Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE
Born	(1928-02-22) 22 February 1928 (age 96) Edmonton, North London , UK
Occupation(s)	Presenter, showman, entertainer
Spouse	Wilnelia Merced
Children	six

Bruce Forsyth, CBE (born Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson on 22 February 1928) is a British showman and entertainer who achieved celebrity 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.

Early life

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

Forsyth made his television debut in 1939 as 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. 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 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".

From 1953 to 1973, Forsyth was married to Penny Calvert, with whom he had three daughters. From 1973 to 1979, he was married to Anthea Redfern, who had been the hostess on The Generation Game with whom he had two children. Both marriages ended in divorce. Forsyth is currently married to the 1975 Miss World, Wilnelia Merced, with whom he has a son.^[1]

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.

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 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 from his other programmes. Forsyth has since attributed his renewed success to his guest-presenting the show. This included replacing the usual Odd One Out round with Conveyor Belt Connections, a parody of the final round of The Generation Game, in which panellists had to connect the items on the conveyor belt to a news story; and Play Your Iraqi Cards Right, using the special pack of cards given to US soldiers in Iraq, showing wanted war criminals. The episode is particularly remembered for Ian Hislop's bewilderment as the audience and other panellists enthusiastically played along with Bruce's many catchphrases and mannerisms. Hislop claimed to have never seen many of Forsyth's shows, and notably commented when asked "Higher or lower?" during Play Your Iraqi Cards Right, "I don't think this programme can get much lower".

He also took part in the Pro-Celebrity Golf television series opposite Tim Brooke-Taylor. Bruce completed four holes due to the fact he only brought a putter along to the match.

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 of 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-host Tess Daly since its first series in 2004. He was briefly joined by Natasha Kaplinsky when Tess Daly was on maternity leave.

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. Because of his love of golf, his main residence is on the exclusive Wentworth Estate adjacent to the golf course.

In April 2007, the BBC announced that Bruce Forsyth would be appearing on a new UKTV Gold show, The Generation Game: Then Again.^[2]

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.

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.^[3]

Catchphrases

Forsyth is particularly known for having employed a huge variety 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!”

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?”

“He'll be up for a bit of slap n' tickle later”

“Good game, good game”

“A cuddly toy!” – Aaw!

"What's on the board, Miss Ford?"

Strictly Come Dancing:

“You're my favourites"

“Nice to see you, to see you” – Nice!

Bruce’s Price Is Right:

“It’s time to meet the stars of our show, whoever you are!”

"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 joker 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” – Wow!

“It could still be a lucky night if you play your cards right”

“I've got a card up my leg”

“Don’t touch the pack, we’ll be right back”

“Points mean prizes – what do points mean?” – Prizes! *

• This catchphrase has been extensively parodied by Humphrey Lyttelton on I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue. In introductions to the round Pick Up Song, Lyttelton explains how points are scored, before using the catchphrase with something else substituted for the word "prizes". He then asks "What do points mean?", at which point the audience is usually split as to whether to reply with what Lyttelton has just said, or "Prizes!".

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 an enthusiastic salesman in a late 1970s 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, who claimed to have slept with three.^[4]
• Forsyth once co hosted the Ivor Novello Awards but refused to acknowledge George Michael when he received a award due to their public spat at the time. .^{[citation needed]}
• A picture of Forsyth was used as a "creature" on an early version of the Neopets website.^[5]
• Bruce can be seen in the audience at the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. His daughter Julie wrote the UK's entry, performed by Scott Fitzgerald, which was just pipped to the post by Swiss entrant Céline Dion.
• Bruce is reputedly descended from the Scottish botanist William Forsyth.^{[citation needed]}
• Bruce is often said to have an abnormally large chin. Cartoons and parodies often exaggerate even more on this and the chin is expanded and the main focal point of the face.

Selected filmography

• Sunday Night at the London Palladium (1957-1961) (TV)
• The Bruce Forsyth Show (1966) (TV)
• Frankie and Bruce (1966, 1975) (TV)
• Can Hieronymus Merkin Ever Forget Mercy Humppe and Find True Happiness? (1969)
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971)
• The Magnificent Seven Deadly Sins (Avarice segment) (1971)
• Bruce Forsyth and the Generation Game (1971-1977, 1990-1994) (TV)
• The Muppet Show (1977)
• Disco Bruce (1978-1980) (TV)
• Bruce Forsyth's Big Night (1978) (TV)
• Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right (1980-1987, 1994-1999, 2002) (TV)
• Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak (1986) (TV)
• Magnum, P.I.: A Little Bit of Luck...A Little Bit of Grief (1986) (TV)
• Bruce and Ronnie (1988) (TV)
• Brucie's Kinky Tarts (1989) (TV)
• You Bet! (1989-1990) (TV)
• Bruce's Price is Right (1995-2001) (TV)
• An Audience with Bruce Forsyth (1997) (TV)
• Tonight at the London Palladium (2000) (TV)
• Have I Got News for You (2003) (TV) (guest appearance)
• Bruce Forsyth & William Hague (2003) (TV)
• Strictly Come Dancing (2004-present) (TV)
• The Generation Game: Then Again (2007) (TV)

Selected discography

• Mr. Entertainment (2007 EMI Records, UK)
• Both Sides of Bruce (Live) (1977 Warner Brothers Records, UK)

References

External links

• The real Forsythe saga
• Bruce Forsyth at IMDb
• Traveller, Tom Grundy, honouring Forsythe around the world