John Hartshorn

John Hartshorn, also known as John Stewart, (6 April 1941-12 May 2003) was a well known and well respected sound supervisor at the British Broadcasting Corporation. Known in his field as "Golden Ears", he was present through many changes and evolutions in the history of the BBC, particularly in the field of television.
At the height of his career he oversaw sound production on EastEnders when the show was receiving massive viewing figures. These figures reached extraordinary heights in what is now known as the "Den and Angie" years in the mid to late 1980s. John Hartshorn's place as an anchor man at the heart of many highly regarded BBC Television programmes should not be underestimated. He was present as a sound recordist then sound supervisor over many seminal productions between the early sixties and the late eighties. His credits included Blue Peter, Jackanory, Top of the Pops, Doctor Who, Wogan, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Duchess of Duke Street, In Sickness and In Health, Till Death Us Do Part, Juliet Bravo and Hancock. He was also present in his vocation with the Beatles performance on the BBC.During his career in the sound department John was attached to the outside broadcast department and was part of the team on the launch of the iconic ship "Queen Elizabeth 2nd".He also worked with Ken Loach on the now famous TV film "Cathy come Home".
The British queen of soul "Dusty Springfield" met her match when demanding to hear the playback of songs she had just recorded for her TV show. Hartshorn enlightened Miss Springfield to the fact that he was the sound engineer and she was the singer,whereupon he escorted her out of his room.
While at the BBC John Hartshorn used his skill as an amateur photographer to take candid shots of some of the performers. He was not shy of breaking rules to achieve his aim.
These rare photographs are a snapshot of life in the TV studios in the 1960s.
Hartshorn was a passionate teacher of his art. Not only to the young sound engineers but also to aspiring photographers.
He later formed a camera group for amateur photographers.
To avoid conflict with his work at the BBC he used his partner's surname. For this reason he was known as John Stewart.

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