Mr Lee Grant
| Mr Lee Grant | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Bogdan Kominowski |
| Born | 22 April 1945 |
| Origin | Polish |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Instruments | Vocals |
| Years active | 1964–1975 |
Bogdan Kominowski (born 22 April 1945) is a New Zealand pop star. As well as his birth name he is also known by the stage name Mr. Lee Grant. He has had a successful singing and acting career – starring in stage shows such as Jesus Christ Superstar, Elvis - The Musical, TV shows and the James Bond movie "A View to a Kill".
He was born in a Nazi concentration camp just outside Düsseldorf to Polish parents. His father was killed, but he and his mother survived and emigrated to New Zealand in 1949, settling in Palmerston North.
He left school in 1963 and enrolled at Palmerston North Teachers College. His first interest in music came when he joined a local band called the Cyclones.
A friend knew a DJ called Keith Richardson, who ran youth dances in the Hawkes Bay area, and he managed to get him some gigs there. Keith decided that Bogdan Kominowski was a bit of a handful. However, it was Sylvia Richardson, Keith's wife, who came up with a new name, Lee Grant (Ref: Never a Dull Moment by Keith Richardson – see p67 – this was an autobiography.) The Mr was added to avoid confusion with an Auckland actress Miss Lee Grant (there is also a US actress of that name).
Mr Lee Grant's first recording was "Doo-Doodle-Do-Doo"/"As Long As I Have You" on Viscount in 1965. To promote the record, he travelled to Auckland for an appearance on Teen Scene. It was while doing that show, he met reporter, Dianne Cadwallader. She decided to become his manager and groomed the 21-year-old as a presentable soloist. Dianne secured guest spots at Teenarama in Wellington and a recording contract with HMV. She had him dressed by a Wellington fashion mogul and he quickly became New Zealand's Mr. Mod. After two unsuccessful singles, Dianne managed to get him a spot on the hit New Zealand music show, C'Mon.
The producer, Kevin Moore, was impressed and contracted Mr. Lee Grant as resident vocalist on C'Mon. During 1966–67 he went on three brief tours around New Zealand as a support artist to the Sandy Edmonds, Roy Orbison, The Walker Brothers and The Yardbirds package. This gave him quite a high level of exposure by the time C'Mon kicked off in February 1967.
Towards the end of the first C'Mon series HMV released the single "Opportunity", which entered the National Charts at number 17. By the time Mr. Lee Grant had completed the Animals, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich tour five weeks later, "Opportunity" was at number one on the charts in May 1967.
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