Bruce Forsyth

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Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE

Born: February 22, 1928 (age 79)
Flag of England London, England
Occupation: Presenter, showman, entertainer
Spouse: Wilnelia Merced

Bruce Forsyth, CBE (born Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson on 22 February 1928) is an English showman and entertainer who achieved celebrity on the show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, and has since presented the television shows Play Your Cards Right, The Generation Game, and Strictly Come Dancing. His nickname is Brucie.

Contents

[edit] Biography

Forsyth was born in Edmonton, North London, into a Salvation Army family who owned a local garage. He attended The Latymer School in his home town and started in showbusiness aged 14, with a song, dance, and accordion act called "Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom".

Forsyth made his television debut in 1939 when a child, singing and dancing on a talent show introduced by Jasmine Bligh. This was probably an episode of Come and Be Televised (BBC, 1939), broadcast from Radiolympia.

Forsyth spent many years performing on stage, with little success, and travelled the UK working seven days a week, doing summer seasons and pantomimes.

Forsyth became an overnight celebrity when he was spotted on TV with the comedian Dickie Henderson and offered the job of compere for Val Parnell's Sunday Night at the London Palladium in September 1958. He would have hosted the show for longer had he not had to give it up due to his hectic schedule of stage performances, which continued throughout the 1960s.

Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right
Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right

Forsyth's next really big success was Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game (BBC One, 1971 to 1977, 1990 to 1994) which proved extremely popular and attracted large audiences. It was on this show that Forsyth first introduced his "The Thinker" pose, emulating Rodin's famous sculpture, appearing in silhouette each week before coming forward to start the show. He also wrote and sang the theme tune for the show "Life Is The Name of the Game".

Since 1979, Forsyth has been married to the 1975 Miss World, Wilnelia Merced. Before that, from 1973 to 1979, he was briefly married to Anthea Redfern, who had been the hostess on The Generation Game and before that (1953 to 1973) he was married to Penny Calvert with whom he had three children. In 1986, he went to the United States for a short time to host a game show on ABC, known as Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak, which ran for 65 episodes from January to April of that year.

Forsyth starred in the Thames Television sitcom Slinger's Day in 1986 and 1987, taking over a role previously played by Leonard Rossiter, and he has appeared in many variety, comedy and light entertainment shows, especially during the 1960s.

Bruce's Price Is Right
Bruce's Price Is Right

He was also the original host of You Bet! (1988 to 1990) and fronted the third version of The Price Is Right (1995 to 2001). Lesser-known and comparatively unsuccessful shows include Takeover Bid (1990 to 1991), Hollywood Or Bust (1984), Bruce's Guest Night (1992 to 1993) and Bruce Forsyth's Big Night, a 1978 London Weekend Television extravaganza which is probably the only major flop of his TV career. During the 1980s and 1990s Bruce Forsyth also appeared in advertising for the now defunct furniture retailer Courts, in which he was dressed as a judge.

Forsyth celebrated his 70th birthday in 1998 and appeared in a week long run of his one-man show at the world famous London Palladium theatre. Culminating in a special 90-minute edition of Sunday Night at the London Palladium being televised live on ITV. In 2000, Forsyth hosted a series called Tonight at the London Palladium, which revived the original format. However, this was not a success due to poor guest selection.

Forsyth served as guest host for one episode of Have I Got News for You in 2003, which parodied many of the clichés which follow him around. Forsyth has since attributed his renewed success to his guest-presenting the show.

He also took part in the Pro-Celebrity Golf television series opposite Tim Brooke-Taylor.

Forsyth made his return to the BBC In January 2004, by hosting a game show called Didn't They Do Well, a tribute to one his catchphrases, "Didn't he do well?", featuring clips from earlier game shows. Forsyth has hosted the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing, along with co-hosts Tess Daly and Natasha Kaplinsky since its first series in 2004.

Forsyth entered the Northern Rock All*Star Cup 2006 golf tournament, where European celebrities compete with American celebrities in a Ryder Cup style tournament. Forsyth competed for the European team partnering Chris Evans on day 1 and James Nesbitt on day 2. Forsyth had the honour of holing the winning putt for Europe. Forsyth was voted player of the tournament by the public.

[edit] Tributes and honours

On 27 February 2005, the BBC screened A BAFTA Tribute to Bruce Forsyth, to mark the veteran entertainer's 60 years in showbusiness. Forsyth had a bronze bust of himself unveiled at the London Palladium in May 2005. The sculpture was created by his son-in-law, and is on display in the theatre's Cinderella Bar.

He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2006 New Year's Honours list.

His many showbiz awards include Variety Club Show Business Personality of the Year in 1975; TV Times Male TV Personality of the Year, in 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978; and BBC TV Personality of the Year in 1991.

Forsyth has twice, in 2002 and 2006, been voted Greatest UK Game Show Host of All Time by readers of the UKGameshows.com website and its associated mailing list.[1]

Forsyth was voted by the general public as number 5 in a poll of TV's Greatest Stars.

[edit] Selected filmography

[edit] Trivia

  • Forsyth remains a devoted supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club.
  • Forsyth was the subject of a satirical attack by Peter Cook on the 1978 Derek and Clive album Ad Nauseam, entitled "Brucie". He was similarly targeted by the wave of alternative comedians that swept through British comedy in the 1990s. On Not The Nine O´Clock News, after one such sending-up, Forsyth made a brief, silent appearance the following week in which he pushed a custard pie into the face of Mel Smith as Smith delivered an apology for the attack, pointing out that Mr Forsyth was not able to personally counter such unpleasant snipes.
  • Forsyth appeared as a celebrity golf player in the All Star Cup in 2006 in the European side who went on to win the competition.
  • Forsyth appeared as an enthusiastic salesman in a late 1970's television advertisement for the Chrysler Avenger.
  • Forsyth is one of only two men known to have slept with two Miss Worlds, the other being George Best. Best claimed to have had three.[2]
  • A picture of Forsyth was used as a "creature" on an early version of the Neopets website.[3]
  • In 1988 Bruce Forsyth can be seen in the audience at the Eurovision Song Contest. In fact his daughter Julie wrote the song for the UK. Performed by Scott Fitzgerald, it was just pipped to the post by Swiss entrant Celine Dion.
  • Bruce is reputedly descended from the Scottish botanist William Forsyth.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ All time top thirty hosts. ukgameshows.com (2006-11-01).
  2. ^ Bruce Forsyth. The Observer (2004-12-12).
  3. ^ The Neopets Addiction Wired, December 2005 pg. 273

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Preceded by
None		 Host of Play Your Cards Right
1980-87, 1994-99, 2002		 Succeeded by
Ant & Dec (one-off)
Preceded by
None		 Host of The Generation Game
1971-77		 Succeeded by
Larry Grayson
Preceded by
Larry Grayson		 Host of The Generation Game
1990-94		 Succeeded by
Jim Davidson
Preceded by
Bob Warman		 Host of The Price is Right
1995-2001		 Succeeded by
Joe Pasquale
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