Beryl Vertue The Goons Who Tommy Dr Who Ike Tina Turner Hand Signed Letter

CHAU1857  Antique 1957 hand signed letter from Beryl Venture the private secretary of Eric Sykes in the very early days of Erics career and their official office headed paper with the letter written in full by his manager Beryl Vertue about Eric in response to the TV times editor for their editorials  However in this case Beryl is one of the most sought after signatures to today obtain and gold dust for collectors due to her linked to the Goons, Daleks and founding of Hartswood Films.  It is personally autographed by Beryl Venture on Eric's private headed paper and bar centrally folded where originally posted and a paper clip impression is mint condition.

Beryl Frances Vertue CBE was an English television producer, media executive, and agent. She was founder and chairman of the independent television production company Hartswood Films. 

She started by typing up Spike Milligan's scripts for The Goon Show. Later she was tasked with phoning the BBC regarding contracts for Simpson and his colleague Ray Galton. She managed to negotiate a doubling of their income for Hancock's Half Hour. After this she became their chief negotiator and agent, almost by accident, representing Galton and Simpson as well as the comedy writers Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, Johnny Speight and Terry Nation (for whom she negotiated to keep partial rights to his Dalek creation for Doctor Who). She also represented comedians Tony Hancock (until 1961) and Frankie Howerd.

Working under the new arrangement, she became an executive producer for the newly created Associated London Films. The first production was The Plank (1967), Sykes' wordless silent film. Next successes included Steptoe and Son, which became Sanford and Son in the U.S., and Till Death Us Do Part, which was turned into All in the Family  In 1975, she was a co-executive producer of the cinema version of The Who's rock opera Tommy, directed by Ken Russell and starring Roger Daltrey. The film company lasted for eight years, after which she continued with the Robert Stigwood Organisation as executive vice-president, producing programmes for American television.

Stigwood sent her to negotiate with Ike Turner in order to allow Tina Turner to appear in Tommy. She promised they would take good care of Tina, and then thanked him before he had had a chance to consent. Her powers of persuasion were so good that he agreed

Vertue formed Hartswood Films in 1979.  It has produced many comedies, including Men Behaving Badly, Is It Legal, and Coupling, the latter written by her son-in-law Steven Moffat.[ She also served as executive producer of their dramatic series Sherlock, which Moffat also co-created.Her daughter, Sue Vertue, produced the series. She died on 12 February 2022, at the age of 90