Madden was born in
Mogador, Morocco, the eldest of three children, all boys, of a British consular official, Archibald Maclean Madden
CMG, and his wife, Cecilia Catherine, daughter of Allen Page
née Moor. After being educated at French schools in Morocco, schools in Spain, and, in England, at
Dover College, he worked for the
Rio Tinto Group in Spain. On business trips and during his holidays he attended
Broadway productions and worked in theatres in Paris. In 1933 he joined the BBC, and was assigned to its talks department, for which he produced a series entitled
Anywhere for a News Story. He then produced the outside broadcasting spot on a popular Saturday evening programme,
In Town Tonight, before moving to the new Empire Service, the forerunner of the
BBC World Service, as a senior producer.
Radio Times commented the following year, "A characteristic of Cecil Madden's
Picture Page that has made it a distinctive part of television programmes has been its unfailing topicality". On the outbreak of war, Madden returned to radio. In 1940 he was appointed head of the BBC's overseas entertainment unit, broadcasting to
Commonwealth forces serving abroad. He presented the
American Eagle in Britain programme from 17 November 1940 to 9 September 1945;
The Times commented that it earned Madden the title of the "GI's friend". He also produced the popular
Variety Bandbox. Madden's artists included
Bing Crosby and
Bob Hope,
Marlene Dietrich,
Gertrude Lawrence, and
George Raft;
Glenn Miller conducted the band. Among younger artists discovered by Madden were
Petula Clark and the
Beverley Sisters. When television reopened on 7 June 1946, Madden returned to his former post. He scheduled new programmes including
This Is Your Life and ''
What's My Line''. In 1950-51 he was in charge of children's programmes, and is credited by
The Times with transforming children's television from "a whimsy affair" into "an intelligent and entertaining show". He then became assistant to the controller of television programmes and worked mostly in management rather than producing, until his retirement from the BBC in 1964. Madden, a resident of
Chelsea, died in Westminster Hospital, London on 27 May 1987. == References ==