Lord Delfont; Impresario, Head of EMI Ltd.

Lord Delfont, 84, born a penniless Russian immigrant who became a show business impresario and chief executive of EMI Ltd., the recording and film giant. Delfont came to Britain with his parents, Isaac and Olga Winogradsky, when he was 3. The family lived in one room over a shop in London’s East End. After leaving school at age 12, he became a professional dancer, using the stage name Delfont. He later became a theatrical agent before he moved into staging shows. During World War II, he bought up cheap leases on West End theaters. His first big break was to bring the Folies Bergere revue from Paris to London. From there he went on to produce hundreds of shows in London and New York and in 1979, branched into films and became chief executive of EMI. He founded the First Leisure Corp. in 1983, leading the management buyout of the business from Trusthouse Forte and floating it on the stock market a year later. The firm’s interests include bowling alleys, discos and theaters. In 1976 Bernard Delfont had become the Baron of Stepney. Near London on Thursday of a heart attack.