Dictionary Thesaurus Word Dynamo Quotes Reference Translator Spanish

Bruce Forsyth

Bruce Forsyth, CBE (born Bruce Joseph Forsyth Johnson on 22 February 1928) is a British BAFTA award-winning showman and entertainer, who achieved celebrity status on the show Sunday Night at the London Palladium, and became a household name in the UK, going on to present the television shows The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right and Strictly Come Dancing.

Biography

Bruce Joseph Forsyth Johnson was born in Edmonton, North London to John Thomas Forsyth Johnson and Florence Ada Pocknell; he had an older brother called John. His family owned a local car repair garage in Victoria Road, Edmonton, and as members of the Salvation Army his parents played brass instruments and his mother sang. His great grandfather Joseph Forsyth Johnson (1840–1906) was a notable landscape architect who worked in Russia, Ireland and the United States. His great great great great grandfather William Forsyth was a founder of the Royal Horticultural Society and the namesake of the plant Forsythia.

"Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom"

Forsyth attended The Latymer School. After watching Fred Astaire in films at age eight, he then trained in dance, initially in Tottenham and then Brixton. He started in show business aged 14, with a song, dance, and accordion act called "Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom." His first appearance was at the Theatre Royal, Bilston, with The Great Marzo at the top of the bill. Forsyth made his television debut in 1939 as a child, singing and dancing on a talent show introduced by Jasmine Bligh, probably an episode of Come and Be Televised (BBC, 1939), broadcast from Radiolympia.

Post WW2 theatre

Forsyth continued to perform through World War Two, even after the death of his Royal Air Force pilot brother John in 1943 over Turnberry, Scotland. After the war, with the goal of joining Moss Empires theatres, he spent many years performing on stage with little success, and travelled the UK working seven days a week, doing summer seasons, pantomimes and circuses, where he became renowned for his strong-man act.

Forsyth became an overnight celebrity in September 1958, when an appearance with the comedian Dickie Henderson led to his being offered the job of compère of Val Parnell's weekly TV variety show, Sunday Night at the London Palladium. He hosted the show for two years, followed by a year's break, then returned for another year. His hectic schedule of stage performances, which continued throughout the 1960s, forced him to give up the job of host.

In 1968, he appeared alongside Julie Andrews in the musical movie Star!, a biopic of legendary stage actress Gertrude Lawrence.

Gameshow host

Forsyth's next major success was Bruce Forsyth's Generation Game (BBC One, 1971 to 1977, 1990 to 1994) which proved extremely popular and attracted huge Saturday evening 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. This pose is also reminiscent of the classic circus strong-man attitude. He also wrote and sang the theme tune for the show "Life Is The Name of the Game."

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. His television appearances since the 1960s have included many variety, comedy and light entertainment shows.

Forsyth can be seen in the audience at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest, as his daughter Julie wrote the UK's entry, performed by Scott Fitzgerald, which was just pipped to the post by Swiss entrant Céline Dion. He was 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, owing to poor guest selection.

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 show business. 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.

In December 2007, his catchphrase 'Nice to see you, to see you, nice' was revealed on TV to be the most popular UK Catchphrase, as voted by the British public.

On 24 February 2008, the BBC featured an 85-minute programme celebrating the star's 80th birthday, entitled "Happy Birthday Brucie!"

He received the 2008 Bafta Academy Fellowship Award.

Personal life

From 1953 to 1973, Forsyth was married to Penny Calvert, with whom he had three daughters: Debbie, Julie and Laura. From 1973 to 1979, he was married to Anthea Redfern, who had been the hostess on The Generation Game with whom he had two daughters: Charlotte and Louisa. Asked to judge the 1980 Miss World competition, he met and fell in love with fellow judge, the 1975 Miss World, Wilnelia Merced, with whom he has a son. Forsyth is one of only two men known to have slept with two Miss Worlds, the other being the late George Best, who claimed to have slept with three.

Admired for his fitness at his age, he does 'Tibetan stretches' for 30 minutes each day and keeps his strength up backstage with a flask of Complan. Because of his love of golf, their main residence is on the exclusive Wentworth Estate adjacent to the golf course near Virginia Water in northwest Surrey. A childhood supporter of Arsenal thanks to his father, as the searchlights were positioned at their Highbury football stadium ground during World War Two and games moved to Tottenham Hotspur's White Hart Lane ground, he became a supporter of both clubs.

Catchphrases

Forsyth is particularly known for having employed a large number of catchphrases throughout his career. Below is a list of catchphrases from various TV shows. Words in italics are those shouted by the studio audience in reply.

Beat The Clock

“I’m in charge!”
"Can you come back next week?" (to contestants who are unable to complete their game)

Generation Game:

“Nice to see you, to see you” – Nice!
“Give us a twirl” (to the show’s hostess as she walks onto the set)
“Didn’t they do well?”
“Good game, good game”
“A cuddly toy!” – Aaw!
"Let's have a look at the old scoreboard:"
"What's on the board, Miss Ford?"

Strictly Come Dancing:

“Nice to see you, to see you” – Nice!
“You're my favourites!"
“I am not doddery, doddery I am” – Not!

Bruce’s Price Is Right:

"Remember, Bruce's price is always right"

Play Your Cards Right:

“What a lovely audience, so much better than last week!” (the joke being that the show would usually have been recorded immediately after the previous week’s, with the same audience)
“I’m the leader of the pack, which makes me such a lucky jack, and here they are, they’re so appealing, come on Dollies, do your dealing!”
“You don’t get anything for a pair” – Not in this game!
“You win a Brucie Bonus” – Woweee!
“It could still be a big night if you play your cards right”
“Don’t touch the pack, we’ll be right back”
"Play your cards right with Brucey and win that Golden Goosey!"
“Points make prizes – what do points make?” – Prizes! This catchphrase was extensively parodied by Humphrey Lyttelton on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. In introductions to the round Pick Up Song, Lyttelton explained how points were scored, before using the catchphrase with something else substituted for the word "prizes". He then asked "What do points mean?", at which point the audience was usually split as to whether to reply with what Lyttelton had just said, or "Prizes!".
“Points mean pounds and what do pounds make?” - Rich People