the post-World War II era, established culture as a prominent political space in which interaction and interconnection between state and society took place. Therefore, this work focuses on culture and on previously less noticed parties to the negotiation over power in society such as, media institutions, media practitioners, and their audiences. It demonstrates how British sitcom writers turned a form which was seen as frivolous entertainment into an ii inquiry that questioned the most fundamental structures of their society. Sitcoms thus addressed and engaged with the critical issues of British life: postwar consumer aspirations and shortage of housing, fears of Americanization, racism and the end of empire. Sitcoms’ incredible outreach extended these debates across the nation, and enabled a conversation that took place in the privacy of the home to resonant in the public sphere. The dissertation looks both at institutions and at trailblazing individuals who shaped the genre. It considers the role of audiences and of technological innovation in turning a staple of broadcasting into a site of public debate, education, and memory. It maintains that vintage sitcoms still shape contemporary audiences, and their understanding of the past through sitcoms’ repeated transmission on television, their availability on DVD, and via services such as YouTube. iii oFlawsO roF iv A real comedian – that’s a daring man. He dares to see what his listeners shy away from, fear to express. And what he sees is a sort of truth, about people, about their situation, about what hurts or terrifies them, about what’s hard, above all about what they want. Trevor Griffiths, Comedians.1 1 Trevor Griffiths, Comedians (London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1976), 20. v Acknowledgments The questions that surround the creation of communities through language, sound, and vision are at the core of this dissertation. I ask how people come together, why, and how they feel an affinity with strangers. It is, therefore, appropriate that during the research and writing of this dissertation I had consolidated my own community. I was fortunate to meet inspiring friends, mentors, and scholars on the winding road to the completion of this project. I was equally lucky to have begun the trip with the support of family and old friends. It is a great pleasure to thank them all for nourishing and sustaining me in numerous ways during this process. I would like to express my appreciation to the members of my committee: Bonnie Smith, Temma Kaplan, Seth Koven, and Peter Bailey. Each in their own way taught me a great deal about being a curious, creative, and generous scholar. Bonnie Smith calmly encouraged me on while I was groping my way in the dark of research and fighting to clear the fog from my mind during the writing process. Her ability to frame the essence of a problem or a triumph in a sentence enabled me “to forge ahead,” as she so frequently commanded. Her continuous pursue of cutting-edge scholarship is unparalleled. Seth Koven is an ideal reader—rigorous and demanding, but equally enthusiastic and supportive. Observing his teaching and mentoring amounted to a winning demonstration of the pleasures of intellectual exchange. Temma Kaplan is an inspiring presence. Her radiating wisdom equals only her empathy and optimism. Her likening of writing to vi arranging a bed with a kitten hiding in the blanket helped me write through the messiest parts of this dissertation. Peter Baily’s work informs this project from the choice of subject to the applied methodologies. It was therefore, a privilege to have him read and comment on my work. I am grateful to my first mentor Billie Melman in Tel Aviv University. Her love for Britain and her commitment to the interrogation of its culture are evident in every page of this work. Various scholars assisted me over the years: Morgan Daniels, David Hendy, Su Holmes, Peter Mandler, Bret Mills, Susan Pedersen, Gavin Schaffer, and Wendy Webster shared their time and expertise. My dissertation research was supported by generous awards from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Samuel Flagg Bemis Research Grant, the P.E.O. International Peace fellowship, and the Graduate School of Rutgers University. I am grateful to the assistance of the archivists at the BBC Written Archives Centre, Caversham Park, England. Their profound knowledge of the BBC’s collection and kind assistance were invaluable to this project. Monica Thapar, in particular, was always ready to take on a new challenge. Archivists at the British Film Institute National Archive, the British Library Sound Archive, the British Library Newspapers collection at Colindale and at the University of Essex, made research a pleasurable experience. I am grateful to Ray Galton and Alan Simpson for agreeing to share their thoughts about their work and experience as the writers of the most beloved sitcoms in Britain. I cherish the time I spent with them and my autographed copy of Hancock’s Half Hour radio scripts. vii Portions of this work were presented in a variety of settings. I am especially thankful for the comments and insights offered to me by the participants in the Mellon Summer Graduate Seminar in Modern British History at Columbia University in May-June 2010. The seminar under the directorship of Susan Pedersen provided a lively space to think about and debate the core issues and interpretations of modern Britain. Likewise, Burdens: Writing British History after 1945, a two-day conference at Berkeley in April 2012 was a welcome opportunity to share this work both with established and up-and- coming scholars in the field. Bridget Gurtler, Dennis Halpin and Dora Vargha offered their friendship and advice in the early stages of the project. Thanks to them, Yvette Florio Lane, and Dina Fainberg the first years of graduate school were punctuated with good food and goofy moments. Yvette is my trusted companion in the exploration of Britain; our discussions over the years have always left me with insights and questions to consider. Dina is a comrade from the old country. We shared the plane from Tel Aviv to New Jersey, on our way to begin our studies at Rutgers. Our friendship has grown over the years, as has my appreciation of her wisdom, generosity, and sense of humor. I am fortunate for this lovely group of colleagues and for the students and faculty at the history department at Rutgers in general. I owe a special debt to Dawn Ruskai who saved me from my own absent- mindedness. Her poise and encouraging smile could, and do, move mountains. Danna Agmon and I met as budding journalists in Tel Aviv and since then we have accompanied each another in our foray into historical research. I have benefited from her intelligence, her unfailing sense of humor, and unbeatable knowledge of all that is food. I viii am thankful to her, Iris Kashman, Tali Malkin, and Karina Shtotland for their friendship, good sense and wit. My parents Shimon and Arlene Zalmanovich, my sister and brother-in-law Maya and Chgai Ziv, and my sister Netta, were enthusiastic supporters even though pursuing this project translated into far too many tearful goodbyes. They sent me home-made cookies via UPS when I most needed a taste of home; arranged an international delivery of my favorite poppy-seed cake when I craved it during my pregnancy, and came to visit me no matter where research and life took me. My sister by choice Abigail Saggi and I met when we were eight. We had shared all that is dear to us since, and I cannot imagine going through this project without her. My daughter Amalia was born at the beginning of the writing stage of this dissertation. She has provided me with much-needed occasions to abandon the keyboard to play in the park, dance in the kitchen, and sing in car. She also brought new friends into our lives, which made New Jersey feel like home. Oswaldo, mi media naranja, shared the joys and burdens of this project. His optimism and firm belief in the value of my ideas pushed this project forward. For that I am forever thankful. ix Table of Contents Abstract ………………………………………………………………………… ii Dedication ……………………………………………………………………… iv Acknowledgments ……………………………………………………………… vi Introduction …………………………………………………………………….. 1 Chapter One: Broadcast Media Arrives in Britain ………………………………30 Chapter Two: “The Great Unwashed! That’s What We Are, Mate:” Housing, Homes and Social Mobility ……………………………………………………………. 78 Chapter Three: “Our Screens Had Become Chocked with Dead Cowboys:” The Anglo- American Special Relationship ………………………………………………… 112 Chapter Four: White and White TV: the End of Empire and Race Relations ….