Tony Hart

Generations of children have been inspired to pick up a paintbrush thanks to artist and children’s TV presenter Tony Hart, whose media career spanned more than 50 years. The former British Army officer became an artist after leaving the Armed Forces and he was renowned for programmes such as Vision On, Take Hart and Hartbeat.

He taught children to draw, paint and create art out of everyday objects, making it accessible for everyone and presenting in a friendly, chatty manner that sparked kids' enthusiasm for art. His programmes from the 1950s through to 2001 inspired young people to become artists, graphic designers, animators and teachers.

Early life

Born in 1925 in Maidstone, Kent, Hart attended Clayesmore secondary school in Dorset, where his talent for art was soon recognised - it was his best subject. On leaving school in 1944, his aspirations to join the RAF were thwarted due to poor eyesight.

Instead, he joined the British Indian Army, serving as an officer in the 1st Gurkha Rifles. However, he was demobilised after India gained its independence from Britain in 1947, when lower-ranking British officers were replaced by Indian officers.

He then embarked on his career as a professional artist, studying at Maidstone College of Art and graduating in 1950. However, his fledgling career working in a London retail store as a display artist was cut short by the outbreak of the Korean War, when Hart was re-commissioned into the Territorial Army's Royal Artillery arm.

Television career

On being demobilised a second time, Hart enjoyed his big TV break in 1952, thanks to a chance meeting at a party with a BBC children's television producer. He was invited to a formal interview for a new resident artist for the Saturday Special programme and he was snapped up straight away after drawing a quick sketch during the interview.

This was the start of his long TV career spanning more than 50 years. He presented many popular kids' art shows, including Playbox from 1954 to 1959, Vision On from 1964 to 1976, Take Hart from 1977 to 1983, Hartbeat from 1984 to 1993, Artbox Bunch from 1995 to 1996 and Smart Hart from 1999 to 2000. He also appeared on Tich and Quackers, the puppet show presented by ventriloquist Ray Alan in the 1960s.

Hart's programmes were famous for presenting a gallery of viewers' own paintings that they were asked to send in each week – thus, encouraging kids to take up painting in the hope of seeing their works of art on television.

Morph

From the 1970s onwards, Hart's sidekick became the animated character, Morph, who was a plasticine stop-motion figure created by Peter Lord of Aardman Animations. Morph first appeared in Take Hart in 1977. He lived in a wooden box on an artist's desk and could change shape, frequently transforming into a spherical object to move around or mimicking other objects and creatures.



Aardman Animations is also famous for producing Wallace and Gromit and the animated Sledgehammer music video. From 1981, Morph appeared on Blue Peter, becoming a mini-celebrity in his own right - even receiving the famous Blue Peter Badge! Morph celebrated his 30th birthday with Peter Lord and comedian Phill Jupitus at various events at the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol in 2007, where Jupitus said he was a huge fan of the animated character.

Funded by donations from fans, Morph now has his own YouTube channel after Lord and Aardman produced 15 episodes of the Morph series in 2014. The series premiered on YouTube in 2014 and ran until January 2015, with new episodes regularly released. The Amazing Adventures of Morph was later restored into HD on YouTube.

Retirement

In an interview before he retired in 2001, Hart said he hoped he had achieved his aim of creating programmes that entertained, amused and surprised viewers first and were informative second. He added if people who had watched his shows thought, "I might have a go at that," then he had succeeded.

The award-winning presenter won a BAFTA award for Take Hart in 1984 and Tony Hart received the BAFTA Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998. Outside his TV work, he was a tireless charity campaigner, helping raise funds for children's charities such as Tadworth Children´s Hospital, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and Riding for the Disabled.

Following his death in 2009, Morph creator Lord described Hart’s legacy as "enormous and enduring", adding that he remained modest about his talents and achievements and was always genuine and kind.

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