(Henry Diffenthal)
Respected radio drama producer, Henry Diffenthal, passed
away in Durban on May 8, 2016.
Born on 13 September, 1925, in Standerton, in the former Transvaal,
he was one of nine children born to his parents Friedrich and Carolina. His
father worked as a Railway Station Master. As a boy, he loved Western movies -
so much so that one of his first jobs was as a projectionist at the 20th
Century Fox cinema in Johannesburg.
His talents were recognised by his friend Peter Merrill who,
together with Dean Herrick started Herrick Merrill Studios. Henry was employed
as a recording engineer and together they made shows for Springbok Radio like Address Unknown, Pick a Box and No Place to Hide. In 1954, he moved to
Durban to open a Durban branch of Herrick Merrill. In 1966, Henry left Herrick
Merrill and Olympia Recording Studios was opened in Albany Grove.
In the early 1970s, Henry needed a bigger studio. He moved
to Broad Street and also added filmmaking to his bow. He was now the owner of
Olympia Recording and Film Studios and his bread and butter was still making
programmes for Springbok Radio. He supplied shows for Lux Radio Theatre and produced
a morning soapie for housewives as well as his flagship programme High Adventure which ran from 1972 to 1985.
At his Broad Street studio, he recorded numerous albums for
Ladysmith Black Mambazo and recorded the soundtrack to Meropa for Joan Brickhill and Louis Burke.
Springbok Radio closed in 1985 and Henry moved his studio to
Glenashley where he continued to make radio commercials and record bands. He is
survived by a daughter and four sons.
Close friend and colleague, actor Frank Graham recalls his
memories of working with Henry Diffenthal:
“I first started working for Henry in the early 70s when
Olympia was still based in Albany Grove. I remember the studio being quite poky
but it had atmosphere.
Henry later moved to Baynes House in Broad Street where,
mercifully, parking was not so hectic. The studio here was very spacious and I
spent many a pleasant hour participating in hour-long plays and half-hour
dramas. In those early days there was always a producer (who was really rather
a director) besides Henry in the Control Room surrounded by his machines, but
in later years Henry adopted this job as well. We didn’t have the luxury of
raglights (lighting stands with red, amber and green cue lights) but cues were
given by means of a waved finger, and we’d be away.
Before we ever entered the studio, Henry was prepared for
us. He had to be. All his sound effects, lots of them complicated, were
pre-recorded and were just fed in as required, along with the music.
With all this going on, Henry had to keep an eagle eye on
the stopwatch. Springbok was a commercial station and if Johannesburg decreed
that a half-hour drama should run out at 25 mins 15 seconds (the rest of the time
given over to commercials) this had to be adhered to.
It must have been very hectic at times, but I don’t remember
Henry ever getting flustered or losing his cool in any way.
I remember watching Henry edit tapes. He was a master at it!
Cutting the tape, resplicing it, all over in seconds. These days, of course,
tape isn’t used at all.
Those were the days. Beautifully professional productions
with many works by really talented local writers, and I like to think we did
them justice. RIP, Henry” – Frank Graham
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