Bernard King (television)
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Bernard King (March 1934 – 20 December 2002) was one of Australia's most high profile celebrities, straddling all media from print to radio to television.
His role as the ascerbic judge of Australian television talent shows Pot of Gold and New Faces was when he first gained national notoriety with his brutally honest judgements that rarely spared the feelings of the contestants. His influence is still evident in latter day talent judges such as Simon Cowell from American Idol who, compared to King, looks like a pussycat. King was a personality that viewers loved to hate and, according to his biographer Stephanie Clifford-Smith, watching him decimate trembling performers was akin to watching bloodsports.
He was also Australia's first homegrown celebrity chef, bringing flamboyance and generosity to a tradition that had hitherto been the domain of stitched up matrons from the gas company.
At his peak in 1982 he had become an industry, earning five million Australian dollars from lucrative sponsorship deals, licensing arrangements, a signature range of herbs and spices and wide-ranging media commitments.
Although he was always happy to play the handbag, accompanying glamourous female friends to A-list events, he was flamboyantly gay and had many lovers. His biographer, Stephanie Clifford-Smith, says "Fidelity wasn't top of his list" [1]. She also found he was extremely candid about his sex life, much of which is recounted in hilarious detail in the biography, 'A Marvellous Party'.
One of his best known platonic friendships was with song and dance man, Sammy Davis Junior.
A man of phenomenal energy and a cast iron constitution, financial management was his Achilles Heel. He threw regular parties and was extremely generous, two factors that attracted people his mother dubbed 'vultures'. He died penniless in the garden of a huge Gold Coast hacienda where he was living rent-free in exchange for gardening duties.
[edit] References
Stephanie Clifford-Smith, A Marvellous Party: The Life of Bernard King, Random House, Milson's Point, Australia 2004
