Biography

Russell Harty was born on September 5, 1934 in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK. He was a producer and writer, known for BBC2 Playhouse (1973), The Kids Are Alright (1979) and Russell Harty Plus (1972). He died on June 8, 1988 in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, UK.

On his chat show Harty (1983), often asked his guests questions which began "You are, are you not, ...?"

Before becoming famous on television, he taught English at Giggleswick School near Settle in Yorkshire. One of his pupils was Richard Whiteley.

Even after leaving Giggleswick School to start his TV career, he still lived in a cottage in the nearby village of Giggleswick. He is buried in St Alkelda's Churchyard in the village, within sight of the school's iconic domed tower.

Although the media hyped a rivalry between Harty and fellow chat-show host Michael Parkinson, they were actually quite friendly. After Harty died, Parkinson gave an address at a memorial service in his hometown of Blackburn and pointedly called him "a damn sight nicer than anyone who wrote about him".

There was life before Coronation Street (1960), but it didn't amount to much.