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{{Short description|English film director and producer}} {{Short description|English television director and producer (b. 1927)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
'''Stanley Dorfman''' (born 24 November 1927) is an English television director, producer, ] pioneer, and painter. <ref>{{Cite web |last=Riefe |first=Jordan |date=2016-02-11 |title=Music Video Pioneer Stanley Dorfman Recalls Bowie, Sinatra and Lennon |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/music-video-pioneer-stanley-dorfman-863520/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> He is best knowns as creator and original producer and director of the British music chart television programme ''],'' made by the ''],'' and for directing ] for performers including ], ], ], and ].<ref name="huffington">, '']''.</ref>
| name = Stanley Dorfman
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=yes|1927|11|24}}
| birth_place = ], ]
| nationality = ], ]
| occupation = ], ], ], ]
| notable_works = '']'', ''], ]'', '']'', '']'', ], ], ], ], '']'', '']''
}}


'''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, '']''. His work on the program contributed to the development of ]s.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web |last=Riefe |first=Jordan |date=2016-02-11 |title=Music Video Pioneer Stanley Dorfman Recalls Bowie, Sinatra and Lennon |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/music-video-pioneer-stanley-dorfman-863520/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |quote="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."}}</ref>
== Television Career ==


During his tenure at the BBC, Dorfman created the BBC music television series ''],'' 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 ], ], and ].<ref name=":12">{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=23 June 1973 |title=The man who put polish into pop |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-the-man-who-put-polish/127033190/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |publisher=] |page=15 |language=en |publication-place=United Kingdom |via=] |quote="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."}}</ref>
=== Top of the Pops ===
Dorfman directed and produced '']'' from its inception in 1964 to 1970, and continued for five years thereafter as executive producer. ] made its historic debut as a live television music program on January 1, 1964.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2002-09-12 |title=Timeline: Top of the Pops |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/12/artsfeatures.popandrock |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> The inaugural broadcast took place on ] and was transmitted from a converted church which became known as Studio A at ] in ], ] in the ]. ]'s "]" was the first song featured on the first episode, while ] were the first band to perform, with "]" <ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=BBC - Press Office - BBC says fond farewell to Top of the Pops |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/06_june/20/totp.shtml |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>, followed by ] performing that weeks No 1 hit "]", ] with "]", ] with "]", and ] with "]".<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC - Top of the Pops - Through The Ages |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/totp/history/index.shtml |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> This marked the beginning of the series that went on to run for 42 years and become an iconic showcase for popular music and talent and a global brand transmitted in more than 120 countries and an .<ref name=":3" /> <ref>{{cite news |date=1 October 2002 |title=Top of the Pops 2000th show: Your views |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2255885.stm |url-status=live |access-date=29 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326173552/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2255885.stm |archive-date=26 March 2022}}</ref> The show pulled in just about every major player and performing on it was was considered an honor. <ref>{{cite web |title=BBC says fond farewell to the world's longest running weekly music show, Top of the Pops |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/06_june/20/totp.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120012154/http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/6_june/20/totp.shtml |archive-date=20 November 2018 |access-date=8 September 2014 |publisher=BBC}}</ref>


Dorfman's also directed and produced television specials such as ''],'' and the televised performance of ] in '']'', which stands as Nureyev's sole documented performance of the unabridged ballet.''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Giselle |url=https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/7e1c7030-ef97-0133-3f37-60f81dd2b63c |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=NYPL Digital Collections |language=en}}</ref>'' Dorfman was the director of televised live music events<ref>{{Cite news |date=1994-12-02 |title=Meet the team behind the glitz |pages=49 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/times-colonist-meet-the-team-behind-the/127049251/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |quote="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." |via=]}}</ref> like the A.R.M.S. benefit concert in London in 1984,<ref>{{Cite news |last=Radel |first=CZliff |title=Audience benefits in fundraiser Show |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-cincinnati-enquirer-audience-benefit/127050449/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |newspaper=] |date=30 May 1984 |page=67 |language=en |publication-date=30 May 1984 |quote="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."}}</ref> the ] ] between 1986 and 1998,<ref name="goldstar.com2">{{cite web |title=the-paris-concert-for-amnesty-international |url=https://www.goldstar.com/events/hollywood-ca/the-paris-concert-for-amnesty-international |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603023035/https://www.goldstar.com/events/hollywood-ca/the-paris-concert-for-amnesty-international |archive-date=2016-06-03}}</ref> and the ] and ] music festivals.
By 1970, ] had an impressive weekly viewership of 12,500,000 people and had become one of the ]'s highest-rated shows, solidifying its status as the premier platform for artists launching new records at the time, <ref>{{Cite news |date=February 28, 1970 |title=Launching pad for new discs. |page=6 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/879198242 |access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref> and Dorfman's role in shaping its success solidified his position as one of two of the most influential figures in the pop music industry. <ref>{{Cite news |title=Pop’s top pair. |page=5 |work=] |publication-date=February 27, 1970 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/921473723 |access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref>


Dorfman's work extends to the realm of music videos for artists that include ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. He directed ]'s Royal Albert Hall concert on film in 1970.<ref name=":212">{{Cite book |last=Power |first=Martin |url=http://archive.org/details/noquarterthreeli0000powe |title=No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page |date=2016 |publisher=London, UK : Overlook Omnibus |isbn=978-1-4683-1214-0 |page=316 |chapter=Chapter 21: The Song Remains The Same}}</ref> Led Zeppelin used this footage to release three official music videos: "]", "]", and "]."<ref name=":46">{{Cite web |title=No ordinary rock concert: Watch Led Zeppelin's 1970 Hall debut |url=https://www.royalalberthall.com/about-the-hall/news/2022/january/no-ordinary-rock-concert-watch-led-zeppelins-1970-hall-debut/ |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=www.royalalberthall.com}}</ref>
=== In Concert ===
In 1968, while still directing and producing ], Dorfman embarked on a new endeavor as the creator of the ] television series In Concert, produced by ], which Dorfman directed and produced until 1974. The first In Concert episode featured ], whom Stanley pursued as he was coming from Greece to the UK and arranged to perform in a show titled 'Leonard Cohen Sings Leonard Cohen'. Subsequently, Stanley directed similar shows with ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and many others. In total, Stanley directed over 200 episodes as director of the In Concert series. <ref>{{Citation |title=In Concert |date=1970-10-09 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4304222/ |type=Music |access-date=2023-06-03 |others=Oscar Peterson, Richie Havens, Tony Joe White |publisher=]}}</ref> <ref>{{Citation |title=In Concert |date=1972-11-24 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0498964/ |type=Music |access-date=2023-06-03 |others=Seals &amp; Crofts, Earth Wind &amp; Fire, Chuck Berry |publisher=]}}</ref>


=== The Julie Felix Show === == Early life and education ==
Dorfman was born in ], ] to a Jewish family.<ref name=CohenBook>{{cite book|first=Michael|last=Posner|title= Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years |date=2020|publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-9821-5262-8|quote= I talked to my producer Stanley Dorfman, and asked him if Leonard could be on the show. He was Jewish too, so there was a kinship there.}}</ref> In 1946, he received a scholarship to study painting and fresco at the ] and the ] in Paris.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=David Bowie: Speed Of Life – Electronic Sound |url=https://www.electronicsound.co.uk/long-reads/david-bowie-speed-of-life/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |language=en-AU}}</ref> After completing his studies, Dorfman relocated to ], England. Here, he joined the ]<ref name=":9" /> and exhibited his paintings alongside ]ists such as ], ], ] and ].<ref name=":10" />
In 1967, Dorfman directed and produced the groundbreaking BBC television show Julie Felix, which was the first color television show to be dedicated solely to a female performer. The show showcased ]'s musical prowess, encompassing folk, folk jazz, folk pop, protest songs, and occasionally poetry. Her performances were accompanied by a variety of guest artists, including renowned and emerging talent of the era such as ], ], ]. ], ], ] and ] <ref>{{Cite news |date=December 9, 1967 |title=Julie first girl in color. |page=4 |work=The Evening Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/808675080 |access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref>


Upon his return to South Africa,<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |title=The Lodge |url=https://www.thelodge.la/stanley-dorfman |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=THE LODGE |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":9" /> Dorfman took a stance against the prevalent racial ] of the time by organizing concerts named ''Township Jazz'' for the African Musician's Union. These concerts provided a platform for African jazz musicians to perform for multiracial audiences, featuring artists like ] and ].<ref name=":2">{{Cite news |last=Budd |first=Christopher |date=2 August 2018 |title=Stanley Dorfman |pages=Issue 82 |work=SHINDIG! Magazine |publisher=Sliverback Publishing |url=https://www.silverbackpublishing.rocks/product/shindig-issue-82-published-02082018/ |access-date=23 June 2018}}</ref> However, this defiance of the status quo drew the attention of the police, leading to raids and increased scrutiny of his activities.
=== Happening for Lulu ===
In 1968, Dorfman directed and produced the unscripted BBC television series, ]. <ref>{{Citation |title=Happening for Lulu (TV Series 1968– ) - IMDb |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063926/fullcredits |access-date=2023-06-03}}</ref> The show, hosted by the Scottish singer ], who had been chosen to represent Britain in the upcoming ], was filmed weekly in front of a live studio audience of approximately 100 people. ] originally aired from 1965 to 1966, captivating viewers with its vibrant blend of music, comedy, and entertainment. Each episode featured guest performances by esteemed musicians and bands of the era, alongside comedic sketches and lively dance numbers. <ref>{{Cite news |date=December 27, 1968 |title=A return of "The Card". |page=5 |work=Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/868491803 |access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref>


A lawyer affiliated with ]'s party advised Dorfman to leave the country immediately as he was being actively perused by the authorities under ], also known as the ]. This law enabled South African police officers to detain individuals for up to 90 days without a warrant, cause, or access to legal representation, and it could be indefinitely repeated. In response to this advice, Dorfman departed for Europe,<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Haben |first1=Amy |title=Stanley Dorfman: Top of the Pops and Beyond |date=15 April 2019 |url=https://pleasekillme.com/stanley-dorfman-top-of-the-pops/ |access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref> leaving his wife and children in South Africa until he could safely arrange for them to join him.<ref name=":9" />
=== The Bobbie Gentry Show ===
In 1970, after folk singer-songwriter ] made a guest appearance on an episode of ''In Concert,'' <ref name=":12">{{Cite web |title=Stanley Dorfman |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0233578/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> Dorfman went on to direct and produce the highly acclaimed BBC series titled "Bobbie Gentry" from 1968 to 1971,<ref>{{Citation |last=Dorfman |first=Stanley |title=Bobbie Gentry |date=1970-10-30 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4321660/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |series=In Concert |others=Bobbie Gentry, Barbara Moore}}</ref> making Gentry the first female songwriter to front a TV series on the network. The Bobbie Gentry show, featuring musicians from the Mississippi countryside, garnered widespread recognition and was syndicated globally. <ref>{{Cite news |date=July 13, 1968 |title=Bobbie Gentry, dark-eyes folk singer from Mississippi, starts her series for the BBC. |page=6 |work=The Birmingham Evening Mail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/853721508 |access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography – Bobbie Gentry |url=http://bobbiegentry.org.uk/biography/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |language=en-GB}}</ref>


Dorfman began his television career in 1959,<ref name=":3">{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Deborah |title=Mr. Music quits BBC |page=24 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mirror-mr-music-quits-bbc/127031606/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |newspaper=Daily Mirror |language=en |publication-date=3 June 1974 |via=] |quote="The man they call Mr. Music is leaving the BBC after fifteen years. Stanley Dorfman, 46, acclaimed as one of the world's greatest musical TV directors and producers..." " Mr. Dorfman has persuaded today's young talent, such John, as Elton John, Harry Nilsson and Joni Mitchell, to perform on his prestige TV music shows. And he has provided modern music with its only serious outlet on TV with his 'In Concert' series."}}</ref> initially working as a ] for the BBC on programs such as ''An Evening with Nat King Cole,'' ''Meet Sammy Davis Jr''., and ''Margot Fonteyn: Birthday of a Ballerina''. He later received training on production through the BBC Television Training course in 1963. This training equipped him for his subsequent roles as a producer and director for the music television series Top of the Pops, starting in 1964.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Connolly |first=Ray |date=23 June 1973 |title=The man who put polish into pop |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/768971871/?terms=when%20BBC-2&match=1 |access-date=23 June 2023 |publisher=] |page=15 |language=en |via=newspapers.com |quote="Then when BBC-2 started and there were opportunities for new producers and directors he found his way into production working first on Top of the Pops and then setting up the now highly prestigious In Concert series."}}</ref>
After moving to the USA in 1974, Dorfman worked as a producer and director on projects such as ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Lodge |url=https://www.thelodge.la/stanley-dorfman |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=THE LODGE |language=en-US}}</ref> <ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Stanley Dorfman |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0233578/ |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref> In 1977, Dorfman directed ]'s ],<ref>{{Citation |title=David Bowie - Be My Wife (40th Anniversary) {{!}} findersrecords |url=https://findersrecords.com/UPC/190295845612 |access-date=2023-06-02 |language=en}}</ref> after which Bowie invited him to Paris to shoot music videos such as Heroes.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last1=Haben |first1=Amy |title=STANLEY DORFMAN: TOP OF THE POPS AND BEYOND |url=https://pleasekillme.com/stanley-dorfman-top-of-the-pops/|access-date=June 3, 2023}}</ref>


==Television series==
== Early life ==
===''Top of the Pops''===
Dorfman was born in ], ] where he spent his early years putting on concerts for his jazz musician friends and ignored the racist, ], which was unheard of in the 1950s. This progressive approach drew the attention of the police, who started targeting individuals from the audience. Consequently, Stanley began facing raids by law enforcement. It was during this time that a lawyer friend, affiliated with the Congress party and having close ties to Mandela, advised Stanley to leave the country due to the ], commonly known as the 90-Day Detention Law. This 90-Day Detention Law, allowed a South African police officer to detain a person suspected of a politically motivated crime for up to 90 days without access to a lawyer, after which the process could be repeated indefinitely. After receiving a tip that the authorities were hunting him, Dorfman escaped political persecution by immediately moving to Europe.<ref name=":0" /> He studied painting and fresco at the ] and the ] in ]. After completing his studies in Paris, he moved to ], ] where he assisted the English artist and sculptor ] and became a member of the ] (also known as the ] academy) where his work was exhibited with fellow ] such as ], ] and members of the Crypt Group such as ] and ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Stanley Dorfman: Now and Then |url=https://www.artsy.net/show/the-lodge-stanley-dorfman-now-and-then |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=Artsy |language=en}}</ref>
{{Main|Top of the Pops}}
== Personal life ==
In 1964, Dorfman and ] co-created the British chart music television series '']'' at a time when ] was gaining mainstream acceptance''.''<ref name=":19">{{Cite book |last=Humphries |first=Patrick |title=Top of the Pops: 50th Anniversary |publisher=McNidder & Grace |year=2013 |isbn=9780857160522 |edition=First |location=New York |pages=xi, xii (Introduction) |language=English |chapter=Stanley Dorfman - Top of the Pops Co-creator, Producer, and Director |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/topofpops50thann0000hump/page/n13/mode/2up |via=]}}</ref> The show introduced the format that would become synonymous with ] rankings in the UK.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |date=2002-09-12 |title=Timeline: Top of the Pops |language=en-GB |work=] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2002/sep/12/artsfeatures.popandrock |access-date=2023-06-05 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> With continuous weekly broadcasts,<ref name=":13" /> the show enjoyed a 42-year run and reached audiences in over 120 countries.<ref name=":33">{{Cite web |title=BBC - Press Office - BBC says fond farewell to Top of the Pops |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2006/06_june/20/totp.shtml |access-date=2023-06-05 |website=www.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=1 October 2002 |title=Top of the Pops 2000th show |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/2255885.stm |url-status=live |access-date=29 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326173552/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/2255885.stm |archive-date=26 March 2022}}</ref>
Dorfman has been in a long-term relationship with actress and model Barbara Flood for over forty years.


Dorfman and Stewart served as alternating directors for the show, starting from its inception on 1 January 1964, and worked together as producers.<ref name=":19" /> This partnership continued until 1969,<ref name=":38">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |url=http://archive.org/details/nilssonlifeofsin0000ship |title=Nilsson : the life of a singer-songwriter |date=2013 |publisher=New York: Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-975657-5 |publication-date=2013 |pages=113 |language=En |quote="This was the South-African-born painter Stanley Dorfman who had graduated from design and art direction to become one of Britain's leading pop music television producers. He and Johnnie Stewart made the weekly show Top of the Pops from Manchester during the years when Samantha Juste starred on the program. He had also produced series for Dusty Springfield and Lulu, the latter including Jimi Hendrix's infamous appearance when he went completely off-message, stopped "Hey Joe" in mid-performance, and launched into an impassioned tribute to Cream." |via=]}}</ref> after which Mel Cornish took over from Stewart.<ref name=":264">{{Cite web |last= |date=7 February 1970 |title=Top Of The Pops: Are These The Two Most Frighteningly Powerful Men In Pop? Stanley Dorfman and Mel Cornish |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/itop-of-the-popsi-are-these-the-two-most-frighteningly-powerful-men-in-pop |access-date=2023-06-08 |publisher=] (New Musical Express) |via=] |quote="Probably one in a thousand teenagers have the vaguest ideas who Mel Cornish and Stanley Dorfmann are, but in the pop record business they are two of THE most important men. Each week, millions of potential record-buyers watch Top Of The Pops, the influential show that is produced and directed by Mel and Stanley. They take it in turns to produce and direct, but each spend up to five days a week getting the show together."}}</ref> Dorfman continued as the director and producer of the series until 1971, during which he directed 156 episodes over a six-year period.<ref name=":19" /> Following this, he transitioned into the role of ] for an additional five years.<ref name=":38" />
Dorfman and Flood were featured by ] in the ] ''Barbara and Stanley: A Modern Romance,'' by New York-based director Rachel Fleit''.''<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathis |first=Camilla |date=March 23, 2017 |title=Barbara and Stanley: A Modern Romance, The extraordinary story of a long-term bicoastal relationship |url=https://www.nowness.com/story/barbara-and-stanley-modern-romance-rachel-fleit |url-status=live |access-date=June 2, 2023 |website=]}}</ref> <ref>{{Citation |last=Fleit |first=Rachel |title=Barbara &amp; Stanley: A Modern Romance |date=2017-03-24 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6023336/ |type=Documentary, Short |access-date=2023-06-03}}</ref>


Through his work on ''Top of the Pops'', Dorfman established himself as a pioneer in the ] industry.<ref name=":37">{{Cite web |last=Riefe |first=Jordan |date=2016-02-11 |title=Music Video Pioneer Stanley Dorfman Recalls Bowie, Sinatra and Lennon |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/music-video-pioneer-stanley-dorfman-863520/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US |quote="Behind the camera, the director's tenure parallels the seismic shift in the industry created by music videos, a minor bump for someone who pioneered the genre on Top of the Pops."}}</ref><ref name=":27">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |url=https://archive.org/details/nilssonlifeofsin0000ship/page/180/mode/2up?q=%22In+1974%2C+Dorfman+was+no+longer%22%22 |title=Nilsson: the life of a singer-songwriter |date=2013 |publisher=New York: Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-975657-5 |pages=181 |language=En |quote="In 1974, Dorfman was no longer working full-time for the BBC. Having pioneered several aspects of the music video for the Top of the Pops show in Britain, he was increasingly making promotional films for albums..." |via=]}}</ref> To accommodate the numerous anticipated top 20 acts on the chart each week, Dorfman and Stewart introduced the concept of pre-recorded music videos, then referred to as "promotional films" or "filmed inserts".<ref name=":19" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Fremaux |first=Stephanie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=47JTDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Top+of+the+pops%22+%22Promotional+films%22&pg=PA78 |title=The Beatles on Screen: From Pop Stars to Musicians |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |year=2018 |isbn=978-1-5013-2713-1 |place=New York |page=78 |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220326173632/https://books.google.com/books?id=47JTDwAAQBAJ&q=%22Top+of+the+pops%22+%22Promotional+films%22&pg=PA78 |archive-date=26 March 2022 |url-status=live |via=Google Books}}</ref><ref name=":4" /> One of the earliest notable examples was a video Dorfman directed in October 1964 for ]'s "]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Simpson |first=Jeff |title=Top of the Pops: 1964-2002: It's still Number One! |year=2002 |publisher=BBC Consumer Publishing |isbn=978-0563534761 |pages=22 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Humphries |first=Patrick |title=Top of the Pops: 50th Anniversary |publisher=New York: McNidder and Grace Limited |year=2013 |isbn=9780857160522 |edition=First |pages=3, 27 |language=English}}</ref> This practice allowed the show to feature acts even if they could not physically be there due to tour schedules. An example of such an act was The Beatles, who would often pre-record exclusive videos for their songs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Music Video Database |url=http://www.mvdbase.com/tech.php?last=Lindsay-Hogg&first=Michael |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119105714/http://www.mvdbase.com/tech.php?last=Lindsay-Hogg&first=Michael |archive-date=19 November 2012 |access-date=13 June 2013 |publisher=Mvdbase.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-11-26 |title=An incomplete history of pop on BBC television |language=en-GB |work=] |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63647648 |access-date=2023-06-24 |quote="The Pops ran for 2,271 episodes, going colour in 1969, expanding to 45 minutes in 1970, and generating a spin off show, TOTP2, in the 1990s."}}</ref>
Dorfman is currently{{when?|date=June 2023}} based in ]. <ref name="huffington" />

By 1970, ''Top of the Pops'' had solidified the importance of music videos as a tool for promoting new releases and emerging acts.<ref name=":37" /><ref name=":4" /> Dorfman, with his significant influence on the show's content, was considered capable of making or breaking a music group.<ref name=":7">{{Cite news |date=28 February 1970 |title=Launching pad for new discs |page=6 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mail-launching-pad-for-the-new-dis/127025257/ |access-date=3 June 2023 |quote="TV producers Mel Cornish and Stanley Dorfman have been called two of the most powerful men in the pop world today. For they are responsible for streamlining BBC-1's Top of the Pops" from a 25- minute resume of the current best-sellers to a slick, fast-moving disc pro-gramme which has been extended to 45 minutes. The show, which has run more or less without a stop for six years, has been given a new lease of life with the time extension. Viewing figures have jumped from 10,000,000 to an average of 12,500,000, putting it into BBC's top programme rating and making it THE launching pad for new recordings." |via=]}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite news |title=Pop's top pair |page=5 |work=] |publication-date=27 February 1970 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/grimsby-evening-telegraph-pops-top-pair/127039191/ |access-date=3 June 2023 |quote="Cornish and Dorfman are more than pleased with the success of the show's facelift, but amused by the suggestion that they can make or break a new group." |via=]}}</ref><ref name=":264" /> His pivotal role in expanding the show's format cemented ''Top of the Pops'' as a top-rated program on the BBC and the premier platform for launching new music during that period.<ref name=":7" />

=== ''In Concert'' (British TV series) ===
{{main|In Concert (British TV series)}}

Dorfman created the television series ''],<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |url=http://archive.org/details/nilssonlifeofsin0000ship |title=Nilsson: the life of a singer-songwriter |publisher=New York: Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |year=2013 |isbn=978-0-19-975657-5 |pages=113 |language=En |quote="Dorfman's new project picked up on a couple of successful special shows he had made with Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, in which each of them sang a selection of their own material. The BBC encouraged him to feature more singer/songwriters such as Laura Nyro and Jimmy Webb, but rather than title each show after the name of the singer, as he had done with "Cohen sings Cohen,' he came up with the generic title In Concert." |via=]}}</ref><ref name=":162">{{Cite web |last=Connolly |first=Ray |date=23 June 1973 |title=The man who put polish into pop |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-standard-the-man-who-put-polish/127033190/ |access-date=23 June 2023 |publisher=] |page=15 |language=en |via=newspapers.com |quote="Then when BBC-2 started and there were opportunities for new producers and directors he found his way into production working first on Top of the Pops and then setting up the now highly prestigious In Concert series."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-05-31 |title=The Huggett Family here Sunday |pages=34 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kingston-whig-standard-the-huggett-f/127030183/ |access-date=2023-06-24 |quote="His prolific output has attracted the attention of Britain's leading television producer Stanley Dorfman and the world's number one record producer, George Martin." |via=]}}</ref>'' which he directed and produced from its inception until 1974. The series followed the success of Dorfman's television special, ''Leonard Cohen sings Leonard Cohen,''<ref name=":31">{{Cite web |date=1968-08-31 |title=BBC Programme Index: Leonard Cohen sings Leonard Cohen |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/33bf0d0eb6c3472a92ad16460406ef41 |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=":22">{{Cite book |last=Posner |first=Michael |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9y3ODwAAQBAJ&q=stanley+dorfman+julie+felix&pg=PA371 |title=Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years |date=2020-10-20 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-9821-5263-5 |page=371 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Nadel |first=Ira Bruce |url=http://archive.org/details/variouspositions0000nade |title=Various positions: a life of Leonard Cohen |date=2007 |publisher=Austin : University of Texas Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-292-71732-9}}</ref> Cohen's debut television concert. Dorfman conceptualized to showcase modern popular music as a fusion of blues, jazz, classical, and folk.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Connolly |first=Ray |date=23 June 1973 |title=The man who put polish into pop |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/768971871/?terms=the%20bbc%20gave&match=5 |access-date=2023-06-23 |publisher=] |page=15 |language=en |via=newspapers.com |quote=""I didn't know too much about pop before I began to work on Top of the Pops. Then I became very interested in writers and suggested that we did a series devoted to the song-writers who performed their own work." This series became In Concert. "The BBC give me complete freedom of choice for the In Concert shows," Dorfman explains. "The music we have isn't really pop as such. I suppose you could call it popular modern music. I'm very interested in the way it's developed out of other sorts of music—out of blues, jazz, classical music and folk music. It's a sort of synthesis.""}}</ref> According to ], Dorfman introduced artists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ], and his choices were not governed by the artists' chart positions.<ref name=":45">{{Citation |last=Melody Maker |title=Screen Gems |date=1974-05-04 |url=http://archive.org/details/melody-maker-may-4-1974 |access-date=2023-07-02}}</ref> As such, the series played a pivotal role in establishing singer-songwriters as capable of carrying an entire television episode without any distractions.<ref name=":30">{{Cite book |last=Hepworth |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/neverdullmoment10000hepw |title=Never a dull moment: 1971--the year that rock exploded |date=2016 |publisher=New York: Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-1-62779-400-8 |pages=149 |language=En |quote="Dorfman's was a format that framed the singer-songwriters of the time perfectly by allowing that they were interesting enough to be able to carry half an hour of TV time—inclusive of tuning up, unrehearsed patter, and mumbled asides, which were all part of the package—and flattered the audience by suggesting this music was worthy of the serious attention of adults like them. The deliberate modesty of the visual presentation was as important to the appeal of the music as the time-honored razzle-dazzle of Ike and Tina Turner had been to theirs." |via=]}}</ref> In ''Never a dull moment: 1971—the year that rock exploded'', British music journalist and author ] writes that a few singer-songwriters had performed sitting down prior to Dorfman's programs, and the shows presented more than just performances; they created an intimate atmosphere where the audience felt they were invited to eavesdrop.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hepworth |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/neverdullmoment10000hepw |title=Never a dull moment: 1971--the year that rock exploded |date=2016 |publisher=New York: Henry Holt and Company |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-62779-400-8 |pages=149 |language=En |quote="'Cat Stevens Sings Cat Stevens' was a classic of the genre. Its title was classic Dorfman, underlining the small miracle that these talented, charismatic people were also self-sufficient. Stevens was accompanied by Alun Davies, the guitarist who worked closely with him through this period, and bass player/percussionist Larry Steele. Nothing proclaimed Stevens's membership in the new generation of singer-songwriters as powerfully as the fact that he performed sit- ting down, something few had done in the hectic decade in which he had first made his name. Like Carole King's performances of Tapestry, Stevens's BBC show seemed to be less a performance than a session to which the audience were invited to eavesdrop. In Dorfman's programs the audience were often seated behind the performers so that they could be seen only occasionally." |via=]}}</ref> Dorman's contributions to the show were acknowledged in the British Press as having provided modern music with "its only serious outlet on TV"<ref name=":39">{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Deborah |title=Mr. Music quits BBC |page=24 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-mirror-mr-music-quits-bbc/127031606/ |access-date=2023-06-20 |newspaper=Daily Mirror |date=3 June 1974 |language=en |publication-date=3 June 1974 |via=] |quote="The man they call Mr. Music is leaving the BBC after fifteen years. Stanley Dorfman, 46, acclaimed as one of the world's greatest musical TV directors and producers, is quitting because he's "had enough." Mr. Dorfman has persuaded today's young talent, such John, as Elton John, Harry Nilsson and Joni Mitchell, to perform on his prestige TV music shows. And he has provided modern music with its only serious outlet on TV with his "In Concert " series."}}</ref> and elevating pop music to a cultural level.<ref name=":203">{{Cite news |title=Turning pop into culture |page=6 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/liverpool-daily-post-turning-pop-into-cu/127034208/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |newspaper=] |date=26 June 1973 |language=en |via=newspapers.com |quote="Ray Connolly meets Stanley Dorfman, creator of the BBC-2 In Concert series."}}</ref>

''In Concert'' episodes often marked significant firsts for the artists featured. This includes debut television or concert appearances, or instances where they unveiled new songs before their official release. For instance, ] performed "]"<ref name=":17">{{Cite web |date=1970-10-09 |title=BBC Programme Index: Joni Mitchell in Concert |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/fbb79da158c2455d8449fcac9e9ed863 |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> on an episode a year before its release on her album ],<ref name=":20">{{Cite web |title=Joni Mitchell - In Concert - 1970.09.03 {{!}} BBC Television Centre {{!}} London |url=https://jonimitchell.com/chronology/detail.cfm?id=1293 |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=jonimitchell.com}}</ref> ] performed "]"<ref name=":32">{{Cite web |date=1970-10-23 |title=Elton John In Concert - Fri 23rd Oct 1970 on BBC Two England |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/4f306e07de1843928441098a9e2d6e3b |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> three days before its release<ref name=":34">{{Cite web |last=Zollo |first=Paul |date=2020-10-26 |title="Your Song", by Elton John & Bernie Taupin, Turns 50 Today |url=https://americansongwriter.com/your-song-by-elton-john-turns-50-today/ |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref> which later became his first top ten hit in both the UK and the US,<ref name=":40">{{Cite magazine |last=Greene |first=Andy |date=2013-08-13 |title=Elton Sings 'Your Song' Across the Decades |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/flashback-elton-john-sings-your-song-across-the-decades-235221/ |access-date=2023-06-22 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> and Carole King performed her influential album '']'' on an episode shortly after its release, gaining significant recognition.''<ref name=":323">{{Cite web |title=Carole King In Concert: Live at the BBC 1971 {{!}} Carole King |url=https://www.caroleking.com/discography/album/carole-king-concert-live-bbc-1971 |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=www.caroleking.com}}</ref>'' ''In Concert'' also served as a crucial platform for numerous other artists. ] were featured,<ref name=":643">{{Cite web |date=1971-11-06 |title=BBC Programme Index: The Carpenters |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/c4750adef52f4e55afc07873b5bbc8da |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=":41">{{Cite news |date=1971-11-06 |title=What's In View |pages=6 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/lincolnshire-echo-whats-in-view/127048924/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |quote="The Carpenters notched up their most resounding success during their visit to London under the direction of Stanley Dorfman in "Carpenters" a 45 minute special which will be shown on BBC-2 at 9.0 tonight." |via=]}}</ref> as was Cat Stevens, who performed songs from his album '']'' on an episode<ref name=":42">{{Cite web |date=1971-11-27 |title=BBC Programme Index: Cat Stevens: In Concert |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8dfcd113f59c4ba99d0d3380562c34fa |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> three months before the album's official release.<ref name=":35">{{Cite book |last=Hepworth |first=David |url=http://archive.org/details/neverdullmoment10000hepw |title=Never a dull moment: 1971--the year that rock exploded |date=2016 |publisher=New York: Henry Holt and Company |isbn=978-1-62779-400-8 |pages=148 |language=En |quote="TV was important to finding Cat Stevens a place in the hearts and homes of his audience. In July 1971, three months before the release of Teaser and the Firecat, he recorded a BBC TV special with producer Stanley Dorfman. Dorfman, who had come up through Top of the Pops, had carved out a niche at the BBC with half-hour TV specials. In 1970 he had recorded similar specials with James Taylor, Elton John, and Joni Mitchell. In 1971 he recorded Neil Young when he was in the middle of touring the UK with the songs that turned up the following year on Harvest." |via=]}}</ref> Another highlight was ]'s performance of songs<ref name=":43">{{Cite web |date=1971-04-26 |title=BBC Programme Index: Neil Young In Concert |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/24eeebb5f0b14bc793748c6df80a8676 |access-date=2023-06-25 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> that would appear a year later on his critically acclaimed album ''].'' Biographer ], in his biography ''Shakey: Neil Young's biography'', referred to Dorfman's footage of Young as "the great visual document of the Harvest Period."<ref>{{Cite book |last=McDonough |first=Jimmy |url=http://archive.org/details/shakeyneilyoungs0000mcdo_n0q6 |title=Shakey : Neil Young's biography |date=2003 |publisher=New York : Anchor Books |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-679-75096-3 |pages=360}}</ref> The series also holds a special place in the career of ]. Despite his success as a recording artist, Nilsson rarely performed live. His appearance on In Concert stands as the only complete concert performance of his career, making it a unique piece of music history.<ref name="Shipton">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |pages=482–483 |language=English}}</ref>

Other singer-songwriters who appeared on In Concert include ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], ], ], ], ], ], among others.<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC Programme Index search: "In Concert" between 1970 and 1974. |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?filt=is_tv&q=in+concert&after=1969-12-31T23:00:00.000Z&before=1974-12-31T23:59:59.999Z#top |access-date=2023-06-22 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

Between 1968 and 1974, Dorfman directed and produced over 200 episodes of ''In Concert''. ] hailed the series as the only music television program that "produced television ideas"<ref>{{Cite web |date=19 Apr 1974 |title=Catch BBC-2: Now, and perhaps never again, is the moment for courage, adventure, and the pursuit of excellence. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/259767801 |access-date=2023-06-05 |via=Newspapers.com |newspaper=] |page=15 |language=en}}</ref> and is "a clear demonstration of what we are missing elsewhere".<ref name=":29">{{Cite news |last=Fiddick |first=Peter |orig-date=14 Feb 1972 |title=Saturday Pop |url=https://theguardian.newspapers.com/article/the-guardian-saturday-pop/127032331/ |access-date=22 June 2023 |date=14 February 1972 |newspaper=] |page=8 |language=en |via=] |quote="'In Concert' has been a light in the gloom these past weeks, and a clear demonstration of what we are missing elsewhere. It really is a quite extraordinary phenomenon--more so, I suspect, than the group-boom of the early sixties--that there are so many modern troubadours capable of holding an audience solo for at least half an hour- and above all with songs they have mostly written themselves. Stanley Dorfman's production, the performers silhouetted among the lights, monitors, and paraphernalia of the darkened studio, cameras moving gently among them, has caught the live atmosphere admirably."}}</ref> As of 2023, episodes of ''In Concert'' continue to air on BBC networks''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-03-04 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b00z2nc2 |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |quote="In Concert Gordon Lightfoot: Latest broadcast: Fri 2nd Jun 2023, 21:00 on BBC Four. "}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1974-06-26 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b0074hkm |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |quote="In Concert - Oscar Peterson - Latest broadcast: Fri 10th Mar 2023, 22:50 on BBC Four."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1970-11-09 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/b0074srl |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |quote="In Concert - Crosby and Nash - Latest broadcast: Fri 20th Jan 2023, 21:00 on BBC Four."}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-12-30 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/m001gn1l |access-date=2023-06-24 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk |quote="Chuck Berry in Concert: Latest broadcast: Fri 30th Dec 2022, 21:00 on BBC Four"}}</ref>''

=== ''In Concert'' (American TV series) ===
In 1974, six years into Dorfman directing and producing his single singer-songwriter-per-episode series ] at the BBC, ] asked him to direct an American series featuring rock acts, which was also called ''],'' for ], which led Dorfman to relocate to Los Angeles.<ref name=":13" /> Clark had previously envisaged the show's format to highlight a number of rock acts per episode, but Dorfman simplified it to mirror his UK series by featuring only one act each episode.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Episodes directed by Dorfman included performances by ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and many others.

=== ''Happening for Lulu'' ===
{{main|Happening for Lulu}}

Dorfman was the director and producer of the television series ''Happening for Lulu'', a series of programs of music and comedy<ref name=":23">{{Cite web |title=A Happening for Lulu: The Jimi Hendrix Experience's Last BBC Appearance |url=https://www.jimihendrix.com/editorial/a-happening-for-lulu-the-jimi-hendrix-experiences-last-bbc-appearance/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=The Official Jimi Hendrix Site |language=en-US}}</ref> broadcast in a prime slot on the BBC between 1968 and 1969.<ref name=":252">{{Cite web |date=2021-01-03 |title=Jimi Hendrix banned from BBC for Cream tribute on Lulu Show |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jimi-hendrix-lulu-show-cream-banned-bbc-1969/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> The series was hosted by Scottish singer ] and featured guest performances by prominent musicians like ], comedians, and dancers. It was filmed weekly before a live studio audience of about 100 people.<ref>{{Cite news |date=27 December 1968 |title=A return of "The Card". |page=5 |work=Staffordshire Weekly Sentinel |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/868491803 |access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref>

Before 1978, the BBC did not have a formal policy for archiving footage and routinely wiped and reused tapes to create additional storage space.<ref name=":36">{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Benji |date=2021-07-25 |title='Junking': how a generation of TV comedy classics was lost forever |language=en-GB |work=The Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/0/junking-generation-tv-comedy-classics-lost-forever/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> Consequently, the only surviving footage of Happening for Lulu features ]'s appearance on the show in January 1969,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Barfe |first=Louis |url=http://archive.org/details/turnedoutniceaga0000barf |title=Turned out nice again : the story of British light entertainment |date=2009 |publisher=London : Atlantic |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-84354-381-7}}</ref> considered by ] magazine as one of his most memorable moments.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Sanburn |first=Josh |date=2010-09-17 |title=Remembering Hendrix: 4 Moments for the 40th Anniversary |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/09/17/remembering-hendrix-4-moments-for-the-40th-anniversary/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>

On the day of the recording, the band ] had just announced their disbandment.<ref name=":252" /> According to bass player ]'s autobiography, he, Hendrix, and drummer ] arrived at the studio and decided to smoke some ] in their dressing room. When they accidentally dropped the hash down the drain, they persuaded a BBC maintenance worker to dismantle the drain to retrieve it.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web |last=Swanson |first=Dave|date=2016-01-04 |title=Why the BBC Banned the Jimi Hendrix Experience |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/44-years-ago-jimi-hendrix-experience-banned-from-bbc/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Ultimate Classic Rock |language=en}}</ref>

During the show, Hendrix interrupted a performance of '']'' to dedicate a song to Cream. He then performed an extended, impassioned instrumental of the ] classic "]". He played for so long that Dorfman had to pull him off the air.<ref name=":24">{{Cite web |title=Jimi Hendrix Wreaks Havoc on the Lulu Show, Gets Banned From the BBC (1969) {{!}} Open Culture |url=https://www.openculture.com/2019/09/jimi-hendrix-wreaks-havoc-on-the-lulu-show.html |access-date=2023-06-11 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":23" /> Despite the apparent chaos this caused on set, ] recounted that the segment became one of the band's most frequently used pieces of film.<ref name=":24" /> Contrary to popular legend suggesting that Hendrix was banned from the BBC for life,<ref name=":252" /><ref>{{Cite news |title=Jimi Hendrix pulled off the air during Lulu's show |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-63707675 |access-date=2023-06-13}}</ref> Redding clarified that Dorfman appreciated their performance and even invited them for a drink afterwards.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Black |first=Johnny |title=Jimi Hendrix: The Ultimate Experience |publisher=Thunder's Mouth Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-1560252405 |edition=1999 |location=Great Britain |pages=173 |language=En |chapter=Lulu |access-date=14 June 2023 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/jimihendrixultim00blac/page/172/mode/2up?q=dorfman}}</ref> Dorfman later described Hendrix as a quiet and kind person, unaware that he'd done anything wrong.<ref name=":2" /> Although Hendrix passed away the following year, his performance on ''Happening for Lulu'' remains a significant moment in rock and roll history.<ref name=":6" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Allan |url=http://archive.org/details/50peoplewhoscrew0000brow_w6k3 |title=50 people who screwed up Scotland |date=2015 |publisher=London : Constable |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-4721-1962-9 |quote="Lulu was within spit-ting distance of the same vortex - Jimi Hendrix famously had the plugs pulled while appearing on her BBC show Happening for Lulu." |via=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=O'Neill |first=Andrew |url=http://archive.org/details/historyofheavyme0000onei |title=A history of heavy metal |date=2017 |publisher=London, England : Headline |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-4722-4144-3 |page=27 |language=En |via=]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cossar |first=Neil |url=http://archive.org/details/thisdayinmusicev0000coss |title=This day in music : an everyday record of musical feats and facts |date=2010 |publisher=London; New York : Omnibus Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-1-84938-543-5 |pages=9 |language=En |via=]}}</ref>

=== ''Dusty'' ===
In the late 1960s, Dorfman played a crucial role in bringing the talent of ] to television.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vahimagi |first=Tise |url=http://archive.org/details/britishtelevisio0000vahi |title=British television : an illustrated guide |date=1994 |publisher=Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-812267-8 |page=147 |language=En |via=]}}</ref> In 1967 and 1968, he directed and produced two TV series for the British pop star, known as ''Dusty'' (also referred to as ''The Dusty Springfield Show''),<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search - BBC Programme Index: Dusty |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=%22Dusty%22#top |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> making it one of the first shows of its kind to be hosted by a female performer.

Dorfman opted for a straightforward format for the show, focusing on Springfield's performances without the inclusion of sketches or gimmicks. Springfield was backed by a thirty-two-piece orchestra, directed by accompanied by ], a collaborator of Dorfman from their time together on ''Top of the Pops''. Accompanying Springfield with backing vocals were soul singer ], who later became a member of ], ] who provided vocals to ]'s '']'', and ], founding member of ]. The BBC commissioned a second series of ''Dusty'', introducing special guests who often appeared in non-musical appearances, including ] and the then-rising American comedian ].<ref name=":15">{{Cite web |last=Marcus |first=Laurence |title=Dusty (aka The Dusty Springfield Show) |url=https://televisionheaven.co.uk/reviews/dusty-aka-the-dusty-springfield-show |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Television Heaven}}</ref> Unfortunately, due to the common practice at the time of reusing tapes for storage purposes,<ref name=":36" /> all of the original tapes of ''Dusty'' Springfield's BBC show were erased in the 1970s.{{fact|date=November 2023}}

In the following years, the BBC attempted to retrieve the erased recordings from overseas stations where the series had been sold. This effort resulted in the recovery of several tapes, including three from the first series and all six from the second series. These retrieved recordings were subsequently released by the BBC on a DVD entitled ''Dusty Springfield Live at the BBC''.<ref name="Telegraph">{{cite web |date=3 May 2011 |title=Johnny Pearson |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8490614/Johnny-Pearson.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508155915/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/8490614/Johnny-Pearson.html |archive-date=8 May 2011 |access-date=18 August 2019 |work=The Daily Telegraph}}</ref><ref name=":15" />

=== ''Once More With Felix'' and ''The Julie Felix Show'' ===
Dorfman also directed and produced ''Once More With Felix'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Search - BBC Programme Index: Once More with Felix |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=Once+More+with+Felix#top |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> the first color television series entirely dedicated to a female performer, which aired on the newly established ].<ref name=":44" /> The series established ] as one of the top television performers in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1969-06-14 |title=Once More With Felix |pages=118 |work=The Montreal Star |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montreal-star-once-more-with-felix/127433598/ |access-date=2023-07-01}}</ref> Dorfman also produced and directed the successor to ''Once More With Felix'', titled ''The Julie Felix Show''. Both series encompassed a broad range of genres such as folk jazz, folk pop, protest songs, and occasional poetry. Felix's performances on these shows were accompanied by renowned and emerging talent of the era. This included musicians like ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], as well as comedians like ] and ].<ref name=":44">{{Cite news |date=9 December 1967 |title=Julie first girl in color. |page=4 |work=The Evening Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/808675080 |access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref> ] lead guitarist ] gave a rare solo performance, playing "]" and "]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=kingsley |date=2020-03-19 |title=Share a Cuppa Tea with Jane and Julie Felix |url=https://www.beat-magazine.co.uk/2020/share-a-cuppa-tea-with-jane-and-julie-felix/ |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Beat Magazine |language=en-GB}}</ref>

The BBC wiped most of the master tapes of the series. As a result, only selected excerpts of varying quality remain, which can be found on platforms like YouTube. Despite the loss of much of the original footage, a few memorable segments survive. These include Felix's duets with ], marking his television debut,<ref name=":22" /> and a segment in which Felix joins ] in singing and playing guitar on their song "Paintbox".

=== ''The Bobbie Gentry Show'' ===
In 1968, after featuring ] singer-songwriter ] on an episode of his series '']'', Dorfman produced and directed the television series ''Bobbie Gentry'',<ref name=":12" /> making Gentry the first female songwriter to front a series on the BBC network.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What happened to Bobbie Gentry? Country singer who vanished from public life over 40 years ago |url=https://www.goldradiouk.com/news/music/bobbie-gentry-now-songs/ |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=Gold |language=en}}</ref> ''Bobbie Gentry'' was broadcast from 1968 to 1971. The series featured musicians from the Mississippi countryside, as well as guests such as ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. ] was the ] and ] was the choreographer.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stanley |first=Bob |date=2018-10-17 |title=Bobbie Gentry: whatever happened to the trailblazing queen of country? |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/17/bobbie-gentry-trailblazing-queen-of-country |access-date=2023-06-11 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> ''Bobbie Gentry'' garnered widespread recognition and was syndicated globally.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 July 1968 |title=Bobbie Gentry, dark-eyes folk singer from Mississippi, starts her series for the BBC. |page=6 |work=The Birmingham Evening Mail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/853721508 |access-date=3 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Biography – Bobbie Gentry |url=http://bobbiegentry.org.uk/biography/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 1970, Dorfman and Gentry were engaged to be married.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sullivan |first=Ed |date=1970-05-16 |title=Little Old New York |pages=8 |work=The Morning Herald, Uniontown, Pennsylvania |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/uniontown-morning-herald-may-16-1970-p-8/ |access-date=2023-06-22}}</ref>

=== ''Sounds for Saturday'' ===
In 1972, Dorfman created, directed, and produced the series ''Sounds for Saturday'', the first ] television series on the BBC.<ref>{{Cite news |date=25 March 1972 |title=The man behind "Sounds for Saturday," a series of concert performances on BBC2 |pages= |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/881793766/?terms=dorfman&match=1 |access-date=20 June 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Joni Mitchell Library - Stanley Dorman's' new BBC-2 series "Sounds For Saturday" |url=https://jonimitchell.com/library/view.cfm?id=3031 |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=jonimitchell.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1972-03-25 |title=Weekend Television and Radio |pages=16 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/manchester-evening-news-weekend-televisi/127050966/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |quote="Before the Song Contest starts on BBC-1 there's time to catch the start of a new series on BBC-2. Sounds for Saturday, which will include top liners from a wide spectrum of musical taste. from the Afro-rock of Osibisa through Oscar Peterson to the 5th Dimension. Tonight, Buddy Rich, often labelled the world's best drummer, plays for 45 minutes. Stanley Dorfman produces." |via=]}}</ref> Each 55 minute episode showcased a leading artist of the day from the world of jazz and featured a single artist, and afforded American soul artists with their first serious platform in the UK, and illustrating how varied music was becoming.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Abbey |first=John |title=Sounds for Saturday (BBC-2) |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/roberta-flack-isounds-for-saturdayi-bbc-2 |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=www.rocksbackpages.com}}</ref> The series aired weekly, and included episodes featuring ], ], the ], the ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and many others.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nathan |first=David |title=Doris Troy: Soul/Gospel on T.V.: Sounds for Saturdat |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/doris-troy-soulgospel-on-tv |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=www.rocksbackpages.com}}</ref>

=== ''Mary: Rhymes and Reasons'' ===
In 1972, Dorfman directed and produced the television series ''Mary: Rhymes and Reasons,'' which first broadcast on the BBC on 20 August 1972.<ref name=":12" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Mary: Rhymes and Reasons - BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=Mary:+Rhymes+and+Reasons#top |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The series was hosted by the American singer-songwriter ], who was known for being in the 1960s folk trio ]. The series consisted of six episodes and explored "living and loving through song and conversation".<ref>{{Cite web |date=1972-09-24 |title=BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/29910f423ebe46ed9490a60d35ad790f |access-date=2023-06-07 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Special guests included comedians ] and ], actor and screenwriter ], and singer-songwriters ], ], and ].

=== ''The Jack Jones Show'' ===
In 1973, when the American double ] winning singer and actor ] signed on to do ''The Jack Jones Show'' for the BBC,<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Jack Jones Show - BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=The+Jack+Jones+Show |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> he stipulated that it should be produced by Dorfman,<ref>{{Cite news |orig-date=1 January 1972 |title=The Jack Jones Show |page=2 |work=The Evening Post |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/806856919 |access-date=5 June 2023}}</ref> who directed and produced the series between 1973 and 1978. Hosted by Jones, the show featured the British female dance troupe ] and vocal backing by ]. Special guests included: the Welsh singer ], American conductor, keyboard player and musicologist ], the American jazz saxophonist ], American musician ], British pop artist ], and American actor ], the American lyricist, songwriter, singer and record executive ], the English jazz singer and actress ], the American jazz and classical singer ], and others.

=== ''The John Denver Show'' ===
Dorfman played a significant role in the early television career of ], an American singer-songwriter. In 1973, Dorfman produced and directed ''The ] Show'', which aired on the BBC.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The John Denver Show - BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=john+denver+show#top |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref><ref name=":12" /> At the time, Denver was just making a name for himself in America. His manager ], took a calculated risk by agreeing to a series of shows in England under Dorfman's direction, potentially foregoing income from personal appearances in the United States.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=John Denver: Why I Made It. By Chris Charlesworth |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/john-denver-why-i-made-it |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=www.rocksbackpages.com |publisher=]}}</ref>

Denver first appeared on the ] episode of Dorfman's '']'' series, prior to Dorfman inviting him to have his own ''In Concert'' episode. This eventually led to the creation of ''The John Denver Show''.

By 1974, Denver had become one of America's top-selling performers,<ref name="John Denver AllMusic">{{cite web |last=Ankeny |first=Jason |title=John Denver Biography |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/john-denver-mn0000811622/biography |access-date=4 June 2014 |website=AllMusic}}</ref> and his popularity continued to surge. His involvement in television and the recording of multiple ] albums, in conjunction with his ongoing hit songs and performances in larger venues, led to a significant increase in his fan base. Dorfman's guidance and the platform he provided helped Denver hone his skills and build confidence in his on-camera presence, proving invaluable in Denver's later television appearances.<ref name=":5" />

== Television Specials ==

=== ''Pop Go The Sixties!'' ===
{{main|Pop Go The Sixties}}

In 1969, Dorfman directed ''Pop Go The Sixties!'' (also known as ''Pop Go The 60s!''),<ref>{{Cite web |date=1969-12-31 |title=Pop Go The Sixties! |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/999f298728f34b2fb5628286eac40eaf |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> a 75-minute television special celebrating the decade's significant pop hits. Co-produced with Johnnie Stewart, his collaborator on Top of the Pops, the show had a similar aesthetic and style. Featured artists included ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], among others.<ref name=":18">{{Cite web |title=Sixties City - Pop and Music Television - Pop Go The Sixties |url=https://sixtiescity.net/PopTV/PopGoTheSixties.htm |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=sixtiescity.net}}</ref> Pop Go The Sixties! was a co-production between the BBC and West Germany's ]. It first aired in color on the BBC on 31 December 1969, and subsequently on ZDF and other European stations under different titles. The end titles were presented in both English and German. Despite re-airing on ] and the ], more recent broadcasts often exclude the Beatles' performances due to rights changes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-09-05 |title=Sixties City - Bringing on back the good times |url=http://www.sixtiescity.com/PopTV/PopTV6569.shtm |access-date=2023-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905141011/http://www.sixtiescity.com/PopTV/PopTV6569.shtm |archive-date=5 September 2010 }}</ref><ref name=":18" />

=== ''Sinatra in Concert at Royal Festival Hall'' ===
On 16 November 1970, Dorfman also produced and directed '']'' at the Royal Festival Hall for television.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1970-12-26 |title=BBC Programme Index: Sinatra Sings |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8f0349abf4f54ccab53a0a4a9ed21d86 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Frank Sinatra, introduced by ] and accompanied by jazz pianist Bill Miller and drummer ],''<ref>{{Cite web |date=1970-12-26 |title=BBC Programme Index: Sinatra Sings at the Royal Festival Hall, introduced by HSH The Princess Grace of Monaco |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/8f0349abf4f54ccab53a0a4a9ed21d86 |access-date=2023-06-23 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>'' requested a camera to always be focused on his face. Dorfman implemented this method in all his future productions.<ref name=":2" /> ] was broadcast in the UK on BBC on 22 November 1970, and on ] in America on 4, February 1971 .<ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Sinatra: In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall, 1971 {{!}} Southbank Centre |url=https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/blog/articles/royal-festival-hall-on-screen |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=www.southbankcentre.co.uk |language=en}}</ref> Sinatra's respect for Dorfman was evident when he insisted on Dorfman being seated beside him during a dinner at Kensington Palace.<ref name=":13" />

On 22 November, Dorfman produced and directed '']'', featuring ], and introduced by ].<ref>{{Cite web |date=1970-11-22 |title=BBC Programme Index: Night of Nights |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/ea31e8d6315e4e24907f50eaa9d77804 |access-date=2023-07-01 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref>

=== Led Zeppelin – Live At The Royal Albert Hall ===
In 1970, Dorfman was hired by ] to direct of their performance at the ].<ref name=":212"/> Dorfman brought on ], a cameraman who had worked for him on ''Top of the Pops'', and together, using handheld ] cameras, they filmed the concert on ].<ref name=":2" /> Dorfman and Whitehead later edited the footage together.

This footage was eventually released in 2003 as Disc One of the '']'', which became ] certified 13 times multi-platinum that year<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gold & Platinum: Led Zeppelin: July 9, 2012 - Format: Video Longform |url=https://www.riaa.com/gold-platinum/?tab_active=default-award&ar=Led+Zeppelin&ti=Led+Zeppelin&format=&type=#search_section |access-date=2023-06-10 |website=RIAA |language=en-US}}</ref> and is considered the best-selling music DVD in history.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A look back at the career of the mighty Led Zeppelin |url=https://planetradio.co.uk/planet-rock/news/rock-news/led-zeppelin-through-the-years/ |access-date=10 June 2023 |website=Planet Rock}}</ref> In 2022, Led Zeppelin released three official music videos featuring this footage: "]", "]", and "]."<ref name=":46" />

=== ''The Carpenters'' ===
In October 1971, Dorfman produced and directed a taped studio concert titled '']'' ''In Concert'' (a.k.a. ''Carpenters: Live at the BBC''), featuring the American musical duo ] and ]. This was ]'s first ]. The US audience would have to wait five more years later before a special titled '']'' was aired.<ref name="terrace">{{cite book |last=Terrace |first=Vincent |title=Television Specials: 5,336 Entertainment Programs, 1936–2012 |publisher=McFarland |year=2013 |isbn=978-1-476-61240-9 |edition=2nd |page=82}}</ref> ''The Carpenters'' ''In Concert'' first aired on BBC1 on 6 November 1971. The concert was later broadcast for American audiences on ]. However, due to the inclusion of commercial breaks and time constraints, several songs were omitted from the broadcast. These songs included "]", "That on the Road Look", "Lust for Earl and the Married Woman", and "I Fell in Love with You".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Carpenters Live at the BBC - TheTVDB.com |url=https://thetvdb.com/movies/carpenters-live-at-the-bbc |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=thetvdb.com}}</ref>

=== Harry Nilsson: A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night ===
In March 1973, Dorfman directed and produced the BBC television special ''Harry Nilsson: A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night - BBC Programme Index |url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/search/0/20?q=Harry+Nilsson:+A+Little+Touch+of+Schmilsson+in+the+Night#top |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=genome.ch.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The show, which first aired on 10 June 1973, on ], coincided with Nilsson's ] at ] in London. Dorfman, who was watching the album recording in progress, persuaded Nilsson to recreate the recording session as a television special by the same name. After observing the recording session, Dorfman convinced Nilsson to replicate it as a TV special.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |last=45press |date=1973-06-01 |title=A Little Touch Of Schmilsson In The Night |url=https://www.harrynilsson.com/music/a-little-touch-of-schmilsson-in-the-night/ |access-date=2023-06-08 |website=The Official Harry Nilsson Site |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Shipton" />

The title came from a ] quote from ] Act IV, "Behold, as may unworthiness define, A little touch of Harry in the night," adapted at Dorfman's suggestion by replacing "Harry" with "Schmilsson", referring to Nilsson's prior album, '']''.<ref name="Shipton" /> The special was filmed in a single take, featuring Nilsson at the center of an orchestra at ], rather than in a booth.<ref name=":02" /><ref name="Shipton" /> In 1994, ] asserted, "There has been nothing better on music TV since."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Taylor |first=Derek |year=1994 |title="Singer, Songwriter, Fab-Across-The-Water 1941-1994" |work=] |url=http://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/singer-songwriter-fab-across-the-water-1941-1994 |url-access=subscription |access-date=7 June 2023}}</ref> Notably, this TV special was one of Nilsson's rare television appearances and the only full concert he performed in his career.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Davidson |first=Merric |date=2015-10-18 |title=Harry Nilsson |url=https://www.toppermost.co.uk/harry-nilsson/ |access-date=2023-06-11 |website=Toppermost |language=en-US}}</ref>

== ''Live Concert Broadcasts'' ==

=== ''Eric Clapton & Friends - The A.R.M.S. Benefit Concert'' ===
In 1983, Dorfman directed the television special of ''Eric Clapton & Friends - The A.R.M.S. Benefit Concert'', held at London's ] on 20 September. The concert was organized by ] bassist ] to fundraise for A.R.M.S. (Action into Research for ]) and marked a turning point in ] career following the loss of drummer ] and the disbandment of ].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |date=2018-09-20 |title=Flashback: Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck Jam on 'Layla' in 1983 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/jimmy-page-eric-clapton-jeff-beck-jam-layla-725355/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref> Historically depicted as pop "rivals" ], Jimmy Page, and ] rarely collaborated with each other. However, at this concert, they each performed solo sets before joining as a supergroup for some of Clapton's songs. Other performers included the Rolling Stones' ] and ], ], ], and the Faces' ].<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Goldberg |first=Kurt Loder and Michael |date=1984-01-19 |title=Rock of Ages: Ronnie Lane Benefit Show Brings Out Clapton, Beck, Page, Stones |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rock-of-ages-ronnie-lane-benefit-show-brings-out-clapton-beck-page-stones-195174/ |access-date=2023-06-07 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== The Paris Concert for Amnesty International: ''The Struggle Continues'' ===
In 1998, Dorfman directed the three-hour television special of ''The Struggle Continues'', a ] in Paris supporting ], the ]-winning ].<ref name="goldstar.com2"/> The concert took place at ] on 10 December 1998, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the ] ].

The concert showcased performances from acclaimed artists including ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Paris Concert for Amnesty International: The Struggle Continues ... |url=http://www.allmovie.com/work/the-paris-concert-for-amnesty-international-the-struggle-continues-perf-177531}}</ref> World leaders like the ] and ] spoke about ].<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} Stars shine for amnesty |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/232780.stm |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> The event was broadcast via pay-per-view in the U.S. in 1999 and released on DVD in 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Human Rights Concerts |url=https://www.humanrightsconcerts.com |website=Human Rights Concerts}}</ref>

=== Woodstock '94 ===
In 1994, Dorfman directed the televised coverage of the ] ], also known as Woodstock '94. The event was broadcast live on ] via ] in the U.S. and Canada from Friday 12–14 August, in ]. The festival celebrated the 25th anniversary of the original 1969 ] and was marketed as "Two More Days of Peace & Music". 250,000 tickets were available.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Lineup Set for '94 Woodstock |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1994/06/14/lineup-set-for-94-woodstock/b64b7485-25f8-4c03-9e52-d3d86d78c0fa/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref name="Woodstock94">{{Cite web |title=Woodstock 94 Program Guide Book 1994 Aug 13 Saugerties NY |url=https://www.oicvintage.com:443/store-5/woodstock-94-program-guide-book-1994-aug-13-saugerties-ny/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Over the three days, fifty bands and special guests played on two stages.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Scott |first=Janny |date=1994-08-15 |title=Woodstock '94: The Overview: Music Fades and Muddy Trek Begins |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/08/15/nyregion/woodstock-94-the-overview-woodstock-music-fades-and-muddy-trek-begins.html |access-date=2023-06-06 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Dorfman directed the performances on the main North stage, using the early analog ] 1125-line ] system in a ]. Artists on this stage included ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], among others.<ref name="Woodstock94" /><ref name="goldstar.com2" /> The footage was used for a theatrical documentary about the event, and HD footage was mixed live into standard definition 4:3 NTSC for cable TV broadcast.<ref>{{cite tech report|first=C.R|last=Caillouet|first2=Charles|last2=Pantuso|title=Woodstock '94: A Live Multi-Format Production|institution=NHK Enterprises, USA and NHK (Japan Broadcast Corporation)|year=1995}}</ref>

=== Woodstock '99 ===
In 1999, Dorfman directed the television coverage of the ''Woodstock 1999'' music festival, also called Woodstock '99, for ]. The festival was broadcast live on pay-per-view<ref name=":62">{{cite news |last=Dempsey |first=John |date=3 May 1999 |title=Big PPV push set for July's Woodstock '99 |work=] |url=https://variety.com/1999/tv/news/big-ppv-push-set-for-july-s-woodstock-99-1117499520/ |access-date=28 July 2021}}</ref> and was held from 22 July – 25 July 1999.<ref name="fnky">{{cite news |last=Zielbauer |first=Paul |date=24 July 1999 |title=Woodstock anniversary gets off to funky start |page=10A |work=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=(New York Times) |location=(Oregon) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=YlNWAAAAIBAJ&pg=5496%2C6271963}}</ref><ref name="ergchas3">{{cite news |date=26 July 1999 |title=Woodstock '99 ends in fiery chaos |page=4A |work=Eugene Register-Guard |agency=Associated Press |location=(Oregon) |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZFNWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4533%2C7124797}}</ref> The location for the event was the former ], a ] site, on the east side of ].<ref name=":82">{{Cite web |title=Griffiss Air Force Base (11 Areas) Site Profile |url=https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0202438 |access-date=2023-03-13 |website=] |language=en}}</ref>

Woodstock '99 was one of the most significant music events of the 20th century, featuring over 100 top artists of that era. With an attendance of approximately 400,000 people,<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |title=Woodstock 1999 Festival |url=https://www.woodstock1999.com/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.woodstock1999.com}}</ref> it was the second large-scale music festival held after Woodstock '94.<ref name="WaPo">{{cite news |last=Wartofsky |first=Alona |date=27 July 1999 |title=Woodstock '99 Goes Up in Smoke |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/daily/july99/woodstock27.htm |access-date=5 September 2007}}</ref> The festival was financially successful, with reports indicating a gross take of $28,864,748".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodstock Ticket Sales Don't Match Attendance Projections |url=https://www.mtv.com/news/buh3xc/woodstock-ticket-sales-dont-match-attendance-projections |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808214636/https://www.mtv.com/news/buh3xc/woodstock-ticket-sales-dont-match-attendance-projections |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 August 2022 |access-date=2022-08-08 |website=MTV |language=en}}</ref>

Dorfman directed the televised performances on the main "East stage". The line up included a mix of rock, pop, and hip-hop artists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], among others.<ref name=":14" />

Despite the star-studded line-up and financial success, Woodstock '99 has been described as "notorious" and "a flashpoint in cultural nadir". This description likely stems from the numerous reports of violence, sexual assault, and inadequate provisions for attendees, leading to chaotic and unsafe conditions that marred the festival's legacy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Music Box |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/music_box/s01.1 |access-date=1 January 2022 |website=] |publisher=]}}</ref>

== Music videos ==
In 1977, Dorfman directed the music videos for ]'s songs ]" and "]", both iconic tracks in Bowie's discography. The latter, "Be My Wife," was notably Bowie's first music video since Mick Rock's creations during the Ziggy Stardust era.<ref name=":25" />

=== David Bowie: "Be My Wife" ===
"]" was released as the second and final single from the seminal album ] on 17 June 1977, in the UK. This album heralded the start of Bowie's critically lauded ''],'' a series of albums that solidified his status as an influential figure in the music industry.<ref name=":492">{{Cite web |date=2017-05-03 |title=Be My Wife 40th anniversary picture disc |url=https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2017/5/3/be-my-wife-40th-anniversary-picture-disc |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=davidbowie.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

The music video, shot in Paris, is characterized by a minimalist aesthetic, set against a stark white background in an empty room, Bowie's performance in the video conveys oscillates between nonchalance and anguish, striking a delicate balance between the two. His mannerisms and make up in the video may have been influenced by the renowned comic ], whom Bowie deeply admired.<ref name=":502">{{Cite web |date=2017-09-22 |title=ANCIANT Video Focus: Be My Wife |url=https://www.davidbowie.com/blog/2017/9/22/anciant-video-focus-be-my-wife |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=davidbowie.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In his book ''The Complete David Bowie'', ] observes that Bowies make up is reminiscent of ]'s ] character in the 1972 Berlin-based film ''].<ref name=":25" />'' The video both draws on and deliberately contradicts Bowies previous, more extravagant personas, marking a significant shift in his artistic expression.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Monastero |first1=Mary Valentis with Tara P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NKwLBwAAQBAJ&q=dorfman |title=TechKnowledgies: New Imaginaries in the Humanities, Arts, and TechnoSciences |last2=Yablonsky |first2=Paula |date=2008-12-18 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-4438-0262-8 |language=en}}</ref> Despite its innovative concept and execution, the video was scarcely seen in the UK at the time of its release in 1977 due to limited distribution.<ref name=":502" /><ref name=":492" /> Over the years, alternative edits of the video have circulated among collectors.<ref name=":25">{{Cite book |last=Pegg |first=Nicholas |title=The Complete David Bowie |publisher=Titan Books |year=2016 |isbn=978-1785653650 |edition=Revised and Updated |pages=34, 96 |language=English}}</ref>

=== David Bowie: "Heroes" ===
In 1977, Dorfman directed the music video for one of Bowie's most famous, covered, and licensed songs,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Reed |first=Katherine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xUKcEAAAQBAJ&q=%E2%80%9CHeroes%E2%80%9D%E2%80%94among+Bowie%E2%80%99s+most+famous%2C+most+covered%2C+and+most+licensed+Songs.&pg=PT165 |title=David Bowie and the Moving Image: A Standing Cinema |date=2022-12-15 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-5013-7126-4 |language=en}}</ref> "']".<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":256">{{Cite web |date=2008-10-18 |title=Thurston Moore To Present Bowie Retrospective At Moma |url=https://www.davidbowie.com/2008/2008/10/19/thurston-moore-to-present-bowie-retrospective-at-moma |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629234930/https://www.davidbowie.com/2008/2008/10/19/thurston-moore-to-present-bowie-retrospective-at-moma |archive-date=2023-06-29 |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=davidbowie.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":2542">{{cite web |date=27 January 2016 |title=Breaking down David Bowie's "Heroes" – track by track |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03g18sx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160125090000/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03g18sx |archive-date=25 January 2016 |access-date=19 June 2023 |website=]}}</ref> The video is shot primarily in a dark room, with Bowie being silhouetted and bathed by a foggy luminescent light, creating a dramatic aesthetic that persists almost from beginning to end. Nicholas Pegg draws parallels between this video and ]'s performance of "]" in the movie ].''<ref name=":25" />'' In his book ''I'm Not a Film Star: David Bowie as Actor'', Ian Dixon suggests that Dorfman made "conscious cinematic references" to films such as '']'', ]'s performance in '']'', and the representation of the Hindu ].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Dixon |first1=Ian |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KNpzEAAAQBAJ&q=dorfman |title=I'm Not a Film Star: David Bowie as Actor |last2=Black |first2=Brendan |date=2022-07-14 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-5013-6867-7 |language=en}}</ref> However, a 2016 ] article notes that Dorfman's "'Heroes'" video predates the release of ''Close Encounters of the Third Kind,'' making "the similarity with key shots from that film all the more remarkable"''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sherburne |first=Philip |date=2016-01-13 |title=The Case for David Bowie as Music Video King |url=https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/993-the-case-for-david-bowie-as-music-video-king/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702192448/https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/993-the-case-for-david-bowie-as-music-video-king/ |archive-date=2 July 2023 |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=] |publisher=] |language=en-US}}</ref>''

There was initially some confusion around the directorship of the "Heroes" video, with some attributions made to ], including in Pegg's book ''The Complete David Bowie''. However, Pegg later clarified on his blog ''Guts of a Beggar'', that Dorfman was indeed the director.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-30 |title=Stanley Dorfman: Unsung Hero {{!}} Guts of a Beggar |url=https://gutsofabeggar.wordpress.com/2023/06/29/stanley-dorfman-unsung-hero/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230630000052/https://gutsofabeggar.wordpress.com/2023/06/29/stanley-dorfman-unsung-hero/ |archive-date=30 June 2023 }}</ref> This was confirmed by the David Bowie archive in 2008 when the complete works of David Bowie's music videos were gifted to the ] (MoMA), naming Dorfman as the sole director.<ref name=":256"/>

In 2008, the "Heroes" music video was included in the MoMA exhibition ''Looking at Music,''<ref>{{Cite web |title=David Bowie {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/artists/34111 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629235233/https://www.moma.org/artists/34111 |archive-date=2023-06-29 |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> curated by ] and ]. This selection contributed to a David Bowie retrospective at the museum.<ref name=":47">{{Cite web |last=Crossfield |first=Paula |date=2009-02-04 |title=Lost Art: Watching David Bowie Videos at MoMA |url=https://brooklynrail.org/2009/02/music/lost-art-watching-david-bowie-videos-at-moma |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230629235028/https://brooklynrail.org/2009/02/music/lost-art-watching-david-bowie-videos-at-moma |archive-date=2023-06-29 |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=] |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Artdaily |title=Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth Hosts a Program of David Bowie's Music Videos at MoMA |url=https://artdaily.cc/news/26877/Thurston-Moore-of-Sonic-Youth-Hosts-a-Program-of-David-Bowie-s-Music-Videos-at-MoMA |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Art Daily |language=English}}</ref> In 2022, the ] (BFI) showcased Dorfman's video and a compilation of alternative edits in a David Bowie special edition of their series, "''BUG: The Evolution of Music Video,''" further testament to its enduring impact and relevance in the realm of music videos.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-01-06 |title=BFI: BUG Special - David Bowie |url=https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/events/2022/01/06/bug-bowie-special/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230702181103/https://bfidatadigipres.github.io/events/2022/01/06/bug-bowie-special/ |archive-date=2023-07-02 |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=] |language=en}}</ref>

=== David Bowie: "Sense of Doubt" ===
In 1977, Dorfman directed an as-yet-unreleased video for Bowie's expressionistic piano-driven song "]," a track from Side B of his '']'' album. The video shows a visual continuity with the "Heroes" video, featuring Bowie in the same bomber jacket and appearing to have been filmed on the same set.

The creative process for the video was influenced by ]'s '']'', a deck of oracle cards that Eno designed in conjunction with painter ]. Subtitled "Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas", these cards were used to stimulate creativity and challenge conventional thinking, guiding artists to consider their work from new perspectives. They served as an inspiration in the crafting of the "Sense of Doubt" video, contributing to its experimental and innovative nature.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-11-22 |title=New Again: Brian Eno |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/new-again-brian-eno |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=Interview Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2014-02-24 |title=Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt's 'Oblique Strategies,' the original handwritten cards |url=https://dangerousminds.net/comments/brian_eno_and_peter_schmidts_oblique_strategies_the_original_handwritt |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=DangerousMinds}}</ref>

=== Blondie: "Heart of Glass" ===
In 1979, Dorfman directed the music video for ]'s song "]",<ref name=":28">{{Cite web |title=Stanley Dorfman: Director |url=https://mubi.com/cast/stanley-dorfman/films/director |access-date=2023-06-20 |website=mubi.com |publisher=]}}</ref> a song that became the band's first chart-topper.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=15 September 2021 |title=The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-songs-of-all-time-1224767/ |magazine=] |access-date=30 April 2021}}</ref> The video begins with night-time scenes of New York City featuring an infrared shot of the World Trade Center, before shifting to the band's on-stage performance beneath a disco ball. Jess Harvell, in his review of the '']'' DVD for ], noted that even though owning a personal copy of 'Heart of Glass' might not seem as cool anymore "there's the always luminous Deborah Harry, who would give boiling asparagus an erotic charge, all while looking too bored to live."<ref>{{cite web |last=Harvell |first=Jess |date=9 March 2006 |title=Blondie: Greatest Hits: Sound and Vision' |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1198-greatest-hits-sound-and-vision/ |access-date=16 June 2008 |work=]}}</ref> Contrary to popular belief, despite the brief appearance of the iconic ] in the music video, the actual filming took place at a now-defunct establishment known as the Copa.<ref name="Simpson">{{cite news |last=Simpson |first=Dave |date=29 April 2013 |title=How we made: Heart of Glass |newspaper=] |location=London, England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/apr/29/how-we-made-heart-glass |access-date=29 April 2013}}</ref> The video unfolds with a mix of intimate close-ups of lead vocalist ] and mid-distance shots of the band's performance.

The video received widespread acknowledgment for its distinct style and sex appeal. In 1979, Richard Cromelin from '']'' wrote, "'Death to Disco' T-shirts weren't an uncommon sight among the new wave audience that formed Blondie's first base of support. But, as it turns out, it's disco that's given life to Blondie."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Blondie's Disco Detour: Big Seller or Big Sellout?. By Richard Cromelin : Articles, reviews and interviews from Rock's Backpages. |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/blondies-disco-detour-big-seller-or-big-sellout |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=www.rocksbackpages.com}}</ref> The music news site ] included "Heart of Glass" in their list of the top 40 videos played on MTV's first day, ranking it at number 6. They described it as "an abject lesson in sex appeal", even though "nothing really happens in the nearly four minutes that elapse".<ref name=":51">{{Cite web |date=2021-07-29 |title=The 40 Best Videos From MTV's First Day |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2155619/mtv-first-music-videos-best-anniversary/lists/video-list/ |access-date=2023-07-02 |website=] |language=en}}</ref> ] also recognized the video as one of the most iconic music video looks of all time.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tschinkel |first=Arielle |title=45 of the most iconic music video looks of all time |url=https://www.insider.com/most-iconic-music-video-looks-of-all-time |access-date=2023-06-13 |website=Insider |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== John Lennon: "Grow Old With Me" ===
In 1984, Dorfman directed the music video for ]'s song "]", one of the final songs written by Lennon. The video featured home movies of Lennon and ] walking in Central Park, Lennon dancing, and other intimate moments from Lennon's personal film archive.<ref name=":26">{{Cite web |date=6 January 1984 |title=A new look at Lennon |url=https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000271/19840106/180/0023 |access-date=2023-06-23 |via=] |publisher=Liverpool Echo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Carnes |first=Karen |date=1983-11-04 |title=2nd Beach Music Awards show will bring stars and recognition to Grand Strand |pages=25 |work=] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/sun-news-2nd-beach-music-awards-show-wil/127050696/ |access-date=2023-06-25 |quote="Director is British-born Stanley Dorfman. Dorfman did a video and album for Yoko Ono and recently finished an all-star show in England for cable television which featured The Who, Jeff Beck, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Faces, Elton John and Elvis Costello." |via=]}}</ref>

=== Ringo Starr: "Only You (And You Alone)", ''Goodnight Vienna'' ===
In 1974, while Dorfman was not working full-time for the BBC anymore, he was increasingly creating promotional films for music albums. At the suggestion of ], ] recorded of the 1955 hit, "Only You (And You Alone)", a song originally popularized by ]. This track was released on Starr's studio album '']''.

In mid-November, Dorfman was engaged to produce and direct a television commercial for ]'s ''Goodnight Vienna'' album and a music video for his song "Only You (And You Alone)". Dorfman chose the rooftop of the ] in Los Angeles, known for its distinct resembling a stack of discs, as the shooting location for both the commercial and the music video.

The music video extended the narrative from the commercial, depicting Starr's spacecraft landing on the building. Starr, wearing a spacesuit, boards the spacecraft before it takes off over the city. John Lennon, who played the acoustic guitar on the recording, provided a voiceover for this scene. The video featured appearances from ], and ], who can be seen dancing and leaping on the building's sloping roof. Dorfman arranged for lasers to shoot beams of light from a nearby building, illuminated Starr's spacesuit.

A lightweight flying saucer and a forty-foot robot were placed on the building, as Starr and Nilsson, the latter wearing a brown dressing robe, was sitting in a rocking chair and casually smoking a cigarette while reading the morning's ''].'' At street level, an orange-clad marching band and forty actors, who had previously portrayed ]s in '']'' danced.<ref name="Diary">{{cite book |title=The Beatles Diary After the Break-Up: 1970–2001 |publisher=Music Sales Group |year=2001 |isbn=978-0-7119-8307-6 |editor1=Miles, Barry |edition=reprint |location=London |pages=515–516 |editor2=Badman, Keith}}</ref><ref name=":202">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |edition=First |pages=379, 381, 381 |language=English}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Cotter |first=Bill |url=http://archive.org/details/wonderfulworldof0000cott |title=The wonderful world of Disney television : a complete history |date=1997 |publisher=New York : Hyperion |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-7868-6359-4 |pages=596}}</ref>

=== Harry Nilsson: ''Duit On Mon Dei'' ===

In October 1974, Dorfman directed and produced a promotional film for ]'s album '']'',<ref name=":262">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |edition=First |pages=587 |language=English}}</ref> which was released in 1975.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kachejian |first=Brian |date=2023-06-03 |title=Complete List Of Harry Nilsson Albums And Discography |url=https://www.classicrockhistory.com/complete-list-of-harry-nilsson-albums-and-discography/ |access-date=2023-06-12 |website=ClassicRockHistory.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The film included an appearance by ] who played on the album track "Kojak Columbo". Starr's appearance was a return favor to Nilsson's participation in Starr's spaceship film for his album, ''],'' which Dorfman had also directed.{{fact|date=November 2023}}

Dorfman created the video for "Kojak Columbo" at a significantly lower cost than Starr's Goodnight Vienna production, due to a bet Nilsson had made with ]. Nilsson had wagered that he could produce the company's cheapest video for $5,000. If RCA didn't consider it the best video they had ever seen, the bet would be off. However, if they thought it was their best, they would triple the television airtime for "Kojak Columbo".<ref name=":262" />

Nilsson's idea was to demonstrate his basketball skills, honed in his teenage years, by attempting a mid-court shot on an NBA basketball court. Ringo Starr, the sole audience member sitting high in the bleachers, agreed to applaud if Nilsson succeeded.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |edition=First |pages=588 |language=English}}</ref> Starr, situated high up in the empty auditorium, called out to Dorfman to film the first shot, knowing Nilsson's knack for spontaneous performances. Nilsson, pretending to be a lost tourist, entered the court, picked up the ball, dribbled to the sideline, and released the shot. He made it on the first take, but Dorfman, unaware of Starr's call, did not capture the shot.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |edition=First |pages=589 |language=English}}</ref> While Nilsson's next twenty-two attempts were unsuccessful, he came close, hitting the rim of the basket on eighteen occasions. The Los Angeles Forum had allowed the video to be filmed there for $800 for three hours, after hearing about Nilsson's bet with RCA.<ref name=":03" /> As time was running out, Nilsson made the shot again, but by this time Ringo Starr had fallen asleep. The final film features a single, uninterrupted sequence of Nilsson's shot taking a full eight seconds to land perfectly in the net as Starr sleeps in the bleachers. The final score "Nilsson 1: RCA 0" is displayed on the scoreboard.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |edition=First |pages=590 |language=English}}</ref> Dorfman managed to complete the entire production for $3,000,<ref name=":03" /> winning Nilsson's bet. However, although RCA had promised to triple the airtime for "Kojak Columbo", Nilsson later discovered they had not fulfilled their commitment when he requested the viewing figures.<ref name=":263">{{Cite book |last=Shipton |first=Alyn |title=Nilsson: The Life of a Singer-Songwriter |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2013 |isbn=978-0190263546 |edition=First |pages=592 |language=English}}</ref>

== Painting ==
In 1946, Dorfman was awarded a scholarship to the ] and the ] in Paris, where he studied painting and fresco.<ref name=":9" /> In 1954, he settled in the artist colony of ], England, where he worked as a studio assistant to the prominent English artist and sculptor ], and continued to develop his own art.<ref name=":11" />

Dorfman was a member of the ],<ref name=":10" /><ref name=":13" /> a group that sought to explore new artistic directions beyond the confines of the traditional ]. This society became a centre for modern and abstract developments in British art from the 1940s to the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Tate |title=Penwith Society of Arts |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/p/penwith-society-arts |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=] |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=St Ives School |url=https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/st-ives-school |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=] |language=en-GB}}</ref> His early paintings are characterized by hard-edged abstraction, vibrant flat colors, and evocative titles like "Vertical St. Ives (Paul)," "Blue and Brown Study," and "Composition with Four Rectangles." One of his notable works from 1954, "Across the Bay", showcases abstracted hard-edge waves.<ref name=":9">{{Cite web |title=Artists in St Ives – Mitchell, Dorfman, Frost. |url=https://adrianflowersarchive.com/chapter-3-artists-in-st-ives-part-1/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=Adrian Flowers Archive |language=en-GB}}</ref> Dorfman's work was exhibited alongside work from fellow ]ists such as ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ], and members of the Crypt Group like ] and ].<ref name=":10">{{Cite web |title=Stanley Dorfman: Now and Then |url=https://www.artsy.net/show/the-lodge-stanley-dorfman-now-and-then |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=] |language=en}}</ref>

Following a successful career as a television director and producer, Dorfman redirected his focus towards painting in 1996. His later works took on a more lyrical and painterly quality, often drawing inspiration from music. Examples of this inspiration are seen in works titled "Good Vibrations", "La Bamba" and "Imagine." Dorfman exhibits his paintings at The Lodge gallery in Los Angeles.<ref name=":11" /><ref name=":9" />

== Personal life ==
Dorfman has two sons.<ref name=":8">{{Cite news |last=Connolly |first=Ray |orig-date=23 June 1973 |title=The man who put polish into pop. |pages=15 |work=] |location=United Kingdom |publication-place=United Kingdom |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/768971871/?terms=dorfman&match=2 |access-date=6 June 2023}}</ref> He relocated to Los Angeles in 1974.<ref name=":13" /> Dorfman has been in a long-term relationship with actress and model Barbara Flood for over forty years. The couple were featured by ] in the ] ''Barbara and Stanley: A Modern Romance'', directed by ].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mathis |first=Camilla |date=23 March 2017 |title=Barbara and Stanley: A Modern Romance, The extraordinary story of a long-term bicoastal relationship |url=https://www.nowness.com/story/barbara-and-stanley-modern-romance-rachel-fleit |access-date=2 June 2023 |website=nowness.com |publisher=]}}</ref>


== Filmography == == Filmography ==


=== Television === === Television series ===
* '']'' – Creator, Director, Producer (1968 -1974)
{| class="wikitable"
* '']'' (BBC Series) – Creator, Director, Producer (1970-1974)
!Year
* ''Sounds for Saturday'' – Creator, Director, Producer (1972)
!Title
* '']'' (American TV series) – Director (1974-1976)
!Role
* ''BBC Show of the Week'' – Director, Producer (1968 -1971)
|-
* ''The Bobbie Gentry Show'' – Director, Producer (1968 -1971)
|1963
* ''Dusty: with Dusty Springfield'' – Director, Producer (1966-1667)
|''Meet Sammy Davis Jr. (TV Special)''
* ''The Jack Jones Show'' – Director (1973-1978)
|Production Designer <ref name=":1" />
* ''Mary: Rhymes and Reasons'' – Director, Producer (1972)
|-
* ''Julie Felix'' – Director, Producer (1970)
|1963
|''An Evening with Nat King Cole (TV Special)'' * ''Once More with Felix'' Producer (1967–1968)
* '']'' – Director, Producer (1968 -1969)
|Production Designer <ref name=":1" />
* ''Brewhouse Jazz'' – Director (1993)
|-
* ''The Talk of the Town: Glen Campbell'' – Producer (1972)
|1968 - 1974
|''] (TV Series)'' * ''The Talk of the Town: Nancy Wilson'' – Producer (1972)
* ''The Price of Fame or Fame at any Price'' – Producer (1969–1970)
|Creator, Director, Producer <ref>{{Cite web |title=Top of the Pops (TV Series) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139803 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
* ''Peter Sarstedt'' – Producer (1969)
|-
* ''The Roy Castle Show'' – Director (1965)
|1966 - 1667
* ''They Sold a Million'' – Producer (1973)
|''Dusty: with Dusty Springfield (TV Series)''
* ''The Black and White Minstrel Show'' – Production Designer (1959–1963)
|Director, Producer <ref>{{Cite web |title=Dusty |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0494595/ |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
* ''The Dick Emery Show'' – Production Designer (1963)
|-
* ''Comedy Playhouse'' – Production Designer (1963)
|1968 - 1971
* ''The Country and Western Show'' – Production Designer (1963)
|Bobbie Gentry ''(TV Series)''
* ''The Charlie Chester Music Hall'' – Production Designer (1961)
|Director, Producer <ref>{{Cite web |title=Bobbie Gentry (TV Series) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0297509 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
* ''It's a Square World'' – Production Designer (1961)
|-
* ''Be My Guest'' – Production Designer (1961)
|1968 - 1969
* ''Showtime'' – Production Designer (1960)
|''] (TV Series)''
* ''Crackerjack!'' – Production Designer (1959)
|Director, Producer <ref name=":1" />

|-
=== Television specials ===
|1968 - 1971
* '']'' – Director (1999)
|''BBC Show of the Week (TV Series)''
* '']'' – Director (1994)
|Director, Producer <ref name=":1" />
* '']'' – Director (1970)
|-
* '']'' – Director (1969)
|1969
* ''Leonard Cohen sings Leonard Cohen'' – Director, Producer (1968)
|'']''
* ''Elton John: In Concert –'' Director, Producer (1970)
|
* ''] –'' Director (1971)
|-
* ''Rock Masters: Neil Young in Concert'' – Director, Producer (1971)
|1970
* ''Rock Masters: Cat Stevens in Concert'' – Director, Producer (1971)
|'']''
* ''A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night'' – Director, Producer (1973)
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=Frank Sinatra: In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall (TV Special) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1087448 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
* Richie Havens in Concert ''–'' Director, Producer (1974)
|-
* ''Giselle (Ballet) –'' ] – Director, Producer (1979)
|1971
* ''Linda Ronstadt in Concert'' – Director, Producer (1980)
|''The Carpenters (TV Series)''
* ''Eric Clapton & friends: The A.R.M.S. benefit concert from London'' – Director (1984)
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* ''Cinemax Sessions:Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player'' – Director (1986)
|-
* ''Chet Atkins And Friends, Music From The Heart'' – Director (1987)
|1971
* '']'' – Director (1989)
|''Rock Masters: Neil Young in Concert (TV Series)''
* Wolf Trap Presents Victor Borge: An 80th Birthday Celebration – Director, Producer (1990)
|Director, Producer <ref name=":1" />
* Kitaro: An Enchanted Evening – Director (1995)
|-
* ''The Kennedy Center Presents: A Tribute to Muddy Waters: King of the Blues'' – Director (1998)
|1971
* ''The 13th Annual Genesis Awards'' – Director (1999)
|''Rock Masters: Cat Stevens in Concert (TV Series)''
* ''The Paris Concert for Amnesty International'' – Director (1999)
|Director, Producer <ref name=":1" />
* ''George Benson: Absolutely Live'' – Director (2000)
|-
* ''The 15th Annual Genesis Awards –'' Director (2001)
|1971
* ''Bruce Hornsby & Friends'' ''–'' Director (2004)
|''The Music of Nilsson (TV Movie)''
* Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition ''–'' Director (1981)
|Producer <ref name=":1" />
* ''An Evening with Robert Helpmann'' – Production Designer (1963)
|-
* ''An Evening with Nat King Cole'' – Production Designer (1963)
|1970 - 1974
* ''Meet Sammy Davis Jr.'' – Production Designer (1963)
|''In Concert (TV Series)''

|Director, Producer <ref>{{Cite web |title=In Concert (TV Series) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4304222 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
=== Music videos ===
|-
* "]" – ] – Director (1984)
|1973 - 1978
* "Loneliness" – ] – Director (1984)
|''The Jack Jones Show (TV Series)''
* "Can't Find Love" – ] – Director (1983)
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* "]" – ] – Director (1978)
|-
* "]" – ] – Director (1977)
|1979
* "]" – ] – Director (1977)
|Giselle ''(TV Special)''
* "Only You" – ] – Director (1974)
|Director, Producer <ref>{{Cite web |title=Giselle (TV Special) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10871832/ |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
* "Kojak Columbo" – ] – Director (1974)
|-
* "Who Done It?" – ] – Director (1977)
|1980
* "Duit on Mon Dei" – ] – Director (1975)
|''Linda Ronstadt in Concert (TV Special)''
* "]" – ] – Director, promotional video for Top of the Pops (1964)
|Director, Producer <ref name=":1" />
* "]" – ] – Director, Live at The Royal Albert Hall (1970)
|-
* "]" – ] – Director, Live at The Royal Albert Hall (1970)
|1984
* " ]" – ] – Director, Live at The Royal Albert Hall (1970)
|''Eric Clapton & Friends (TV Special)''

|Director <ref name=":1" />
=== DVD & Video ===
|-
* '']'' – Director, Live at the Royal Albert Hall footage (1970)
|1984
* ''Dusty Springfield: Live at the BBC'' – Director (2007)
|''Jefferson Starship: The Definitive Concert''
* ''Blondie: Video Hits'' ''–'' Director (2005)
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* ''Glen Campbell In Concert'' (2002)
|-
* ''Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nations Orchestra: Live at the Royal Festival Hall'' – Director (1989)
|1986
* ''Jefferson Starship: The Definitive Concert'' – Director (1984)
|''Cinemax Sessions (TV Series)''
* ''] –'' Director (1983)
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* ''Gillespie Dizzy Dream Band Jazz America'' – Director (1982)
|-
* ''George Winston: Seasons in Concert'' – Director (1996)
|1989
* ''GRP All-Stars: Live from the Record Plant'' – Director, Producer (1985)
|'']''
* ''Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin Live from the Record Plant'' – Director, Producer (1985)
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* ''Lee Ritenour Live'' – Director (1984)
|-
* ''Water's Path'' – Director (1984)
|1993

|'']''
=== Movies ===
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* ''A Life in the Blues: Charles Brown'' ''–'' Director (1990)
|-
* ] – Director (1976)
|1993
* ''Blast!'' ''–'' Director (2000)
|''Brewhouse Jazz (TV Series)''
* '']'' – Director, Producer (1979)
|Director <ref name=":1" />
* '']'' – Production Designer (1964)
|-
* ''Pan's People in Concert'' – Producer (1974)
|1993
* ''Crystal Cave'' – Producer (1996)
|''Ringo Starr Going Home (TV Movie)''
* ''Night of Nights'' – Director (1970)
|Director, Producer <ref name=":1" />
* '']'' – Director (1969)
|-
* ''The Brockenstein Affair'' – Production Designer (1962)
|1994

|'']'' (TV Special)
=== Documentaries ===
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=Woodstock '94 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14852700 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
* ''Ringo Starr Going Home'' – Director, Producer (1993)
|-
* ''Top of the Pops: The True Story'' (2001) – Self, Producer (1979)
|1996
* ''The Music of Nilsson'' – Producer (1971)
|''George Winston: Seasons in Concert''
* ''John Denver: Country Boy'' – Self (2013)
|Producer <ref name=":1" />
* ''Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)'' – Self (2010)
|-
* ''Legends'' – Self (2008)
|1998
|''The Kennedy Center Presents: A Tribute to Muddy Waters: King of the Blues (TV Special)''
|Director <ref name=":1" />
|-
|1999
|''The 13th Annual Genesis Awards'' ''(TV Special)''
|Director <ref name=":1" />
|-
|2000
|''George Benson: Absolutely Live''
|Director <ref name=":1" />
|-
|2001
|''The 15th Annual Genesis Awards (TV Special)''
|Director <ref name=":1" />
|}


=== Music Videos ===
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Title
!Role
|-
|1974
|''Ringo Starr: Only You (and You Alone)''
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=Ringo Starr: Only You (and You Alone) |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3827104/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|-
|1977
|''David Bowie: Heroes''
|Director <ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=David Bowie, Stanley Dorfman. Heroes. 1977 {{!}} MoMA |url=https://www.moma.org/collection/works/118096 |access-date=2023-06-02 |website=The Museum of Modern Art |language=en}}</ref> <ref>{{Cite web |title=David Bowie: Heroes |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6825410/ |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|-
|1977
|''David Bowie: Be My Wife''
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=David Bowie: Be My Wife |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7015776/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|-
|1984
|''John Lennon: Grow Old with Me''
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=John Lennon: Grow Old with Me |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9057700 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|-
|1984
|''Harry Nilsson: Loneliness''
|Director, Editor <ref>{{Cite web |title=Harry Nilsson: Loneliness |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3824294 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|-
|1983
|''Jefferson Starship: Can't Find Love''
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=Jefferson Starship: Can't Find Love |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8907832/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1 |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|-
|2005
|'']''
|Director <ref>{{Cite web |title=Blondie: Heart of Glass |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6781676/ |access-date=June 4, 2023 |website=]}}</ref>
|}
==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{reflist}}


==External links== ==External links==
* *
*{{IMDb name|id=nm0233578}} * {{IMDb name|id=nm0233578}}


{{authority control}} {{authority control}}

<references group="lower-alpha" />


{{DEFAULTSORT:Dorfman, Stanley}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Dorfman, Stanley}}
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Latest revision as of 21:52, 29 November 2024

English television director and producer (b. 1927)

Stanley Dorfman
Born (1927-11-24) 24 November 1927 (age 97)
Johannesburg, South Africa
NationalitySouth African, British
Occupation(s)Television program creator, Television director, Television producer, Music video director
Notable workTop of the Pops, In Concert (British TV series), In Concert (American TV series), Sinatra in Concert, Disc One of the Led Zeppelin DVD: Royal Albert Hall concert in 1970, The Bobbie Gentry Show, The John Denver Show, Official music video: David Bowie "Heroes", Official music video: Blondie "Heart of Glass", Woodstock '94, Woodstock '99

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.

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.

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. Dorfman was the director of televised live music events like the A.R.M.S. benefit concert in London in 1984, the Amnesty International Human Rights Concerts between 1986 and 1998, 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. 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."

Early life and education

Dorfman was born in Johannesburg, South Africa to a Jewish family. In 1946, he received a scholarship to study painting and fresco at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris. After completing his studies, Dorfman relocated to St Ives in Cornwall, England. Here, he joined the Penwith Society of Arts and exhibited his paintings alongside abstract artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Peter Lanyon and Sven Berlin.

Upon his return to South Africa, Dorfman took a stance against the prevalent racial segregation laws of the time by organizing concerts named Township Jazz for the African Musician's Union. These concerts provided a platform for African jazz musicians to perform for multiracial audiences, featuring artists like Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela. However, this defiance of the status quo drew the attention of the police, leading to raids and increased scrutiny of his activities.

A lawyer affiliated with Nelson Mandela's party advised Dorfman to leave the country immediately as he was being actively perused by the authorities under the General Law Amendment Act, also known as the 90-Day Detention Law. This law enabled South African police officers to detain individuals for up to 90 days without a warrant, cause, or access to legal representation, and it could be indefinitely repeated. In response to this advice, Dorfman departed for Europe, leaving his wife and children in South Africa until he could safely arrange for them to join him.

Dorfman began his television career in 1959, initially working as a production designer for the BBC on programs such as An Evening with Nat King Cole, Meet Sammy Davis Jr., and Margot Fonteyn: Birthday of a Ballerina. He later received training on production through the BBC Television Training course in 1963. This training equipped him for his subsequent roles as a producer and director for the music television series Top of the Pops, starting in 1964.

Television series

Top of the Pops

Main article: Top of the Pops

In 1964, Dorfman and Johnnie Stewart co-created the British chart music television series Top of the Pops at a time when rock music was gaining mainstream acceptance. The show introduced the format that would become synonymous with chart rankings in the UK. With continuous weekly broadcasts, the show enjoyed a 42-year run and reached audiences in over 120 countries.

Dorfman and Stewart served as alternating directors for the show, starting from its inception on 1 January 1964, and worked together as producers. This partnership continued until 1969, after which Mel Cornish took over from Stewart. Dorfman continued as the director and producer of the series until 1971, during which he directed 156 episodes over a six-year period. Following this, he transitioned into the role of executive producer for an additional five years.

Through his work on Top of the Pops, Dorfman established himself as a pioneer in the music video industry. To accommodate the numerous anticipated top 20 acts on the chart each week, Dorfman and Stewart introduced the concept of pre-recorded music videos, then referred to as "promotional films" or "filmed inserts". One of the earliest notable examples was a video Dorfman directed in October 1964 for Roy Orbison's "Oh Pretty Woman". This practice allowed the show to feature acts even if they could not physically be there due to tour schedules. An example of such an act was The Beatles, who would often pre-record exclusive videos for their songs.

By 1970, Top of the Pops had solidified the importance of music videos as a tool for promoting new releases and emerging acts. Dorfman, with his significant influence on the show's content, was considered capable of making or breaking a music group. His pivotal role in expanding the show's format cemented Top of the Pops as a top-rated program on the BBC and the premier platform for launching new music during that period.

In Concert (British TV series)

Main article: In Concert (British TV series)

Dorfman created the television series In Concert, which he directed and produced from its inception until 1974. The series followed the success of Dorfman's television special, Leonard Cohen sings Leonard Cohen, Cohen's debut television concert. Dorfman conceptualized to showcase modern popular music as a fusion of blues, jazz, classical, and folk. According to Melody Maker, Dorfman introduced artists such as Leonard Cohen, Randy Newman, James Taylor, David Gates, Chuck Berry, Joni Mitchell, Kris Kristofferson and Harry Nilsson, and his choices were not governed by the artists' chart positions. As such, the series played a pivotal role in establishing singer-songwriters as capable of carrying an entire television episode without any distractions. In Never a dull moment: 1971—the year that rock exploded, British music journalist and author David Hepworth writes that a few singer-songwriters had performed sitting down prior to Dorfman's programs, and the shows presented more than just performances; they created an intimate atmosphere where the audience felt they were invited to eavesdrop. Dorman's contributions to the show were acknowledged in the British Press as having provided modern music with "its only serious outlet on TV" and elevating pop music to a cultural level.

In Concert episodes often marked significant firsts for the artists featured. This includes debut television or concert appearances, or instances where they unveiled new songs before their official release. For instance, Joni Mitchell performed "California" on an episode a year before its release on her album Blue, Elton John performed "Your Song" three days before its release which later became his first top ten hit in both the UK and the US, and Carole King performed her influential album Tapestry on an episode shortly after its release, gaining significant recognition. In Concert also served as a crucial platform for numerous other artists. The Carpenters were featured, as was Cat Stevens, who performed songs from his album Teaser and the Firecat on an episode three months before the album's official release. Another highlight was Neil Young's performance of songs that would appear a year later on his critically acclaimed album Harvest. Biographer Jimmy McDonough, in his biography Shakey: Neil Young's biography, referred to Dorfman's footage of Young as "the great visual document of the Harvest Period." The series also holds a special place in the career of Harry Nilsson. Despite his success as a recording artist, Nilsson rarely performed live. His appearance on In Concert stands as the only complete concert performance of his career, making it a unique piece of music history.

Other singer-songwriters who appeared on In Concert include Randy Newman, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, David Bowie, Harry Nilsson, Ravi Shankar, Bill Withers, Neil Diamond, Paul Williams, James Taylor, Al Green, Glen Campbell, Bobbie Gentry, James Taylor, Laura Nyro, Mary Travers, Jim Webb, Donovan, Ronnie Wood, John Denver, America, John Prine, John Williams, the Eagles, the Kinks, Buddy Rich, the Pointer Sisters, Gordon Lightfoot, Mason Williams, Martin Mull, and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Jonny Mercer, Stomu Yamash'ta, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Oscar Peterson, among others.

Between 1968 and 1974, Dorfman directed and produced over 200 episodes of In Concert. The Guardian hailed the series as the only music television program that "produced television ideas" and is "a clear demonstration of what we are missing elsewhere". As of 2023, episodes of In Concert continue to air on BBC networks.

In Concert (American TV series)

In 1974, six years into Dorfman directing and producing his single singer-songwriter-per-episode series In Concert at the BBC, Dick Clark asked him to direct an American series featuring rock acts, which was also called In Concert, for ABC Television Center, which led Dorfman to relocate to Los Angeles. Clark had previously envisaged the show's format to highlight a number of rock acts per episode, but Dorfman simplified it to mirror his UK series by featuring only one act each episode. Episodes directed by Dorfman included performances by Black Sabbath, Electric Light Orchestra, David Bowie, Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt, Steve Miller Band, Barry White, Ray Stevens, Tammy Wynette, Bo Diddley, Chet Atkins, James Brown, and many others.

Happening for Lulu

Main article: Happening for Lulu

Dorfman was the director and producer of the television series Happening for Lulu, a series of programs of music and comedy broadcast in a prime slot on the BBC between 1968 and 1969. The series was hosted by Scottish singer Lulu and featured guest performances by prominent musicians like the Beatles, comedians, and dancers. It was filmed weekly before a live studio audience of about 100 people.

Before 1978, the BBC did not have a formal policy for archiving footage and routinely wiped and reused tapes to create additional storage space. Consequently, the only surviving footage of Happening for Lulu features Jimi Hendrix's appearance on the show in January 1969, considered by Time magazine as one of his most memorable moments.

On the day of the recording, the band Cream had just announced their disbandment. According to bass player Noel Redding's autobiography, he, Hendrix, and drummer Mitch Mitchell arrived at the studio and decided to smoke some hash in their dressing room. When they accidentally dropped the hash down the drain, they persuaded a BBC maintenance worker to dismantle the drain to retrieve it.

During the show, Hendrix interrupted a performance of Hey Joe to dedicate a song to Cream. He then performed an extended, impassioned instrumental of the Cream classic "Sunshine of Your Love". He played for so long that Dorfman had to pull him off the air. Despite the apparent chaos this caused on set, Redding recounted that the segment became one of the band's most frequently used pieces of film. Contrary to popular legend suggesting that Hendrix was banned from the BBC for life, Redding clarified that Dorfman appreciated their performance and even invited them for a drink afterwards. Dorfman later described Hendrix as a quiet and kind person, unaware that he'd done anything wrong. Although Hendrix passed away the following year, his performance on Happening for Lulu remains a significant moment in rock and roll history.

Dusty

In the late 1960s, Dorfman played a crucial role in bringing the talent of Dusty Springfield to television. In 1967 and 1968, he directed and produced two TV series for the British pop star, known as Dusty (also referred to as The Dusty Springfield Show), making it one of the first shows of its kind to be hosted by a female performer.

Dorfman opted for a straightforward format for the show, focusing on Springfield's performances without the inclusion of sketches or gimmicks. Springfield was backed by a thirty-two-piece orchestra, directed by accompanied by Johnny Pearson, a collaborator of Dorfman from their time together on Top of the Pops. Accompanying Springfield with backing vocals were soul singer Madeline Bell, who later became a member of Blue Mink, Lesley Duncan who provided vocals to Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon, and Maggie Stredder, founding member of the Ladybirds. The BBC commissioned a second series of Dusty, introducing special guests who often appeared in non-musical appearances, including Warren Mitchell and the then-rising American comedian Woody Allen. Unfortunately, due to the common practice at the time of reusing tapes for storage purposes, all of the original tapes of Dusty Springfield's BBC show were erased in the 1970s.

In the following years, the BBC attempted to retrieve the erased recordings from overseas stations where the series had been sold. This effort resulted in the recovery of several tapes, including three from the first series and all six from the second series. These retrieved recordings were subsequently released by the BBC on a DVD entitled Dusty Springfield Live at the BBC.

Once More With Felix and The Julie Felix Show

Dorfman also directed and produced Once More With Felix, the first color television series entirely dedicated to a female performer, which aired on the newly established BBC2. The series established Julie Felix as one of the top television performers in the United Kingdom. Dorfman also produced and directed the successor to Once More With Felix, titled The Julie Felix Show. Both series encompassed a broad range of genres such as folk jazz, folk pop, protest songs, and occasional poetry. Felix's performances on these shows were accompanied by renowned and emerging talent of the era. This included musicians like Billy Preston, the Kinks, Tim Buckley, the Hollies, the Incredible String Band, Fleetwood Mac, and the Four Tops, as well as comedians like Peter Cook and Spike Milligan. Led Zeppelin lead guitarist Jimmy Page gave a rare solo performance, playing "White Summer" and "Black Mountain Side".

The BBC wiped most of the master tapes of the series. As a result, only selected excerpts of varying quality remain, which can be found on platforms like YouTube. Despite the loss of much of the original footage, a few memorable segments survive. These include Felix's duets with Leonard Cohen, marking his television debut, and a segment in which Felix joins the Incredible String Band in singing and playing guitar on their song "Paintbox".

The Bobbie Gentry Show

In 1968, after featuring folk singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry on an episode of his series In Concert, Dorfman produced and directed the television series Bobbie Gentry, making Gentry the first female songwriter to front a series on the BBC network. Bobbie Gentry was broadcast from 1968 to 1971. The series featured musicians from the Mississippi countryside, as well as guests such as Glen Campbell, James Taylor, Randy Newman, Elton John, Alan Price, Billy Preston, and Pan's People. John Cameron was the music arranger and Flick Colby was the choreographer. Bobbie Gentry garnered widespread recognition and was syndicated globally. In 1970, Dorfman and Gentry were engaged to be married.

Sounds for Saturday

In 1972, Dorfman created, directed, and produced the series Sounds for Saturday, the first jazz music television series on the BBC. Each 55 minute episode showcased a leading artist of the day from the world of jazz and featured a single artist, and afforded American soul artists with their first serious platform in the UK, and illustrating how varied music was becoming. The series aired weekly, and included episodes featuring Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, Johnny Dankworth, the Count Basie Orchestra, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Oscar Peterson, Richie Havens, the 5th Dimension, Jan Hammer, Thelma Houston, Roberta Flack, Harry James and His Orchestra, Doris Troy, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich, Alan Price, Kenny Wheeler, Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Harry James, Osibisa, Rick Laird, Herbie Flowers, John Lewis, and many others.

Mary: Rhymes and Reasons

In 1972, Dorfman directed and produced the television series Mary: Rhymes and Reasons, which first broadcast on the BBC on 20 August 1972. The series was hosted by the American singer-songwriter Mary Travers, who was known for being in the 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. The series consisted of six episodes and explored "living and loving through song and conversation". Special guests included comedians Spike Milligan and Peter Cook, actor and screenwriter Colin Welland, and singer-songwriters Georgia Brown, Don McLean, and Paul Williams.

The Jack Jones Show

In 1973, when the American double Grammy Award winning singer and actor Jack Jones signed on to do The Jack Jones Show for the BBC, he stipulated that it should be produced by Dorfman, who directed and produced the series between 1973 and 1978. Hosted by Jones, the show featured the British female dance troupe Pan's People and vocal backing by the Ladybirds. Special guests included: the Welsh singer Shirley Bassey, American conductor, keyboard player and musicologist Joshua Rifkin, the American jazz saxophonist Stan Getz, American musician Bruce Johnston, British pop artist Allen Jones, and American actor Martin Mull, the American lyricist, songwriter, singer and record executive Johnny Mercer, the English jazz singer and actress Cleo Laine, the American jazz and classical singer Sarah Vaughn, and others.

The John Denver Show

Dorfman played a significant role in the early television career of John Denver, an American singer-songwriter. In 1973, Dorfman produced and directed The John Denver Show, which aired on the BBC. At the time, Denver was just making a name for himself in America. His manager Jerry Weintraub, took a calculated risk by agreeing to a series of shows in England under Dorfman's direction, potentially foregoing income from personal appearances in the United States.

Denver first appeared on the Mary Travers episode of Dorfman's In Concert series, prior to Dorfman inviting him to have his own In Concert episode. This eventually led to the creation of The John Denver Show.

By 1974, Denver had become one of America's top-selling performers, and his popularity continued to surge. His involvement in television and the recording of multiple RCA albums, in conjunction with his ongoing hit songs and performances in larger venues, led to a significant increase in his fan base. Dorfman's guidance and the platform he provided helped Denver hone his skills and build confidence in his on-camera presence, proving invaluable in Denver's later television appearances.

Television Specials

Pop Go The Sixties!

Main article: Pop Go The Sixties

In 1969, Dorfman directed Pop Go The Sixties! (also known as Pop Go The 60s!), a 75-minute television special celebrating the decade's significant pop hits. Co-produced with Johnnie Stewart, his collaborator on Top of the Pops, the show had a similar aesthetic and style. Featured artists included the Who, Adam Faith, the Bachelors, Sandie Shaw, the Marmalade, the Kinks, the Hollies, Tom Jones, the Rolling Stones, Cilla Black, the Shadows, Cliff Richard, the Beatles, and Dusty Springfield, among others. Pop Go The Sixties! was a co-production between the BBC and West Germany's ZDF. It first aired in color on the BBC on 31 December 1969, and subsequently on ZDF and other European stations under different titles. The end titles were presented in both English and German. Despite re-airing on BBC Four and the Yesterday channel, more recent broadcasts often exclude the Beatles' performances due to rights changes.

Sinatra in Concert at Royal Festival Hall

On 16 November 1970, Dorfman also produced and directed Sinatra In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall for television. Frank Sinatra, introduced by Grace Kelly and accompanied by jazz pianist Bill Miller and drummer Irving Cottler, requested a camera to always be focused on his face. Dorfman implemented this method in all his future productions. Sinatra In Concert was broadcast in the UK on BBC on 22 November 1970, and on CBS in America on 4, February 1971 . Sinatra's respect for Dorfman was evident when he insisted on Dorfman being seated beside him during a dinner at Kensington Palace.

On 22 November, Dorfman produced and directed Night of Nights, featuring Bob Hope, and introduced by Noël Coward.

Led Zeppelin – Live At The Royal Albert Hall

In 1970, Dorfman was hired by Led Zeppelin to direct of their performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Dorfman brought on Peter Whitehead, a cameraman who had worked for him on Top of the Pops, and together, using handheld Bolex cameras, they filmed the concert on 16 mm film. Dorfman and Whitehead later edited the footage together.

This footage was eventually released in 2003 as Disc One of the Led Zeppelin DVD, which became RIAA certified 13 times multi-platinum that year and is considered the best-selling music DVD in history. In 2022, Led Zeppelin released three official music videos featuring this footage: "How Many More Times", "Dazed and Confused", and "What Is and What Should Never Be."

The Carpenters

In October 1971, Dorfman produced and directed a taped studio concert titled The Carpenters In Concert (a.k.a. Carpenters: Live at the BBC), featuring the American musical duo Karen and Richard Carpenter. This was the Carpenter's first television special. The US audience would have to wait five more years later before a special titled The Carpenters' Very First TV Special was aired. The Carpenters In Concert first aired on BBC1 on 6 November 1971. The concert was later broadcast for American audiences on VH-1. However, due to the inclusion of commercial breaks and time constraints, several songs were omitted from the broadcast. These songs included "And When He Smiles", "That on the Road Look", "Lust for Earl and the Married Woman", and "I Fell in Love with You".

Harry Nilsson: A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night

In March 1973, Dorfman directed and produced the BBC television special Harry Nilsson: A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night. The show, which first aired on 10 June 1973, on BBC Two, coincided with Nilsson's album recording of the same name at Wembley Studios in London. Dorfman, who was watching the album recording in progress, persuaded Nilsson to recreate the recording session as a television special by the same name. After observing the recording session, Dorfman convinced Nilsson to replicate it as a TV special.

The title came from a Shakespeare quote from Henry V Act IV, "Behold, as may unworthiness define, A little touch of Harry in the night," adapted at Dorfman's suggestion by replacing "Harry" with "Schmilsson", referring to Nilsson's prior album, Nilsson Schmilsson. The special was filmed in a single take, featuring Nilsson at the center of an orchestra at BBC Television Theatre, rather than in a booth. In 1994, Mojo magazine asserted, "There has been nothing better on music TV since." Notably, this TV special was one of Nilsson's rare television appearances and the only full concert he performed in his career.

Live Concert Broadcasts

Eric Clapton & Friends - The A.R.M.S. Benefit Concert

In 1983, Dorfman directed the television special of Eric Clapton & Friends - The A.R.M.S. Benefit Concert, held at London's Royal Albert Hall on 20 September. The concert was organized by Faces bassist Ronnie Lane to fundraise for A.R.M.S. (Action into Research for Multiple Sclerosis) and marked a turning point in Jimmy Page's career following the loss of drummer John Bonham and the disbandment of Led Zeppelin. Historically depicted as pop "rivals" Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Jeff Beck rarely collaborated with each other. However, at this concert, they each performed solo sets before joining as a supergroup for some of Clapton's songs. Other performers included the Rolling Stones' Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, Andy Fairweather Low, Steve Winwood, and the Faces' Kenney Jones.

The Paris Concert for Amnesty International: The Struggle Continues

In 1998, Dorfman directed the three-hour television special of The Struggle Continues, a human rights concert in Paris supporting Amnesty International, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization. The concert took place at Bercy Stadium on 10 December 1998, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The concert showcased performances from acclaimed artists including Bruce Springsteen, Peter Gabriel, Radiohead, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, Tracy Chapman, Alanis Morissette, and Shania Twain. World leaders like the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela spoke about human rights. The event was broadcast via pay-per-view in the U.S. in 1999 and released on DVD in 2013.

Woodstock '94

In 1994, Dorfman directed the televised coverage of the Woodstock '94 music festival, also known as Woodstock '94. The event was broadcast live on MTV via pay-per-view in the U.S. and Canada from Friday 12–14 August, in Saugerties, N.Y. The festival celebrated the 25th anniversary of the original 1969 Woodstock and was marketed as "Two More Days of Peace & Music". 250,000 tickets were available.

Over the three days, fifty bands and special guests played on two stages. Dorfman directed the performances on the main North stage, using the early analog HD 1125-line Hi-Vision system in a 16:9 aspect ratio. Artists on this stage included Sheryl Crow, Nine Inch Nails, Metallica, Aerosmith, Cypress Hill, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bob Dylan, among others. The footage was used for a theatrical documentary about the event, and HD footage was mixed live into standard definition 4:3 NTSC for cable TV broadcast.

Woodstock '99

In 1999, Dorfman directed the television coverage of the Woodstock 1999 music festival, also called Woodstock '99, for MTV. The festival was broadcast live on pay-per-view and was held from 22 July – 25 July 1999. The location for the event was the former Griffiss Air Force Base, a Superfund site, on the east side of Rome, New York.

Woodstock '99 was one of the most significant music events of the 20th century, featuring over 100 top artists of that era. With an attendance of approximately 400,000 people, it was the second large-scale music festival held after Woodstock '94. The festival was financially successful, with reports indicating a gross take of $28,864,748".

Dorfman directed the televised performances on the main "East stage". The line up included a mix of rock, pop, and hip-hop artists such as Sheryl Crow, Live, James Brown, DMX, Korn, Kid Rock, Alanis Morissette, Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Dave Matthews Band, Willie Nelson, Elvis Costello, Jewel, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, among others.

Despite the star-studded line-up and financial success, Woodstock '99 has been described as "notorious" and "a flashpoint in cultural nadir". This description likely stems from the numerous reports of violence, sexual assault, and inadequate provisions for attendees, leading to chaotic and unsafe conditions that marred the festival's legacy.

Music videos

In 1977, Dorfman directed the music videos for David Bowie's songs "Heroes'" and "Be My Wife", both iconic tracks in Bowie's discography. The latter, "Be My Wife," was notably Bowie's first music video since Mick Rock's creations during the Ziggy Stardust era.

David Bowie: "Be My Wife"

"Be My Wife" was released as the second and final single from the seminal album Low on 17 June 1977, in the UK. This album heralded the start of Bowie's critically lauded Berlin Trilogy, a series of albums that solidified his status as an influential figure in the music industry.

The music video, shot in Paris, is characterized by a minimalist aesthetic, set against a stark white background in an empty room, Bowie's performance in the video conveys oscillates between nonchalance and anguish, striking a delicate balance between the two. His mannerisms and make up in the video may have been influenced by the renowned comic Buster Keaton, whom Bowie deeply admired.

In his book The Complete David Bowie, Nicholas Pegg observes that Bowies make up is reminiscent of Joel Grey's Emcee character in the 1972 Berlin-based film Cabaret. The video both draws on and deliberately contradicts Bowies previous, more extravagant personas, marking a significant shift in his artistic expression. Despite its innovative concept and execution, the video was scarcely seen in the UK at the time of its release in 1977 due to limited distribution. Over the years, alternative edits of the video have circulated among collectors.

David Bowie: "Heroes"

In 1977, Dorfman directed the music video for one of Bowie's most famous, covered, and licensed songs, "'Heroes". The video is shot primarily in a dark room, with Bowie being silhouetted and bathed by a foggy luminescent light, creating a dramatic aesthetic that persists almost from beginning to end. Nicholas Pegg draws parallels between this video and Liza Minnelli's performance of "Maybe This Time" in the movie Cabaret. In his book I'm Not a Film Star: David Bowie as Actor, Ian Dixon suggests that Dorfman made "conscious cinematic references" to films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Marlon Brando's performance in The Wild One, and the representation of the Hindu Goddess Parvati. However, a 2016 Pitchfork article notes that Dorfman's "'Heroes'" video predates the release of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, making "the similarity with key shots from that film all the more remarkable".

There was initially some confusion around the directorship of the "Heroes" video, with some attributions made to Nicholas Ferguson, including in Pegg's book The Complete David Bowie. However, Pegg later clarified on his blog Guts of a Beggar, that Dorfman was indeed the director. This was confirmed by the David Bowie archive in 2008 when the complete works of David Bowie's music videos were gifted to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), naming Dorfman as the sole director.

In 2008, the "Heroes" music video was included in the MoMA exhibition Looking at Music, curated by Barbara London and Thurston Moore. This selection contributed to a David Bowie retrospective at the museum. In 2022, the British Film Institute (BFI) showcased Dorfman's video and a compilation of alternative edits in a David Bowie special edition of their series, "BUG: The Evolution of Music Video," further testament to its enduring impact and relevance in the realm of music videos.

David Bowie: "Sense of Doubt"

In 1977, Dorfman directed an as-yet-unreleased video for Bowie's expressionistic piano-driven song "Sense of Doubt," a track from Side B of his "'Heroes'" album. The video shows a visual continuity with the "Heroes" video, featuring Bowie in the same bomber jacket and appearing to have been filmed on the same set.

The creative process for the video was influenced by Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies, a deck of oracle cards that Eno designed in conjunction with painter Peter Schmidt. Subtitled "Over One Hundred Worthwhile Dilemmas", these cards were used to stimulate creativity and challenge conventional thinking, guiding artists to consider their work from new perspectives. They served as an inspiration in the crafting of the "Sense of Doubt" video, contributing to its experimental and innovative nature.

Blondie: "Heart of Glass"

In 1979, Dorfman directed the music video for Blondie's song "Heart of Glass", a song that became the band's first chart-topper. The video begins with night-time scenes of New York City featuring an infrared shot of the World Trade Center, before shifting to the band's on-stage performance beneath a disco ball. Jess Harvell, in his review of the Greatest Hits: Sound & Vision DVD for Pitchfork, noted that even though owning a personal copy of 'Heart of Glass' might not seem as cool anymore "there's the always luminous Deborah Harry, who would give boiling asparagus an erotic charge, all while looking too bored to live." Contrary to popular belief, despite the brief appearance of the iconic Studio 54 in the music video, the actual filming took place at a now-defunct establishment known as the Copa. The video unfolds with a mix of intimate close-ups of lead vocalist Debbie Harry and mid-distance shots of the band's performance.

The video received widespread acknowledgment for its distinct style and sex appeal. In 1979, Richard Cromelin from Los Angeles Times wrote, "'Death to Disco' T-shirts weren't an uncommon sight among the new wave audience that formed Blondie's first base of support. But, as it turns out, it's disco that's given life to Blondie." The music news site Stereogum included "Heart of Glass" in their list of the top 40 videos played on MTV's first day, ranking it at number 6. They described it as "an abject lesson in sex appeal", even though "nothing really happens in the nearly four minutes that elapse". Insider also recognized the video as one of the most iconic music video looks of all time.

John Lennon: "Grow Old With Me"

In 1984, Dorfman directed the music video for John Lennon's song "Grow Old with Me", one of the final songs written by Lennon. The video featured home movies of Lennon and Yoko Ono walking in Central Park, Lennon dancing, and other intimate moments from Lennon's personal film archive.

Ringo Starr: "Only You (And You Alone)", Goodnight Vienna

In 1974, while Dorfman was not working full-time for the BBC anymore, he was increasingly creating promotional films for music albums. At the suggestion of John Lennon, Ringo Starr recorded of the 1955 hit, "Only You (And You Alone)", a song originally popularized by The Platters. This track was released on Starr's studio album Goodnight Vienna.

In mid-November, Dorfman was engaged to produce and direct a television commercial for Ringo Starr's Goodnight Vienna album and a music video for his song "Only You (And You Alone)". Dorfman chose the rooftop of the Capitol Records Building in Los Angeles, known for its distinct resembling a stack of discs, as the shooting location for both the commercial and the music video.

The music video extended the narrative from the commercial, depicting Starr's spacecraft landing on the building. Starr, wearing a spacesuit, boards the spacecraft before it takes off over the city. John Lennon, who played the acoustic guitar on the recording, provided a voiceover for this scene. The video featured appearances from Harry Nilsson, and Keith Moon, who can be seen dancing and leaping on the building's sloping roof. Dorfman arranged for lasers to shoot beams of light from a nearby building, illuminated Starr's spacesuit.

A lightweight flying saucer and a forty-foot robot were placed on the building, as Starr and Nilsson, the latter wearing a brown dressing robe, was sitting in a rocking chair and casually smoking a cigarette while reading the morning's Los Angeles Times. At street level, an orange-clad marching band and forty actors, who had previously portrayed Munchkins in The Wizard of Oz danced.

Harry Nilsson: Duit On Mon Dei

In October 1974, Dorfman directed and produced a promotional film for Harry Nilsson's album Duit on Mon Dei, which was released in 1975. The film included an appearance by Ringo Starr who played on the album track "Kojak Columbo". Starr's appearance was a return favor to Nilsson's participation in Starr's spaceship film for his album, Goodnight Vienna, which Dorfman had also directed.

Dorfman created the video for "Kojak Columbo" at a significantly lower cost than Starr's Goodnight Vienna production, due to a bet Nilsson had made with RCA. Nilsson had wagered that he could produce the company's cheapest video for $5,000. If RCA didn't consider it the best video they had ever seen, the bet would be off. However, if they thought it was their best, they would triple the television airtime for "Kojak Columbo".

Nilsson's idea was to demonstrate his basketball skills, honed in his teenage years, by attempting a mid-court shot on an NBA basketball court. Ringo Starr, the sole audience member sitting high in the bleachers, agreed to applaud if Nilsson succeeded. Starr, situated high up in the empty auditorium, called out to Dorfman to film the first shot, knowing Nilsson's knack for spontaneous performances. Nilsson, pretending to be a lost tourist, entered the court, picked up the ball, dribbled to the sideline, and released the shot. He made it on the first take, but Dorfman, unaware of Starr's call, did not capture the shot. While Nilsson's next twenty-two attempts were unsuccessful, he came close, hitting the rim of the basket on eighteen occasions. The Los Angeles Forum had allowed the video to be filmed there for $800 for three hours, after hearing about Nilsson's bet with RCA. As time was running out, Nilsson made the shot again, but by this time Ringo Starr had fallen asleep. The final film features a single, uninterrupted sequence of Nilsson's shot taking a full eight seconds to land perfectly in the net as Starr sleeps in the bleachers. The final score "Nilsson 1: RCA 0" is displayed on the scoreboard. Dorfman managed to complete the entire production for $3,000, winning Nilsson's bet. However, although RCA had promised to triple the airtime for "Kojak Columbo", Nilsson later discovered they had not fulfilled their commitment when he requested the viewing figures.

Painting

In 1946, Dorfman was awarded a scholarship to the École des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris, where he studied painting and fresco. In 1954, he settled in the artist colony of St Ives in Cornwall, England, where he worked as a studio assistant to the prominent English artist and sculptor Dame Barbara Hepworth, and continued to develop his own art.

Dorfman was a member of the Penwith Society of Arts, a group that sought to explore new artistic directions beyond the confines of the traditional St Ives Society of Artists. This society became a centre for modern and abstract developments in British art from the 1940s to the 1960s. His early paintings are characterized by hard-edged abstraction, vibrant flat colors, and evocative titles like "Vertical St. Ives (Paul)," "Blue and Brown Study," and "Composition with Four Rectangles." One of his notable works from 1954, "Across the Bay", showcases abstracted hard-edge waves. Dorfman's work was exhibited alongside work from fellow abstract artists such as Barbara Hepworth, Ben Nicholson, Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, Paul Feiler, Sir Terry Frost, Patrick Heron, Roger Hilton, and Bryan Wynter, and members of the Crypt Group like Peter Lanyon and Sven Berlin.

Following a successful career as a television director and producer, Dorfman redirected his focus towards painting in 1996. His later works took on a more lyrical and painterly quality, often drawing inspiration from music. Examples of this inspiration are seen in works titled "Good Vibrations", "La Bamba" and "Imagine." Dorfman exhibits his paintings at The Lodge gallery in Los Angeles.

Personal life

Dorfman has two sons. He relocated to Los Angeles in 1974. Dorfman has been in a long-term relationship with actress and model Barbara Flood for over forty years. The couple were featured by Nowness in the documentary short Barbara and Stanley: A Modern Romance, directed by Rachel Fleit.

Filmography

Television series

  • Top of the Pops – Creator, Director, Producer (1968 -1974)
  • In Concert (BBC Series) – Creator, Director, Producer (1970-1974)
  • Sounds for Saturday – Creator, Director, Producer (1972)
  • In Concert (American TV series) – Director (1974-1976)
  • BBC Show of the Week – Director, Producer (1968 -1971)
  • The Bobbie Gentry Show – Director, Producer (1968 -1971)
  • Dusty: with Dusty Springfield – Director, Producer (1966-1667)
  • The Jack Jones Show – Director (1973-1978)
  • Mary: Rhymes and Reasons – Director, Producer (1972)
  • Julie Felix – Director, Producer (1970)
  • Once More with Felix – Producer (1967–1968)
  • Happening For Lulu – Director, Producer (1968 -1969)
  • Brewhouse Jazz – Director (1993)
  • The Talk of the Town: Glen Campbell – Producer (1972)
  • The Talk of the Town: Nancy Wilson – Producer (1972)
  • The Price of Fame or Fame at any Price – Producer (1969–1970)
  • Peter Sarstedt – Producer (1969)
  • The Roy Castle Show – Director (1965)
  • They Sold a Million – Producer (1973)
  • The Black and White Minstrel Show – Production Designer (1959–1963)
  • The Dick Emery Show – Production Designer (1963)
  • Comedy Playhouse – Production Designer (1963)
  • The Country and Western Show – Production Designer (1963)
  • The Charlie Chester Music Hall – Production Designer (1961)
  • It's a Square World – Production Designer (1961)
  • Be My Guest – Production Designer (1961)
  • Showtime – Production Designer (1960)
  • Crackerjack! – Production Designer (1959)

Television specials

  • Woodstock '99 – Director (1999)
  • Woodstock '94 – Director (1994)
  • Frank Sinatra: In Concert at the Royal Festival Hall – Director (1970)
  • Pop Go the Sixties! – Director (1969)
  • Leonard Cohen sings Leonard Cohen – Director, Producer (1968)
  • Elton John: In Concert – Director, Producer (1970)
  • The Carpenters Director (1971)
  • Rock Masters: Neil Young in Concert – Director, Producer (1971)
  • Rock Masters: Cat Stevens in Concert – Director, Producer (1971)
  • A Little Touch of Schmilsson in the Night – Director, Producer (1973)
  • Richie Havens in Concert Director, Producer (1974)
  • Giselle (Ballet) – Rudolf Nureyev – Director, Producer (1979)
  • Linda Ronstadt in Concert – Director, Producer (1980)
  • Eric Clapton & friends: The A.R.M.S. benefit concert from London – Director (1984)
  • Cinemax Sessions:Chet Atkins: Certified Guitar Player – Director (1986)
  • Chet Atkins And Friends, Music From The Heart – Director (1987)
  • Dizzy Gillespie Live at the Royal Festival Hall – Director (1989)
  • Wolf Trap Presents Victor Borge: An 80th Birthday Celebration – Director, Producer (1990)
  • Kitaro: An Enchanted Evening – Director (1995)
  • The Kennedy Center Presents: A Tribute to Muddy Waters: King of the Blues – Director (1998)
  • The 13th Annual Genesis Awards – Director (1999)
  • The Paris Concert for Amnesty International – Director (1999)
  • George Benson: Absolutely Live – Director (2000)
  • The 15th Annual Genesis Awards – Director (2001)
  • Bruce Hornsby & Friends Director (2004)
  • Sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Director (1981)
  • An Evening with Robert Helpmann – Production Designer (1963)
  • An Evening with Nat King Cole – Production Designer (1963)
  • Meet Sammy Davis Jr. – Production Designer (1963)

Music videos

DVD & Video

  • Led Zeppelin DVD – Director, Live at the Royal Albert Hall footage (1970)
  • Dusty Springfield: Live at the BBC – Director (2007)
  • Blondie: Video Hits Director (2005)
  • Glen Campbell In Concert (2002)
  • Dizzy Gillespie and the United Nations Orchestra: Live at the Royal Festival Hall – Director (1989)
  • Jefferson Starship: The Definitive Concert – Director (1984)
  • Bowie – The Video Collection Director (1983)
  • Gillespie Dizzy Dream Band Jazz America – Director (1982)
  • George Winston: Seasons in Concert – Director (1996)
  • GRP All-Stars: Live from the Record Plant – Director, Producer (1985)
  • Lee Ritenour & Dave Grusin Live from the Record Plant – Director, Producer (1985)
  • Lee Ritenour Live – Director (1984)
  • Water's Path – Director (1984)

Movies

  • A Life in the Blues: Charles Brown Director (1990)
  • Volunteer Jam – Director (1976)
  • Blast! Director (2000)
  • The Yeomen of the Guard – Director, Producer (1979)
  • Swingers' Paradise – Production Designer (1964)
  • Pan's People in Concert – Producer (1974)
  • Crystal Cave – Producer (1996)
  • Night of Nights – Director (1970)
  • Pop Go the Sixties! – Director (1969)
  • The Brockenstein Affair – Production Designer (1962)

Documentaries

  • Ringo Starr Going Home – Director, Producer (1993)
  • Top of the Pops: The True Story (2001) – Self, Producer (1979)
  • The Music of Nilsson – Producer (1971)
  • John Denver: Country Boy – Self (2013)
  • Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?) – Self (2010)
  • Legends – Self (2008)

References

  1. ^ Riefe, Jordan (11 February 2016). "Music Video Pioneer Stanley Dorfman Recalls Bowie, Sinatra and Lennon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 June 2023. 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.
  2. ^ "The man who put polish into pop". United Kingdom: Evening Standard. 23 June 1973. p. 15. Retrieved 23 June 2023 – via newspapers.com. 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.
  3. "Giselle". NYPL Digital Collections. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  4. "Meet the team behind the glitz". Times Colonist. 2 December 1994. p. 49. Retrieved 25 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com. 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.
  5. Radel, CZliff (30 May 1984). "Audience benefits in fundraiser Show". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 67. Retrieved 23 June 2023. 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.
  6. ^ "the-paris-concert-for-amnesty-international". Archived from the original on 3 June 2016.
  7. ^ Power, Martin (2016). "Chapter 21: The Song Remains The Same". No Quarter: The Three Lives of Jimmy Page. London, UK : Overlook Omnibus. p. 316. ISBN 978-1-4683-1214-0.
  8. ^ "No ordinary rock concert: Watch Led Zeppelin's 1970 Hall debut". www.royalalberthall.com. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
  9. Posner, Michael (2020). Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-5262-8. I talked to my producer Stanley Dorfman, and asked him if Leonard could be on the show. He was Jewish too, so there was a kinship there.
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  14. ^ Budd, Christopher (2 August 2018). "Stanley Dorfman". SHINDIG! Magazine. Sliverback Publishing. pp. Issue 82. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  15. ^ Haben, Amy (15 April 2019). "Stanley Dorfman: Top of the Pops and Beyond". Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  16. Thomas, Deborah (3 June 1974). "Mr. Music quits BBC". Daily Mirror. p. 24. Retrieved 20 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com. The man they call Mr. Music is leaving the BBC after fifteen years. Stanley Dorfman, 46, acclaimed as one of the world's greatest musical TV directors and producers..." " Mr. Dorfman has persuaded today's young talent, such John, as Elton John, Harry Nilsson and Joni Mitchell, to perform on his prestige TV music shows. And he has provided modern music with its only serious outlet on TV with his 'In Concert' series.
  17. Connolly, Ray (23 June 1973). "The man who put polish into pop". Evening Standard. p. 15. Retrieved 23 June 2023 – via newspapers.com. Then when BBC-2 started and there were opportunities for new producers and directors he found his way into production working first on Top of the Pops and then setting up the now highly prestigious In Concert series.
  18. ^ Humphries, Patrick (2013). "Stanley Dorfman - Top of the Pops Co-creator, Producer, and Director". Top of the Pops: 50th Anniversary (First ed.). New York: McNidder & Grace. pp. xi, xii (Introduction). ISBN 9780857160522 – via Internet Archive.
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  22. ^ Shipton, Alyn (2013). Nilsson : the life of a singer-songwriter. Internet Archive. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-19-975657-5 – via Internet Archive. This was the South-African-born painter Stanley Dorfman who had graduated from design and art direction to become one of Britain's leading pop music television producers. He and Johnnie Stewart made the weekly show Top of the Pops from Manchester during the years when Samantha Juste starred on the program. He had also produced series for Dusty Springfield and Lulu, the latter including Jimi Hendrix's infamous appearance when he went completely off-message, stopped "Hey Joe" in mid-performance, and launched into an impassioned tribute to Cream.
  23. ^ "Top Of The Pops: Are These The Two Most Frighteningly Powerful Men In Pop? Stanley Dorfman and Mel Cornish". NME (New Musical Express). 7 February 1970. Retrieved 8 June 2023 – via Rock's Backpages. Probably one in a thousand teenagers have the vaguest ideas who Mel Cornish and Stanley Dorfmann are, but in the pop record business they are two of THE most important men. Each week, millions of potential record-buyers watch Top Of The Pops, the influential show that is produced and directed by Mel and Stanley. They take it in turns to produce and direct, but each spend up to five days a week getting the show together.
  24. ^ Riefe, Jordan (11 February 2016). "Music Video Pioneer Stanley Dorfman Recalls Bowie, Sinatra and Lennon". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 24 June 2023. Behind the camera, the director's tenure parallels the seismic shift in the industry created by music videos, a minor bump for someone who pioneered the genre on Top of the Pops.
  25. Shipton, Alyn (2013). Nilsson: the life of a singer-songwriter. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 181. ISBN 978-0-19-975657-5 – via Internet Archive. In 1974, Dorfman was no longer working full-time for the BBC. Having pioneered several aspects of the music video for the Top of the Pops show in Britain, he was increasingly making promotional films for albums...
  26. Fremaux, Stephanie (2018). The Beatles on Screen: From Pop Stars to Musicians. New York: Bloomsbury Academic. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-5013-2713-1. Archived from the original on 26 March 2022. Retrieved 22 November 2020 – via Google Books.
  27. Simpson, Jeff (2002). Top of the Pops: 1964-2002: It's still Number One!. BBC Consumer Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 978-0563534761.
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  32. "Pop's top pair". Grimsby Telegraph. 27 February 1970. p. 5. Retrieved 3 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com. Cornish and Dorfman are more than pleased with the success of the show's facelift, but amused by the suggestion that they can make or break a new group.
  33. Shipton, Alyn (2013). Nilsson: the life of a singer-songwriter. Internet Archive. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-19-975657-5 – via Internet Archive. Dorfman's new project picked up on a couple of successful special shows he had made with Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, in which each of them sang a selection of their own material. The BBC encouraged him to feature more singer/songwriters such as Laura Nyro and Jimmy Webb, but rather than title each show after the name of the singer, as he had done with "Cohen sings Cohen,' he came up with the generic title In Concert.
  34. Connolly, Ray (23 June 1973). "The man who put polish into pop". Evening Standard. p. 15. Retrieved 23 June 2023 – via newspapers.com. Then when BBC-2 started and there were opportunities for new producers and directors he found his way into production working first on Top of the Pops and then setting up the now highly prestigious In Concert series.
  35. "The Huggett Family here Sunday". The Kingston Whig-Standard. 31 May 1974. p. 34. Retrieved 24 June 2023 – via Newspapers.com. His prolific output has attracted the attention of Britain's leading television producer Stanley Dorfman and the world's number one record producer, George Martin.
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  37. ^ Posner, Michael (20 October 2020). Leonard Cohen, Untold Stories: The Early Years. Simon and Schuster. p. 371. ISBN 978-1-9821-5263-5.
  38. Nadel, Ira Bruce (2007). Various positions: a life of Leonard Cohen. Internet Archive. Austin : University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-71732-9.
  39. Connolly, Ray (23 June 1973). "The man who put polish into pop". Evening Standard. p. 15. Retrieved 23 June 2023 – via newspapers.com. "I didn't know too much about pop before I began to work on Top of the Pops. Then I became very interested in writers and suggested that we did a series devoted to the song-writers who performed their own work." This series became In Concert. "The BBC give me complete freedom of choice for the In Concert shows," Dorfman explains. "The music we have isn't really pop as such. I suppose you could call it popular modern music. I'm very interested in the way it's developed out of other sorts of music—out of blues, jazz, classical music and folk music. It's a sort of synthesis."
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  41. Hepworth, David (2016). Never a dull moment: 1971--the year that rock exploded. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-62779-400-8 – via Internet Archive. Dorfman's was a format that framed the singer-songwriters of the time perfectly by allowing that they were interesting enough to be able to carry half an hour of TV time—inclusive of tuning up, unrehearsed patter, and mumbled asides, which were all part of the package—and flattered the audience by suggesting this music was worthy of the serious attention of adults like them. The deliberate modesty of the visual presentation was as important to the appeal of the music as the time-honored razzle-dazzle of Ike and Tina Turner had been to theirs.
  42. Hepworth, David (2016). Never a dull moment: 1971--the year that rock exploded. Internet Archive. New York: Henry Holt and Company. p. 149. ISBN 978-1-62779-400-8 – via Internet Archive. 'Cat Stevens Sings Cat Stevens' was a classic of the genre. Its title was classic Dorfman, underlining the small miracle that these talented, charismatic people were also self-sufficient. Stevens was accompanied by Alun Davies, the guitarist who worked closely with him through this period, and bass player/percussionist Larry Steele. Nothing proclaimed Stevens's membership in the new generation of singer-songwriters as powerfully as the fact that he performed sit- ting down, something few had done in the hectic decade in which he had first made his name. Like Carole King's performances of Tapestry, Stevens's BBC show seemed to be less a performance than a session to which the audience were invited to eavesdrop. In Dorfman's programs the audience were often seated behind the performers so that they could be seen only occasionally.
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