William Grundy (February 20, 1923 - February 9, 1993), commonly called Bill, was a British television presenter and was the host of Thames Television's Today show in the 1970s. Events 1472 - Orkney and Shetland are left by Norway to Scotland, due to a Dowry payment Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) Thames Television was a licencee of the British ITV television network covering London and parts of the surrounding counties
Biography
Born in Manchester, Grundy began his career as a journalist there and was the first television presenter to present The Beatles on Granada Television on October 17, 1962. The Beatles were a pop and rock band from Liverpool, England formed in 1960 Granada Television is the United Kingdom ITV contractor for North West England. Events 539 BC - King Cyrus The Great of Persia marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost Year 1962 ( MCMLXII) was a Common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1962 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. He appeared on several TV shows, including People and Places and Man About the House, but his greatest claim to fame was as host of the Today show. Man About the House was a British sitcom starring Richard O'Sullivan, Paula Wilcox and Sally Thomsett that was broadcast
His son Tim Grundy is a popular radio presenter in the Manchester area. Timothy Grundy (born 4 July, 1958 in Manchester) is an English television and radio presenter and son of famous Sex Pistols interviewer His other son Nick Grundy lives and teaches English in France.
The Today show incident
Grundy became infamous in a matter of two minutes due to an incident that occurred when the punk band Sex Pistols and their entourage appeared at short notice on the Today show of December 1, 1976. The Sex Pistols are an English Punk rock band that formed in London in 1975 Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican Year 1976 ( MCMLXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. They were a last minute stand-in for Queen, who were forced to cancel. Queen were an English rock band formed in 1970 in London by guitarist The Today show was broadcast during daytime hours, at a time when bad language was forbidden.
Grundy proceeded to introduce and provoke the band, with tongue firmly in cheek. He joked that he was under the influence as he introduced them - ". . . they are as drunk as I am!". Steve Jones when asked by Grundy what the band had done with the £40,000 given to them by their record company said: "Fuckin' spent it" which was apparently not noticed by Grundy at the time. This was followed by two more uses of the word 'fuck' by Jones (only the fourth and fifth occurrences of this ever on British Television). Following this, Johnny Rotten muttered the word "shit" under his breath, but when asked, said that it was nothing but a rude word. John Joseph Lydon (born 31 January 1956 in London England also known as Johnny Rotten, is a British Rock musician best known as lead vocalist for the Punk Grundy insisted that Lydon repeat what he had said, and then responded mockingly when Lydon complied.
Next, Grundy jokingly began to "chat up" Siouxsie Sioux, who appeared as part of the band's entourage, by saying "let's meet afterwards shall we?" The show went downhill from there. Susan Janet Ballion The Bromley Contingent is a label invented by journalist Caroline Coon about a group of followers and fans of the Sex Pistols. Steve Jones responded by calling Grundy a "dirty sod", a "dirty old man" and "you dirty bastard". Stephen Phillip Jones (born 3 September, 1955 in Shepherds Bush, London) is an English rock Guitarist Grundy further goaded Jones to "say something outrageous", a challenge Jones was ready to meet. He called Grundy a "dirty fucker" (to which Grundy mockingly responded "what a clever boy") and finally proclaimed "what a fucking rotter". As the show ended, Grundy could be seen saying "oh shit" as the credits rolled and as the band began dancing to the closing theme.
Although Today was only shown in the London ITV region, it became a national story due to coverage and comment by the tabloid press. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. Independent Television (generally known as ITV) is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters set up under the Independent A tabloid is a Newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest As a result, Grundy was suspended for two weeks and Today was axed two months later.
The broadcast wrecked Grundy's television career. His presenting slot on What the Papers Say in the early 1980s was his last on national British television, although he continued to present on BBC North West on such shows as "Sweet And Sour" and "The Lancashire Lads" into the mid-80s. What The Papers Say ( 1956 – 2008) is the second longest-running programme on British Television after Panorama He also appeared as an interviewer in ITV's adaptation of "A Kind of Loving" in 1982. A Kind of Loving is a Novel by the English novelist Stan Barstow. Grundy died of a heart attack on 9 February 1993 at the age of 69. Events 474 - Zeno crowned as co-emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar) After his death, the job of writing his obituary went to his friend and colleague Brian Inglis. An obituary is an attempt to give an account of the texture and significance of the life of someone who has recently died Brian Inglis ( 31 July 1916 – 11 February 1993) was a British journalist historian and television presenter On February 11, 1993, Inglis himself died. Events 660 BC - Traditional founding date of Japan by Emperor Jimmu. Year 1993 ( MCMXCIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1993 Gregorian calendar)
The incident is featured in the Television Personalities' 1978 song "Where's Bill Grundy Now?", from their Part Time Punks EP. The Television Personalities are an English group with a varying line up
External links
Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic