Len Waldorf

At the age of 16 - presumably on the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939 - Len Waldorf lied about his age in order to join the Royal Air Force. On leaving the RAF he became a still photographer with Rank and afterwards transferred to the London Evening Standard. According to Terry Gallacher [qv], Len Waldorf was one of the Fleet Street cameramen recruited by Movietone to replace the newsreel men lost to television on the creation of ITN in September 1955 - another such recruit being Ken Taylor [qv]. Waldorf’s credits as cameraman start with ‘PREMIER AT BALMORAL’ in British Movietone News No.1374A of October 1955. Movietone sent Waldorf to Egypt to cover ‘U.N.O. TAKE OVER’ for No.1435A of December 1956, and he also covered events in Cyprus, from where he sent back reports ending with ‘BIG TERRORIST ROUND-UP’ in No.1448A of March 1957. Waldorf won the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica Award’ for his coverage of the first betting shop in ''I GOTTA SHOP’' in British Movietone News No.1665 of May 1961. Waldorf predominantly worked on domestic assignments, but in November 1961 he provided a series of reports from Accra, beginning with ‘THE ROYAL TOUR OF GHANA’ in No.1693. Waldorf’s last credit is for ‘PUBLIC SHARE POLICE MOURNING’ in No.1944 of September 1966. He afterwards became a freelance, and worked for NBC, CBS, ABC, ITN, and other television companies. Waldorf was described as ‘a quiet, unassuming and unflappable person who got on with everyone, and was guaranteed to bring back a good story.'

Sources

BUFVC, T. M. Gallacher, ‘Additional Notes,' October 1998: Dudley Plummer ‘Len Waldorf,' Stage Screen and Radio, December 1999/January 2000, p.26.