Stanley Dorfman (born 24 November 1927) is a South African-born British music television director, producer, and painter. He is known as the co-creator and original producer and director of the world's longest running music television series, Top of the Pops. His work on the program contributed to the development of music videos.[1]
During his tenure at the BBC, Dorfman created the BBC music television series In Concert, where he served as director and producer. He provided many notable musicians with their debut television opportunities. Dorfman played a pivotal role in advancing the careers of women in television during the late 1960s, including by directing and producing three of the first television series on the BBC that were hosted by female performers. He also produced and directed jazz and big band series for the BBC, and series around John Denver, Mary Travers, and Jack Jones.[2]
Dorfman's also directed and produced television specials such as Frank Sinatra In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall, and the televised performance of Rudolf Nureyev in Giselle, which stands as Nureyev's sole documented performance of the unabridged ballet.[3] Dorfman was the director of televised live music events[4] like the A.R.M.S. benefit concert in London in 1984,[5] the Amnesty International Human Rights Concerts between 1986 and 1998,[6] and the Woodstock '94 and Woodstock '99 music festivals.
Dorfman's work extends to the realm of music videos for artists that include David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Ringo Star, Harry Nilsson, Jefferson Starship, and Blondie. He directed Led Zeppelin's Royal Albert Hall concert on film in 1970.[7] Led Zeppelin used this footage to release three official music videos: "How Many More Times", "Dazed and Confused", and "What Is and What Should Never Be."[8]
As original director/producer of the U.K.'s seminal pop show Top of the Pops, Stanley Dorfman stood astride the portal through which every mainstream act had to pass in the '60s. David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Frank Sinatra — the list is a pantheon of pop icons. Dorfman cemented his position further when he relocated to Los Angeles in 1974, taking over for Dick Clark's In Concert series, later directing music videos and concert films in the 1990s.
The producer of the In Concert series (and also of the series devoted to John Denver, Mary Travers, Bobbie Gentry, and Dusty Springfield) is a middle-aged aged South African called Stanley Dorfman. A diffident man by nature (or at least that was the persona he presented to me during our meeting this week), he has, in my opinion, been responsible for most of the best programmes devoted to popular music ever shown on British television.
Despite its limitations, Dorfman, a 16-year veteran of the BBC who has directed scores of variety specials, looks upon the Memorial Arena as a giant TV studio. It took no less than eight key TV cameras and two roving cameras to capture the action Dorfman shaped into a one-hour special.
The concert film was directed by Stanley Dorfman. The granddaddy of rock and roll filmmakers, Dorfman knows his craft and respects his subject. Musicians, not cinematic effects, are the stars of this show.