Early Life
Grant was born in the south London suburb of South Norwood, Surrey, England. His mother Dorothy worked as a secretary. He attended Sir Walter St John School in Grayshott before the Second World War, and completed his schooling at Charterhouse School in Godalming after the evacuation. After the war Grant returned to Norwood until leaving at the age of 13, when he became a sheet metal factory worker in Croydon. He left that job after a few weeks and obtained employment on Fleet Street delivering photographs for Reuters. Grant was soon attracted to the entertainment industry, and worked as a stagehand for the Croydon Empire Theatre until 1953, when he was called up for national service in the RAOC, reaching the rank of corporal. He worked briefly as an entertainment manager at a hotel in Jersey before being employed as a bouncer and doorman at London's famous The 2i's Coffee Bar, where Cliff Richard, Adam Faith, Tommy Steele and others got their start. Australian-born professional wrestler Paul Lincoln, who also co-owned the 2i's bar, suggested Grant appear on television and gave him the opportunity to wrestle under the titles "Count Massimo" and "Count Bruno Alassio of Milan," using his 6 ft 5 in frame to good effect. This kindled his enthusiasm for acting, and he was hired by film studios as a bit part actor, stuntman and body double.
Read more about this topic: Peter Grant (music Manager)
Famous quotes containing the words early life, early and/or life:
“... business training in early life should not be regarded solely as insurance against destitution in the case of an emergency. For from business experience women can gain, too, knowledge of the world and of human beings, which should be of immeasurable value to their marriage careers. Self-discipline, co-operation, adaptability, efficiency, economic management,—if she learns these in her business life she is liable for many less heartbreaks and disappointments in her married life.”
—Hortense Odlum (1892–?)
“We passed the Children’s Bureau bill calculated to prevent children from being employed too early in factories.”
—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)
“Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist—the only thing he’s good for—is to take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things, things that seem to be irreconcilable, and put them together in a frame to give them some kind of shape and meaning. Even if it’s only his view of a meaning. That’s what he’s for—to give his view of life.”
—Katherine Anne Porter (1890–1980)