Bamber Gascoigne
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Bamber Gascoigne
For the 17th and 18th century British politicians, see Bamber Gascoyne (disambiguation).
| Bamber Gascoigne | |
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 2006 photo |
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| Born | 24 January 1935 London, England, UK |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | Eton College, Magdalene College, Cambridge, Yale University |
| Occupation | television presenter author |
| Known for | University Challenge |
| Website | |
| History World Timesearch |
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Bamber Gascoigne, FRSL (born 24 January 1935) is a British television presenter and author, best known for being the original quizmaster on University Challenge.
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Contents
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Biography
Gascoigne was born in London and won scholarships to both Eton College and Magdalene College, Cambridge (1955), where he read English literature. While at Magdalene, he wrote a musical, Share My Lettuce, which was produced in London in 1957 by Michael Codron, and performed by Maggie Smith and Kenneth Williams (music by Patrick Gowers and Keith Statham.)[1] He then spent a year as a Commonwealth Fund scholar at Yale University (1958–59). After National Service in the Grenadier Guards he became a theatre critic. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (elected 1976). He has served as a trustee of the National Gallery, a trustee of the Tate Gallery, a member of the council of the National Trust, and as a member of the board of directors of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.[2]
University Challenge
He came to fame as the first presenter of the popular television quiz show, University Challenge, first airing in 1962, based on the US series College Bowl. He held the position for 25 years, stepping down in 1987. Although he has written several books, mostly works of history, and presented other television programmes, his name is permanently connected with University Challenge for many viewers of the show.[3]
His questioning manner was firm yet polite.[4] Phrases he often used which became catchphrases include: "Your starter for ten", "fingers on the buzzers" and "I'll have to hurry you".[5]
Television and books
Gascoigne is the author of Murgatroyd's Empire, a 1972 satirical novel concerning an entrepreneur who finds an island of pygmies, and trades them arms for treasure, recreating the development of European medieval weaponry and armour.
In 1977, Gascoigne wrote and presented The Christians, a thirteen-hour television documentary series on the history of Christianity, produced by Granada Television and broadcast on ITV. He wrote a companion book, under the same title, with photography by his wife, Christina Gascoigne, published by Jonathan Cape.
He wrote Quest for the Golden Hare, a 1983 account of the internationally publicized treasure hunt associated with the publication in 1979 of Kit Williams book, Masquerade. On 8 August 1979, Gascoigne was witness to the burial by Williams of a unique jeweled, solid gold hare pendant in an earthenware jar "somewhere in Britain". The book documents the search and a scandal associated with finding it.
In 1987, Gascoigne presented a documentary series of six 30 minute programmes on Victorian history, Victorian Values, which looked at how Victorian society put in place the infrastructure of the modern welfare state, also produced by Granada Television.
He was the writer and presenter for the TV series The Great Moghuls, a study of the Mughal Empire of India. The series was also accompanied by a book of the same name, again with photographs by his wife, and has been reprinted numerous times.
Selected publications
- 1968: World Theatre: An Illustrated History, Ebury Press
- 19??: A Brief History of Christianity, revised edition, 2003, Robinson Publishing (ISBN 1-84119-710-6)
- 19??: A Brief History of the Dynasties of China (ISBN 1-84119-791-2)
- 1971: The Great Moghuls, photographs by Christina Gascoigne, Jonathan Cape, London; Harper & Row, New York
- 1973: The Treasures and Dynasties of China, photographs by Christina Gascoigne and Derrick Witty, Jonathan Cape ( ISBN 0-224-00925-7 )
- 1973: The Heyday (novel), Jonathan Cape
- 1974: Ticker Khan: A Fable
- 1977: The Christians, photographs by Christina Gascoigne, Jonathan Cape
- 1981: Why the Rope Went Tight
- 1982: Fearless Freddy's Sunken Treasure
- 1982: Fearless Freddy's Magic Wish
- 1983: Quest for the Golden Hare, Jonathan Cape (ISBN 0-224-02116-8
- 1986: Cod Streuth, Jonathan Cape (ISBN 0-224-02388-8)
- 1986: How to Identify Prints: A Complete Guide to Manual and Mechanical Processes from Woodcut to Inkjet, Thames & Hudson; revised 2nd edition 2004(ISBN 0-500-28480-6)
- 1998: Book of Amazing Facts
- 1993: Encyclopaedia of Britain: The A-Z of Britain's Past and Present, Macmillan Publishers (ISBN 0-333-54764-0)
- 1997: Milestones in Colour Printing 1457-1859: with a bibliography of Nelson Prints (The Sandars Lectures in Bibliography)
- A Brief History of the First World War
- A Brief History of the Second World War
- 1998: A Brief History of the Great Moghuls: India's most flamboyant rulers, Running Press (ISBN 0-78671-040-3)
- 2011: The Maya, Aztecs, Incas and Conquistadors: a Brief History
Influence on popular culture
In the Young Ones episode "Bambi" he is parodied by Griff Rhys Jones as "Bambi Gascoigne" (with considerable emphasis being placed on the resemblance of his name to the Disney character), and several years previously Griff Rhys Jones played Gascoigne in a sketch on Not the Nine O'Clock News. He was also portrayed by actor Mark Gatiss in the 2006 film Starter for 10.[6]
In 1998, as part of BBC2's Red Dwarf night, he presented a special "Red Dwarf" edition of Universe Challenge between the cast and fans of the show. The show begins with actor Chris Barrie impersonating host Jeremy Paxman, before being blown up as Gascoigne enters with a mock space-shotgun to much applause. (The fans won by a narrow margin.)
In 1974, while impersonating Richard Attenborough in the last Monty Python television episode, Michael Palin sought out the legendary 'Walking tree of Dahomey', but instead happened upon "one of Africa's many stationary trees, Arborus Bamber Gascoignus". His name also appears in one version of the Monty Python "Lumberjack Song" when Michael Palin sings of the "Quercus maximus Bamber Gascoigneii", and in the Python song "I Like Traffic Lights" the singer, Terry Jones, points out that his name is not Bamber.
In 2004, he appeared as a television presenter in an episode of Jonathan Creek, "Gorgon's Wood".[7]
Current work
In recent years, he has established an online history encyclopaedia, called History World.[8] His latest project is TimeSearch[9] which presents multiple searchable timelines collected from various websites.[10]
References
- ^ biographical sketch at the Magdalene College alumni website
- ^ [1]
- ^ biographical sketch at HistoryWorld website
- ^ "Bamber Gascoigne - UKGameshows". www.ukgameshows.com. http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/Bamber_Gascoigne. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- ^ "University Challenge - UKGameshows". www.ukgameshows.com. http://www.ukgameshows.com/ukgs/University_Challenge. Retrieved 2011-01-23.
- ^ "Mark Gatiss credits". London: Curtis Brown. http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/mark-gatiss//works/. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ "Episode 4.6 - Gorgon's Wood". http://www.comedy.org.uk/guide/tv/jonathan_creek/episodes/4/6/. Retrieved 2009-02-07.
- ^ "History and Timelines". HistoryWorld. http://www.historyworld.net/. Retrieved 2010-05-02.
- ^ Timesearch website
- ^ Start the Week, BBC Radio 4, 12 March 2007
External links
| Preceded by First host |
University Challenge host 1962–1987 |
Succeeded by Jeremy Paxman 1994–present |
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