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12 August 2011
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Robert Robinson's career spanned five decades
Robert Robinson, the veteran broadcaster and presenter, has died at the age of 83.
In a career spanning five decades, he presented a wealth of radio and television programmes for the BBC.
They included Ask the Family, Stop the Week and Call My Bluff. Mr Robinson also had a stint presenting Radio 4's Today programme.
He died in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, after a long period of ill health.
His daughter, Susie Robinson, said: "He had a very long, productive and successful life and we'll all miss him terribly."
'Humble calling'
Robert Robinson was born in Liverpool and went on to study at Oxford University.
There he met Josee Richard, the actress to whom he was married for more than 40 years.
On graduating, Robinson began his career in journalism by faking readers' letters for a magazine.
In 1952 he became the television columnist for the Sunday Chronicle, before developing the interrogation technique that was picked up by later political interviewers.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
In 1974, his three-year tenure at the Today programme was crowned when he was made Radio Personality of the Year.
Robinson's ability to prick political pomposity with his knack of asking awkward questions brought him many admirers, but also detractors, including a tabloid newspaper, which termed him "the man who sneers at everything."
He himself enjoyed an enduring disrespect for many of the political breed. "It's impossible to make the *******s reply to a straight question," he once said.
Bored by what he called the "sonorous drivel" of politicians, he revelled in the role of quizmaster on such long-running shows as Radio 4's Brain of Britain, where, as he said, "at least you knew it was a game".
It was this "humble calling" as a quizmaster that most will remember him for.
Robinson only stood down as chairman of Brain of Britain last year.
At his retirement the then-Radio 4 controller, Mark Damazer, said: "The brilliant Robert Robinson defined the art of the quiz show host.
"He presided over Brain Of Britain with sympathy for the contestants, wit and panache."
When his contestants got an answer wrong, the broadcaster famously uttered the catchphrase: "Ah, would that it were, would that it were."
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Please turn on JavaScript. Media requires JavaScript to play.Robert Robinson's career spanned five decades
Robert Robinson, the veteran broadcaster and presenter, has died at the age of 83.
In a career spanning five decades, he presented a wealth of radio and television programmes for the BBC.
They included Ask the Family, Stop the Week and Call My Bluff. Mr Robinson also had a stint presenting Radio 4's Today programme.
He died in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, after a long period of ill health.
His daughter, Susie Robinson, said: "He had a very long, productive and successful life and we'll all miss him terribly."
'Humble calling'
Robert Robinson was born in Liverpool and went on to study at Oxford University.
There he met Josee Richard, the actress to whom he was married for more than 40 years.
On graduating, Robinson began his career in journalism by faking readers' letters for a magazine.
In 1952 he became the television columnist for the Sunday Chronicle, before developing the interrogation technique that was picked up by later political interviewers.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
Robert Robinson defined the art of the quiz show host”
End Quote
Mark Damazer
Former Radio 4 controller
In 1974, his three-year tenure at the Today programme was crowned when he was made Radio Personality of the Year.
Robinson's ability to prick political pomposity with his knack of asking awkward questions brought him many admirers, but also detractors, including a tabloid newspaper, which termed him "the man who sneers at everything."
He himself enjoyed an enduring disrespect for many of the political breed. "It's impossible to make the *******s reply to a straight question," he once said.
Bored by what he called the "sonorous drivel" of politicians, he revelled in the role of quizmaster on such long-running shows as Radio 4's Brain of Britain, where, as he said, "at least you knew it was a game".
It was this "humble calling" as a quizmaster that most will remember him for.
Robinson only stood down as chairman of Brain of Britain last year.
At his retirement the then-Radio 4 controller, Mark Damazer, said: "The brilliant Robert Robinson defined the art of the quiz show host.
"He presided over Brain Of Britain with sympathy for the contestants, wit and panache."
When his contestants got an answer wrong, the broadcaster famously uttered the catchphrase: "Ah, would that it were, would that it were."
Powered By WizardRSS.com | Full Text RSS Feed | Amazon Plugin | Settlement Statement | WordPress Tutorials