:00:12. > :00:16.Almost every British viewer alive today has grown up with this man
:00:17. > :00:23.appearing on screen. Sir Bruce Forsyth. He undoubtedly will go down
:00:24. > :00:30.in history as the greatest all-round British entertainer. Oh, she's a
:00:31. > :00:37.lovely girl! Nobody could do it all as well as he could. And nobody had
:00:38. > :00:42.such a sustained place in the affection of the British public.
:00:43. > :00:50.Thank you, very much. Good evening! The greatest entertainer. Bar none.
:00:51. > :00:57.It was such a joy and an honour to work alongside someone of his
:00:58. > :01:04.stature. It's nice to see you. To see you... He could sing, he could
:01:05. > :01:10.dons, fabulous pianist. The comics. Everything. So all he could dance.
:01:11. > :01:14.If you want an all-round entertainer, you think first of all,
:01:15. > :01:19.Bruce Forsyth. Thank you so much, thank you. His story is also the
:01:20. > :01:24.story of the growth of British television itself. From Sunday Night
:01:25. > :01:29.at the Palladium. To Strictly Come Dancing. Whatever you think about
:01:30. > :01:36.Roos's persona, in front of a live audience committee is away. --
:01:37. > :01:40.Brucepersona. Chat show host, dons and singer, Sir Bruce Forsyth's
:01:41. > :01:42.career spanned seven decades, breaking the record for the longest
:01:43. > :01:57.career of any male TV entertainer. He did everything. And he was so
:01:58. > :02:05.adored and so admired, and gave us all so much joy and pleasure. All
:02:06. > :02:06.from a man whose roots were humble, but whose ambition and talent were
:02:07. > :02:24.extraordinary. Born on the 22nd of February, 1928,
:02:25. > :02:29.he was christened Bruce Forsyth Johnson. The youngest of three
:02:30. > :02:33.children. They grew up in this house in the north London suburb of
:02:34. > :02:38.Edmonton. After his parents had met at the local solvation army. He
:02:39. > :02:41.didn't come from a showbiz background, interestingly. He was
:02:42. > :02:47.the first in his family to sort of follow that path. His mum did a bit
:02:48. > :02:51.of singing for the Salvation Army. But they didn't follow the showbiz
:02:52. > :02:56.paths. But for Bruce, it was all he ever wanted to do. By their family
:02:57. > :03:02.business none of the dazzle associated with Bruce's eventual
:03:03. > :03:07.profession. My father worked very hard. He was a garage engineer. They
:03:08. > :03:12.were wonderful parents. Probably my mother had more ambition for me than
:03:13. > :03:14.I had myself. She would make all of his dance costumes for the
:03:15. > :03:20.competitions he took part in, severing on each sequin
:03:21. > :03:25.painstakingly. We weren't poor people, but we weren't rich, we were
:03:26. > :03:31.sort of in between. But they did sacrifice a lot for me in those
:03:32. > :03:36.early, early days. I would never have made it without them. He took
:03:37. > :03:42.up dance lessons at the age of eight. It was to be a long, hard
:03:43. > :03:47.slog. All Bruce talked about was as a child wanting to get out on those
:03:48. > :03:52.boards. And he would talk about discipline. He would talk about how
:03:53. > :03:59.hard you had to work. And that you had to do what came along. And prove
:04:00. > :04:04.that you could do it, step-by-step by step-by-step. He was the sort of
:04:05. > :04:08.1930s Billy Elliot, I suppose. He just worked and worked and worked.
:04:09. > :04:14.He often told me that he would tap dance on the corrugated roof of his
:04:15. > :04:19.dad's barrage in north London. He was driven. -- garage. And it was
:04:20. > :04:26.very much in his psyche. And that's what powered him. A kid did sort of
:04:27. > :04:30.have a go at me and say, oh, you're going to your dancing lessons, don't
:04:31. > :04:35.be late, you know, and all this nonsense. So I pulled him off the
:04:36. > :04:39.bike and gave him a right handful! Eight Bruce was never short of
:04:40. > :04:40.self-determination. And he was inspired by the talent of a great
:04:41. > :04:53.1930s movie star. Two of his favourites were my
:04:54. > :04:57.favourites, most danceable site favourites. Fred Astaire and Gene
:04:58. > :05:03.Kelly. He sat me down once and said, let's have a look at this. He turned
:05:04. > :05:10.on a Fred Astaire movie. We just sat there, mesmerised.
:05:11. > :05:16.I suppose his heroes throughout the whole of his life really were these
:05:17. > :05:18.wonderful Hollywood stars, particularly Fred Astaire, who he
:05:19. > :05:23.pretty much modelled his whole career on. The sort of dapper look,
:05:24. > :05:26.the bowtie, the dinner jacket, the wonderful dancing and singing and
:05:27. > :05:29.being funny and being an all-round entertainer. I suppose Fred Astaire
:05:30. > :05:37.was the boy that he wanted to become. He was 11 when his mother
:05:38. > :05:46.spotted an ideal opportunity. With the world is first natural
:05:47. > :05:50.broadcasting organisation. -- the world's first national broadcasting
:05:51. > :05:55.organisation, the BBC. Programmes trials Muttitt have covered a wide
:05:56. > :05:58.range of entertainment and interest. -- programmes transmitted. Many
:05:59. > :06:05.cabaret and variety artists have been used stock might and open
:06:06. > :06:09.audition was posted from Alexandra Palace called, Come and Be
:06:10. > :06:17.Televised. Would you like to recite in public? Dance? The Radio Times
:06:18. > :06:21.asked. Bruce certainly did. He told the presenter that he wanted to be
:06:22. > :06:26.famous like Fred Astaire and by his mother if our coat. Only the listing
:06:27. > :06:30.for Master Bruce Johnson, sung and tap dance, has arrived in the
:06:31. > :06:36.archives. But the year is underlined in history. 29th of August, 1939.
:06:37. > :06:40.Days later, his TV career was halted as the order came to switch off the
:06:41. > :06:47.television transmitter. The world was at war. The war years saw
:06:48. > :06:52.tragedy for many. But Bruce and his family were hit in unexpected ways.
:06:53. > :06:59.His brother-in-law died in an accident at work. And Bruce's only
:07:00. > :07:02.brother, Johnny, a 21-year-old RAF pilot, was killed in a training
:07:03. > :07:09.exercise over Scotland. His body lost at sea. A tragedy which Bruce
:07:10. > :07:15.Braley talked about publicly. -- Bruce Braley talked about. Bruce
:07:16. > :07:19.carried on striving, making his first stage appearance at the
:07:20. > :07:26.Theatre Royal, Bilston, as Boy Bruce the Mighty Atom in 1943. They were
:07:27. > :07:33.still experimenting with Adams. Adams was the new thing. And I
:07:34. > :07:38.thought, I was just a kid of 14 -- atoms was the new thing. I thought,
:07:39. > :07:42.what should I call myself? He was looking to make a living. If it were
:07:43. > :07:45.possible to make a living doing the things he loved doing, which was
:07:46. > :07:50.entertaining, then that would have satisfied him. I think he would have
:07:51. > :07:54.been happy to have made a living. Then, teaming up with a fellow
:07:55. > :08:01.performer, he placed an advert in the trade newspaper, the Stage,
:08:02. > :08:05.advertising their act. He was done completely driven. He was a driven
:08:06. > :08:08.performer, it was almost like an addiction. It wasn't something he
:08:09. > :08:13.felt like he had a choice of leaving behind. Soon after the end of World
:08:14. > :08:18.War II, Bruce formed another partnership with a musician called
:08:19. > :08:21.Les Roy. Forsyth and Roy had completed a theatre tour, and were
:08:22. > :08:24.encouraged enough to send a polite letter to the BBC seeking another
:08:25. > :08:30.television audition. Unknown to them, their act was deemed
:08:31. > :08:38.third-rate music hall, not for us. No letter. But in 1947, the Windmill
:08:39. > :08:44.Theatre did take Bruce on as a solo act. This was a venue with a
:08:45. > :08:52.peculiar talent. Performers share the stage with a backdrop of the
:08:53. > :08:56.famous Windmill girls. It was a thankless task, performing five or
:08:57. > :09:04.six shows a day at the Windmill. Nobody wanted to hear the comedians,
:09:05. > :09:10.they just wanted to see the girls. Even this major taskmaster loved
:09:11. > :09:16.Brucie so much that he advised him on how to improve his acts. And
:09:17. > :09:18.Bruce, like a lot of the great 20th-century British comics, Spike
:09:19. > :09:23.Milligan, Harry Secombe, Tony Hancock, he made his first break at
:09:24. > :09:26.the Windmill the adult. He learned how to craft material, how to make
:09:27. > :09:31.it his own -- the Windmill Theatre. He found his own voice. He was
:09:32. > :09:35.masterly. Three weeks into his Windmill booking, Bruce found his
:09:36. > :09:42.third National Service would wait no longer. -- his deferred National
:09:43. > :09:48.Service. He spent two years as a musician in the RAF. After the
:09:49. > :09:52.mopping in 1949, she returned to the Windmill and was keen to take on
:09:53. > :09:55.work wherever he could -- after demobilising. He also teamed up with
:09:56. > :10:08.a fellow dancer, Penny Calvert. The couple married in 1953. Within
:10:09. > :10:14.four years, they'd had two daughters. By now, he keyed into
:10:15. > :10:21.what would always be the chief motivator of his career. In the
:10:22. > :10:25.theatre, when you're standing up in front of 2000 people, you've got
:10:26. > :10:30.nowhere to go. You have to survive. And that survival mechanism, I
:10:31. > :10:32.wouldn't want to do it, most people would never consider standing in
:10:33. > :10:37.front of an audience baying to make them laugh or applaud or enjoy. And,
:10:38. > :10:44.you know, he had that instinct in him. That said, I will make them
:10:45. > :10:49.laugh or I'll make them applaud. It was an ability that served him well
:10:50. > :10:52.in theatres. And soon back on television screens. While performing
:10:53. > :10:57.at a seaside theatre, his talents were spotted by one of the country's
:10:58. > :11:02.leading agents - by Le Marche. He could play the piano, he could
:11:03. > :11:06.dance, sing, tell jokes, there was nothing he couldn't do. But he was
:11:07. > :11:09.war, obviously, at that point. He was a jobbing performer looking for
:11:10. > :11:13.any work that he could, whether it was the Windmill Theatre or a little
:11:14. > :11:21.tiny theatre at Babbacombe, which was not exactly a number one
:11:22. > :11:24.theatrical bait. By 1955, the growth of television was unstoppable.
:11:25. > :11:30.Britain's first commercial channel was launched to challenge the BBC's
:11:31. > :11:32.monopoly, giving new opportunity for performers at a time when Bruce
:11:33. > :11:37.Forsyth was running short of options. It was hard. I did at one
:11:38. > :11:41.time gave myself five years, I thought, if I'm not going to make it
:11:42. > :11:48.within five years, alternative. Really? Yet. By Le Marche sent Bruce
:11:49. > :11:52.Forsyth to audition for a variety hit on the ITV network, broadcast
:11:53. > :12:00.live to millions. Sunday Night at the London Palladium. In 1958,
:12:01. > :12:01.30-year-old Bruce stepped into Tommy trend's shoes as host. He would
:12:02. > :12:13.never look back. So, this unknown with a big chin and
:12:14. > :12:20.a growing steps on to the greatest variety stage in the world -- and a
:12:21. > :12:23.grin. Bruce would have been quite entitled to be nervous at this
:12:24. > :12:27.particular point. This was the beginning of his first appearance as
:12:28. > :12:33.the presenter of Sunday Night at the Palladium. There wasn't the
:12:34. > :12:40.slightest bit of nerves showing. Thank you, thank you very much. Good
:12:41. > :12:45.evening! Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome to Sunday Night at the
:12:46. > :12:49.London Palladium. # Hope you'll is the holiday has
:12:50. > :12:55.been very gay # Hip hip hurray
:12:56. > :13:00.#. Bruce didn't just take to the Palladium stage, she took over the
:13:01. > :13:05.Palladium stage. I went to the south of France, I always wanted to go
:13:06. > :13:11.there, what a place. Cyril, isn't it marvellous that? He lives there,
:13:12. > :13:14.that boy! The audience loves his bossy, fuzzy personality. Are you
:13:15. > :13:21.all right? We wondered where you were. Jolly good. Let's find out
:13:22. > :13:26.where everybody is from. Where are you from? Party, it's a party.
:13:27. > :13:31.London? Why are you late?! LAUGHTER
:13:32. > :13:36.The middle section of the Palladium show was in fact a game show. Ladies
:13:37. > :13:41.and gentlemen, it's time for Beat the Clock. In which you had to
:13:42. > :13:44.handle members of the audience, push them into this position, that
:13:45. > :13:51.position, throwing darts at that thing, kick that ball here, you
:13:52. > :13:56.know. No, no, in the air! Give it one like that! His skill at dealing
:13:57. > :14:04.with the contestants would define him forever. Now then, you have 55
:14:05. > :14:08.seconds to Beat Clock. Step... No, you just step up here, facing the
:14:09. > :14:13.front, behind is curtains, lots of words all jumbled up and you have to
:14:14. > :14:18.get them into a well-known phrase. The catchphrases became legendary.
:14:19. > :14:23.I'm in charge, that was one of his earliest catchphrases. If somebody
:14:24. > :14:25.hit the target particularly well, didn't he do well? Those
:14:26. > :14:34.catchphrases stayed with him for decades. It's a long claimed that
:14:35. > :14:42.has no turning! You've won a major prize. There it is. I do hope you
:14:43. > :14:49.like it. And I think he said during Beat the Clock, the contestant was a
:14:50. > :14:54.bit slippy, which was wonderful for Bruce. He said, look, dear, I'm in
:14:55. > :14:57.charge -- was a bit loopy. The following week you couldn't get in
:14:58. > :15:04.the Palladium door for sacks of fan mail. He just took off.
:15:05. > :15:21.MUSIC One of the most memorable episodes
:15:22. > :15:29.was a two hander with Norman Wisdom. Where, due to an equity strikes, the
:15:30. > :15:35.whole bill needed to be improvised. Two people doing an hour of live TV,
:15:36. > :15:50.my God, that is amazing. Ladies and gentlemen... Welcome to Sunday Night
:15:51. > :15:54.at the London Palladium. And to do it for all the right reasons, they
:15:55. > :15:58.did it for the audience. You know, they weren't trying to buck the
:15:59. > :16:02.Equity union, they were doing it because they knew that X amount of
:16:03. > :16:05.millions of people would sit down on Sunday night and want to see the
:16:06. > :16:09.show. Rather than just an hour of potters wheel or something, they
:16:10. > :16:13.wanted to the performance. And they got Norman and Bruce. Remember, you
:16:14. > :16:23.told the joke and you couldn't tell it for laughing. It was so funny, I
:16:24. > :16:26.couldn't help laughing! Is been practising. I'll make a deal. If you
:16:27. > :16:30.can tell that joke about loving, you can keep the suit! I couldn't be
:16:31. > :16:32.fairer than that. They became on that one night national
:16:33. > :16:35.institutions. That define them for the rest of their careers because
:16:36. > :16:37.that was never forgotten. I was walking down the street the other
:16:38. > :16:45.day... LAUGHTER
:16:46. > :16:58.I remember him doing a turn with Norman Wisdom, where they were doing
:16:59. > :17:04.a bit of wallpapering to that tune. Fibre in his mouth. I watched and I
:17:05. > :17:14.said, this bloke is brilliant. -- he had a fag in his mouth. That is one
:17:15. > :17:28.of the greatest bits of TV you can ever see.
:17:29. > :17:43.It was genius. The TV personality of 1949, Bruce Forsyth. His dedication
:17:44. > :17:47.had finally paid off. He hosted at the Palladium for three years, as
:17:48. > :17:53.the accolades poured in, although it had taken 16 years to be deemed an
:17:54. > :17:57.overnight success. Happening as quickly as this is the will drink. I
:17:58. > :18:03.am petrified because this is the first after-dinner speech I have
:18:04. > :18:07.ever made. The 1960s saw him seriously overworked and spoilt for
:18:08. > :18:13.choice, while his personal lives or ups and downs. In 1957, his mother
:18:14. > :18:19.had died of a stroke, and in 1961, his father suffered a fatal heart
:18:20. > :18:23.attack. One year later, Bruce's third daughter was born, and by the
:18:24. > :18:26.summer of 1964, although it would take ten years before their divorce,
:18:27. > :18:34.he knew that his marriage to Penny was over. We were a double act, and
:18:35. > :18:40.all of a sudden I went there, to the top of the business in this country.
:18:41. > :18:46.In six weeks, I became one of the biggest names on television. When
:18:47. > :18:50.you finally get the big break, it's difficult to still be a family man.
:18:51. > :18:58.And I think that's what happened with Penny and I. Now one of the
:18:59. > :19:05.biggest names in television, Bruce was following his dream. In 1964, he
:19:06. > :19:08.landed the lead in the Neil Simon musical, little me. Performing in a
:19:09. > :19:14.major production on a west end stage was something he had always aspired
:19:15. > :19:20.to. He also hosted two major chat shows on opposite channels. But his
:19:21. > :19:25.sights were set higher still. I knew that Bruce wanted to be a movie
:19:26. > :19:30.star. That was his big ambition. You know how Bruce can always look at
:19:31. > :19:37.himself and he has that sideways look, the chin, the nose. I think he
:19:38. > :19:44.saw that face in a movie. How about one of these? Fell off the back of a
:19:45. > :19:50.lorry. Be a good chap and run away. Would you fancy this thing? Now you
:19:51. > :19:56.have my attention. What can I do for you? You are to get over to the book
:19:57. > :20:00.man right away. I think he fancied being James Bond. That was
:20:01. > :20:05.ridiculous. But if Roger Moore could do it, he could have done it. A
:20:06. > :20:11.toast. Wherever my little girl goes, she will always find herself. He
:20:12. > :20:18.could do it. It was not that he was this song and dance man, he could do
:20:19. > :20:24.comedy acting parts. Enough with this nonsense. Get the book. And he
:20:25. > :20:30.did some movies. He did Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and he did Star with
:20:31. > :20:36.Julie Andrews, but none of them were blockbusters. That was the nearest
:20:37. > :20:40.he got his ambition of Hollywood musicals. In the 1970s, they were
:20:41. > :20:45.not being made, the days of Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire were long
:20:46. > :20:50.gone. They have moved on to doing film versions of shows. What was all
:20:51. > :20:53.that about, prancing in the audience, mucking about with my
:20:54. > :20:59.material. What are you trying to do? Ruin me? Bruce lost out on a roll
:21:00. > :21:03.that could have changed his profile as an actor forever. That of fading
:21:04. > :21:11.in Lionel Barber's film musical Oliver. Ron Moody, they did not know
:21:12. > :21:16.if he was going to do it. Lionel phoned me and he said, would you
:21:17. > :21:20.like to do it? I said, I would love to, you are joking. He said, it is
:21:21. > :21:24.going on a bit and could go either way. He said he would phone me later
:21:25. > :21:29.in the week. He phoned me twice afterwards. Ron was wonderful. He
:21:30. > :21:34.did the show, he knew the part, so it saved a lot of trouble. But it is
:21:35. > :21:37.a thing I will always regret, not having the chance. But you were in
:21:38. > :21:42.many movies and made some fine films. The fact that you were here
:21:43. > :21:46.on British TV for so long is a great source of joy for us. If we had lost
:21:47. > :21:55.due to the movies, we would have been poorer for that. What a lovely
:21:56. > :22:00.thing to say. It is the truth. With the launch of BBC Two in 1964,
:22:01. > :22:06.Britain became a three channel nation. Television was flourishing.
:22:07. > :22:10.Good evening. This is BBC Two. But Bruce's focus on big-screen roles
:22:11. > :22:15.meant that his small screen profile suffered. His bookings were mainly
:22:16. > :22:20.in Cabaret. I knew his brilliant all-round talents, but at that time,
:22:21. > :22:28.in the late 60s, early 70s, television was not seeking him in
:22:29. > :22:32.abundance. During the 1970s, game shows started to replace more
:22:33. > :22:37.expensive variety shows, and in 1971, the BBC were looking for a
:22:38. > :22:41.host for a new production based on a Dutch format. Bruce was not looking
:22:42. > :22:46.to host a game show, but memories of Beat the Clock stood strong. The
:22:47. > :22:53.Generation Game would become the number one game show of the decade.
:22:54. > :22:57.Good evening. Welcome to the Generation Game. We recorded the
:22:58. > :23:01.show in the television Theatre. Bruce was desperate for as much
:23:02. > :23:08.contact with his audience as he could get. Camera two. They are the
:23:09. > :23:14.stars, I am the superstar, all right? Once again, the key was his
:23:15. > :23:19.interaction with contestants and the audience. The beauty of the
:23:20. > :23:26.Generation Game, it suddenly brought him to the masses. You visited a
:23:27. > :23:32.tent in the desert with your eunuch. I am sorry, that was my fault. With
:23:33. > :23:39.your unit. And they gave you gifts of beads. You knew it was polite to
:23:40. > :23:42.give something in return. Oh, yes! It was family entertainment,
:23:43. > :23:49.positive, happy. He laughed with people, never at them. You are aged
:23:50. > :23:54.24 and have been married to Bill for 18 months. Still quite fresh. You
:23:55. > :23:59.look still glowing. Tell me, as he started going out with the boys on
:24:00. > :24:09.Friday night yet? No, he takes me with him. Does he bring you a cup of
:24:10. > :24:13.tea on Sunday? No. It has started. It was like an uncle coming to tea
:24:14. > :24:19.on Sunday and you have a few laughs together. Away we go. You had a huge
:24:20. > :24:26.mass of public viewing that switched on to watch the Generation Game, and
:24:27. > :24:29.people talked about it. We talk about reality television. It was
:24:30. > :24:33.happening then. Did you see that silly person having their hair cut,
:24:34. > :24:37.or that silly dance, or these silly people trying to make the Getty? Can
:24:38. > :24:43.you see anything? You are not missing much. Right, I will give you
:24:44. > :24:47.a guide. There is your hand. In your own time, away you go. Each one you
:24:48. > :25:01.get in the glass counts as one point. Bruce in vented his thinker
:25:02. > :25:11.poz, and new catchphrases, which became legendary. Nice to see you.
:25:12. > :25:21.To see you, nice. Good game. Didn't she do well! Go there, and sit
:25:22. > :25:27.yourself on the seat. Take the screens away. Have 45 seconds to
:25:28. > :25:31.have a look. Lots of items will pass before your eyes. On the conveyor
:25:32. > :25:37.belt we have a food hamper, a portable workbench, a sideboard
:25:38. > :25:44.hostess, double electric oven blanket, cut crystal decanter... He
:25:45. > :25:52.never had an off day. There was never a show where he was not very
:25:53. > :25:57.good. Bruce always gave his best. A soda stream. In a golden age of
:25:58. > :26:05.television, Bruce reached up to 19 million viewers, tuning in for
:26:06. > :26:12.familiar family entertainment. You got the soda stream. Didn't he do
:26:13. > :26:17.well? Well done. The game called for an assistant to bring on the
:26:18. > :26:23.contestants. It was about scoring, and other bits, where you needed a
:26:24. > :26:27.second partner to help the structure of the games. After a search failed
:26:28. > :26:37.to find the right candidate, Bruce called on a woman he had ready met
:26:38. > :26:40.at a lovely legs competition. And Theo's immense good looks and
:26:41. > :26:48.personality impressed us all, but particularly Bruce. And she was
:26:49. > :26:51.chosen. As we all know, the rest is history. Anyway, here she is, the
:26:52. > :27:10.gorgeous, the lovely Anthea Redfern. Bruce married again in 1973. Simple,
:27:11. > :27:14.but very nice. I must apologise. I had to leave for the studio earlier
:27:15. > :27:21.than you this morning so I could not drive in the same car. You had no
:27:22. > :27:26.trouble in the traffic? No trouble. Oh, good. The celebrity couple would
:27:27. > :27:29.go on to have two daughters, making Bruce a father of five, as his
:27:30. > :27:38.career reached new heights of popularity. And the 1970s saw him
:27:39. > :27:44.capitalise on his success, as one of the stars who stepped into
:27:45. > :27:51.advertising. Go and have your break, love. Thanks, Bruce. Sticky buns. It
:27:52. > :27:57.is my first day. He was extraordinary. Instead of him being
:27:58. > :28:03.on stage or in a studio, we took him to places. We have been talking
:28:04. > :28:06.about Stork margarine. He was in their space, which is difficult
:28:07. > :28:18.because he was not in charge, if you like. Is it Stork margarine? It
:28:19. > :28:22.isn't, is it? It is. He gave them Brucie. He would come in and do the
:28:23. > :28:27.thinker, or he would say, nice to see you. And he was extraordinary,
:28:28. > :28:34.the way he dealt with people. They have gone Stork raving mad. You can
:28:35. > :28:41.trust Stork. It tastes good enough to eat with nothing on. By 1978,
:28:42. > :28:45.Bruce was the people's favourite, who had now fronted the Generation
:28:46. > :28:48.Game for seven years, beating all competition, much to the
:28:49. > :28:53.disappointment of ITV, who wanted their star back. Knowing his
:28:54. > :28:58.ambition to want to be more than just a game show host, to sing and
:28:59. > :29:01.dance and do all the things he could do, I worked out a format with my
:29:02. > :29:08.head of entertainment that would show off Bruce in all his glory. I
:29:09. > :29:12.am fed up with saying the same thing every week. It does get on my
:29:13. > :29:17.nerves. I will say something different. And I sold it to him as
:29:18. > :29:27.an idea, and he gave up the Generation Game and he came to us.
:29:28. > :29:31.It is Bruce Forsyth 's big night. They promoted it as though the
:29:32. > :29:41.second Messiah was going to arrive. It was quite ridiculous. He sang, he
:29:42. > :29:51.danced, he did everything, everything possible that Bruce could
:29:52. > :29:55.do. And he loved doing it. The real reason we came to London was not
:29:56. > :29:59.that little show at the Palladium. It was because we wanted to peddle
:30:00. > :30:04.our wares on Portobello Road, no. The real reason was that I had to
:30:05. > :30:14.meet Mary Whitehouse just once before I die. Well, I have met her,
:30:15. > :30:17.and, you see... Meanwhile, back at the BBC, Larry Grayson was doing
:30:18. > :30:28.well as the new host of the Generation Game. Shut that door.
:30:29. > :30:41.Larry's quirky style meant that audiences stuck with the show. I
:30:42. > :30:49.can't find a five. Over on LWT, it was not going so well for Bruce's
:30:50. > :30:53.big night. The problem was the press, the tabloids, set up a David
:30:54. > :30:57.and Goliath story. Larry popped up as the host, and it was Larry
:30:58. > :31:02.against Bruce. There was only going to be one winner in their mind,
:31:03. > :31:08.because they will always side with the underdog. Despite his star
:31:09. > :31:15.quality, it was a ratings flop. Would you care to the mother? What
:31:16. > :31:20.does that mean? Are you going to be dad? What is going to happen now? We
:31:21. > :31:24.had to take it off after a year because it was so painful for Bruce.
:31:25. > :31:27.He was wonderfully loyal, because he could have turned on me and said,
:31:28. > :31:32.they talked me into this and they haven't delivered. He could have got
:31:33. > :31:36.himself out of it by blaming us but he didn't, he believed in the show.
:31:37. > :31:45.I will tell you something, Parkinson has never done this! This is great.
:31:46. > :31:50.Have you heard of Parkinson? As the chat show failed, so did Bruce's
:31:51. > :31:55.second marriage, with his wife citing show business is the third
:31:56. > :31:59.party in their marriage. Bruce, the family entertainer, experienced
:32:00. > :32:05.negative press, which upset him so much he handed back his Sun
:32:06. > :32:08.newspaper television awards. Undaunted, in 1979, Bruce decided to
:32:09. > :32:11.follow a lifetime ambition by heading to Broadway to present a
:32:12. > :32:14.one-man show at the Winter Garden Theatre. The show drew on his many
:32:15. > :32:23.and varied talents. He could dance, sing, play the
:32:24. > :32:27.piano, there was nothing that he didn't do. He was the British boy
:32:28. > :32:31.showing by Americans that we are as good as they are. If he had been
:32:32. > :32:35.born in America, he would have been a massive global star. Over the
:32:36. > :32:38.course of his career, Bruce released more than seven albums.
:32:39. > :32:43.# In now you're here # And now I know just where I'm
:32:44. > :32:48.going # No more doubts or fears
:32:49. > :32:55.#. And always remained a dancer. MUSIC
:32:56. > :33:03.Bruce was what they called a offer. He did an American tap which was
:33:04. > :33:05.very close to the ground. He didn't like English tap, the whole
:33:06. > :33:15.up-and-down English tap thing. He looked like he was standing
:33:16. > :33:27.still, but you are making these most incredible sounds with your feet.
:33:28. > :33:40.He was absolutely full of rhythm. After Bruce's Broadway stint, LWT
:33:41. > :33:46.gave him a dream commission. A duet with an international American star.
:33:47. > :33:47.The ultimate song and dance man. He had also become Bruce's friend and
:33:48. > :33:58.hero. Look at me and look at you. I just
:33:59. > :34:04.thought I'd better get out here quickly. Why is that? I know you too
:34:05. > :34:08.well, Bruce. I just want to get a couple of things straight in the
:34:09. > :34:11.beginning of the show, if you don't mind, from one friend to another.
:34:12. > :34:17.These are the definite no-no is during the time we're here, OK?
:34:18. > :34:23.There will be no shark jokes, there will be no jewellery jokes, there
:34:24. > :34:28.will be no one are jokes... Bruce working with Sammy was Bruce working
:34:29. > :34:37.with, from his point of view, an idol. From the audience's point of
:34:38. > :34:41.view, and equal. As sign you and I Bruce Sammy
:34:42. > :34:49.# I'm so spruce and you're so hammy # All of the same, we go together
:34:50. > :34:53.# Like gin and... Holed, holed, you did it again. You are doing
:34:54. > :34:57.something different, Sam -- hold it. You know what I do an impression of
:34:58. > :35:04.you, and all of a sudden you keep changing your style. Sammy was
:35:05. > :35:15.enormously impressed by Bruce. Here is an English guy who is really up
:35:16. > :35:22.to it. As sign you, yeah, yeah... -- # Yeah, yeah, yeah...
:35:23. > :35:30.#. And I'll tell you what, Bruce kept right up with Sammy Davies.
:35:31. > :35:37.In the same year, the British public got Brucie back in a role they were
:35:38. > :35:48.most familiar with - hosting a new game for LWT. -- new game show. Our
:35:49. > :35:55.Do Lee dealers are dying to dish out the cards. A way you go, my darlings
:35:56. > :36:00.-- our Do Lee dealers. All we need are our players... Once again, his
:36:01. > :36:04.easy manner with the consent of my contestants struck home. It became
:36:05. > :36:12.any during television hit, presented by Bruce for 13 years. Welcome to
:36:13. > :36:15.Play Your Cards Right. I'm a London taxi driver and I played golf. You
:36:16. > :36:22.didn't leave your meter running outside, did you? We're not paying
:36:23. > :36:27.for that, you know! Lovely, well,. Because he was connected to people,
:36:28. > :36:30.that's what they love about him. He really was terrific with
:36:31. > :36:38.contestants. Carol, who while you, my darling? I'm Carol Kennedy. A
:36:39. > :36:47.very famous family! Yes, my darling? I'm from Manchester, I'm a nurse and
:36:48. > :36:50.I work in a biscuit factory. Do you put splints and broken biscuits?!
:36:51. > :36:56.His fundamental talent was being able to talk to individuals and
:36:57. > :37:00.involve them in the fun. Mocking them slightly, but not too much.
:37:01. > :37:10.Lower than an ace... This is to win the game. I bit of a chance. I
:37:11. > :37:15.freeze! Here too Bruce invented many memorable catchphrases. What to do
:37:16. > :37:23.points make? Prizes! Our star prize tonight in the car. The strange
:37:24. > :37:26.thing about your career has been that no sooner do you seem to
:37:27. > :37:31.succeed enormously in one phase, like for instance Sunday Night at
:37:32. > :37:36.the London Palladium. Having achieved that, you give it up! You
:37:37. > :37:41.sort of disappear. We all have peaks, you see. You can't expect
:37:42. > :37:45.your career to be all one big peak. That's the kind of person I am. I
:37:46. > :37:49.hate to feel too safe and to secure doing something, especially if I
:37:50. > :37:55.feel that I'm in a rut and I've got to get on with the next thing,
:37:56. > :38:00.that's me. What is the next game was law Miss World 1975. After his
:38:01. > :38:05.second marriage had failed, Bruce had been happily single, until 1980
:38:06. > :38:09.when he met a former Miss world from Puerto Rican. I was never going to
:38:10. > :38:14.get married. The last thing I was going to do was get married. I was
:38:15. > :38:21.going to be Mr frisky for the rest of my life! But I saw her and I just
:38:22. > :38:25.felt like a tonne of bricks. I remember him telling me for the
:38:26. > :38:30.first time that he had met Winnie, and she with this stunning looking
:38:31. > :38:34.girl, 23, 24, whatever she was. I was a bit wary. He was now on his
:38:35. > :38:43.third wife if they got together. They married in 1983. A way at the
:38:44. > :38:49.golf club found out that I was, as I called it, Winnie's husband, he
:38:50. > :38:54.called me Mr world! Their boy, Jonathan Joseph, known as JJ, was
:38:55. > :39:01.born four years after they wed. The birth of Bruce's only boy made him a
:39:02. > :39:07.father of six. Winnie was the woman he would spend the rest of his life
:39:08. > :39:11.with. I didn't think it would last. And I think 99% of his friends
:39:12. > :39:15.didn't think it would last. They thought he was being silly. And it's
:39:16. > :39:22.turned out to be one of the Love III is of my lifetime. So one of the
:39:23. > :39:27.love affairs. -- one of the love affairs. There was a real kind of
:39:28. > :39:31.old-fashioned romance that just seemed to permeate their
:39:32. > :39:36.relationship on a daily basis. She would be at the show every week, she
:39:37. > :39:39.would often stay for the dress rehearsal, she would stay all the
:39:40. > :39:44.way through to live shows. She was constantly by his side. And they
:39:45. > :39:49.absolutely just adored each other. My darling, my darling Winnie, you
:39:50. > :39:54.would always say. And his children, and his grandchildren. You know, he
:39:55. > :39:58.had so much love for his family. She's been a wonderful, wonderful
:39:59. > :40:05.homemaker. She's got on well with his children. They've had a
:40:06. > :40:08.wonderful marriage. You know, they are just a couple, and they're
:40:09. > :40:15.lovely. # I've never loved anyone
:40:16. > :40:24.# The way I love you # How could I
:40:25. > :40:33.# When I was born to be # Just yours...
:40:34. > :40:42.#. They were incredibly happy years for him with Winnie. And he deserved
:40:43. > :40:45.it. He was a good man. In the latter third of his life, Bruce Forsyth
:40:46. > :40:51.achieved greater and greater happiness. He would also spend more
:40:52. > :40:55.time playing the sporty adored. -- the sport he adored. Oh, he loves
:40:56. > :41:00.his goal. He was likely frustrated, he would like to have played better.
:41:01. > :41:03.But he was about eight or nine handicap, a good, steady performer,
:41:04. > :41:07.and he liked to play properly and he would have loved to have played a
:41:08. > :41:14.bit better. He took it very seriously. Quiet on the tee, please.
:41:15. > :41:19.He lived right on Wentworth golf club. You would drive into his home
:41:20. > :41:23.and you'd put the golf clubs on his body with him and you drive down a
:41:24. > :41:29.path, and the gates would open straight onto the course -- on his
:41:30. > :41:32.body. He discovered that he could go on to a golf course and breathe
:41:33. > :41:36.fresh air for two or three hours, have a bit of lunch or whatever, and
:41:37. > :41:40.nobody bothered them. You could be famous and golf clubs and you were
:41:41. > :41:44.accepted, that's the way it was. It's still like that pretty much
:41:45. > :41:48.today. Halfway up the 18th hole he would phone home and say, where ten
:41:49. > :41:57.minutes away. And when we got back to his house, a bottle of champagne,
:41:58. > :42:03.lovely dinner, I would look across the bar and there would be
:42:04. > :42:07.photographs of him with Bob Hope, Dean Crosby... This man has had a
:42:08. > :42:10.wonderful, wonderful wife. It's marvellous to just reminisce and
:42:11. > :42:16.think about the droid -- wonderful life. -- the joy that he brought not
:42:17. > :42:20.only to me but to millions of people stop white Bruce's career in
:42:21. > :42:24.television lasted more than seven decades. Key to his longevity was
:42:25. > :42:32.immense self-discipline. He was always very fit. He was a size 32
:42:33. > :42:37.waste or so. Just tiny. The jackets were also full row. They were
:42:38. > :42:40.immaculately fitted jackets. Everything was pressed immaculately
:42:41. > :42:44.-- Savile Row. He just was immaculate. He had a regime that I,
:42:45. > :42:50.20 years younger, couldn't keep up with. Exercise, deep breathing,
:42:51. > :42:54.swimming. I never saw him unshaved. I never saw him with dirty shoes
:42:55. > :43:00.worn by the fingernails. He was absolutely tiptop. -- Watmore giving
:43:01. > :43:07.else. He was very careful with himself, sleeping, resting, eating.
:43:08. > :43:11.One of the that Bruce used to do which was really incredible, he used
:43:12. > :43:16.to do a turn in dance, you call it a but wet. When you are young, you
:43:17. > :43:23.spot, you know, -- eight but wet. You never get dizzy. Bruce kept up
:43:24. > :43:33.that spinning to the right and to the left, to determine that he would
:43:34. > :43:36.stay forever Strong and on balance. He understood that you've got to
:43:37. > :43:41.look after yourself. And he found a regime for himself where he could
:43:42. > :43:50.stay in the best possible shape and keep going for as long as he did.
:43:51. > :43:52.When most people are contemplating retirement, the 1990s saw Bruce
:43:53. > :43:58.returned to the newly revived generation game. 62-year-old Bruce
:43:59. > :44:03.appeared barely changed from his younger self. Gentlemen and
:44:04. > :44:09.children, welcome to the generation game, it's nice to see you. To see
:44:10. > :44:12.you... Nice! You know, it's been 13 years since I last did the
:44:13. > :44:16.generation game. And I was so flattered when the BBC asked me to
:44:17. > :44:20.come back to do it. You know, all of the pleading and the begging on the
:44:21. > :44:48.grovelling, oh my... I hope I didn't belittle myself!
:44:49. > :44:57.APPLAUSE Then, in 1995, he launched the price
:44:58. > :45:08.is right. Another game show that would run. Lets meet the stars of
:45:09. > :45:16.our show. Monaco, come on down! -- Monaco. Julie... He celebrated his
:45:17. > :45:19.70th birthday surrounded by friends and admirers on television in a live
:45:20. > :45:26.edition of Sunday Night at the London Palladium.
:45:27. > :45:32.CHEERING APPLAUSE
:45:33. > :45:37.Thank you, so much! Hold on... Listen to these people!
:45:38. > :45:42.They can't all be wrong! Good evening...
:45:43. > :45:46.# Ladies and gentlemen # Welcome to Sunday Night at the
:45:47. > :45:51.London Palladium # 40 years ago
:45:52. > :45:55.# This show was such a big hit # And I was proud to be
:45:56. > :46:00.# A part of it #. Bruce's record in show business
:46:01. > :46:03.meant that he could have chosen to live a comfortable, quiet
:46:04. > :46:05.retirement. In 2003, watching television with Winnie at home would
:46:06. > :46:28.change any chance of that. Thank you. Thank you so much.
:46:29. > :46:33.We were watching the show, because it is such a great show, and we need
:46:34. > :46:36.turned to me and said, you could do that show, they change the host
:46:37. > :46:42.every week. I said, I was thinking the same thing. They change it every
:46:43. > :46:48.week, so why not? He is not your first idea of a current affairs
:46:49. > :46:56.commentator, is he, let's be honest. It is definitely time for... These
:46:57. > :47:05.are the cards that the Americans... Please! This is satire. What
:47:06. > :47:09.followed was the most extraordinary procession of the bad taste that we
:47:10. > :47:15.would never have got away with with anyone else. Bruce Forsyth doing
:47:16. > :47:19.play your Iraqi cards right, with a group of essentially Iraqi war
:47:20. > :47:28.criminals. The middle card, so this is difficult. I never saw this
:47:29. > :47:38.programme. That is why it is such fun for me! It was bonkers, amazing,
:47:39. > :47:41.incredible and very funny. Tony Blair insists that weapons of mass
:47:42. > :47:49.destruction will eventually be found in Iraq. Well, it would be nice to
:47:50. > :47:53.see them, to see them... I have waited 14 years for the show to be
:47:54. > :48:01.like this. I'm having the time of my life! For Paul, he was the
:48:02. > :48:04.flickering star of his childhood, this black and white person, come
:48:05. > :48:11.from the Palladium, and he was in front of him. What was the good news
:48:12. > :48:17.for David Beckham? He is going to be an OBE. That does not seem much.
:48:18. > :48:26.Have you got an OBE? Yes. That's what I mean. Ian is not necessarily
:48:27. > :48:35.a permanent member of the show. You should bear that in mind. The new
:48:36. > :48:40.direction we are taking... Yes. The way he did it was brilliant. He put
:48:41. > :48:47.his own twist on everything he did, which is genius. He always stayed
:48:48. > :48:51.true to himself. That was really the beginning of Bruce Forsyth again, it
:48:52. > :48:58.was the start of the new Bruce. And it really felt like, looking back, a
:48:59. > :49:01.moment of history. Bruce's appearance on Have I Got News For
:49:02. > :49:08.You you brought him to a whole new audience. There was this man who was
:49:09. > :49:11.almost 80, appearing, fronting a modern satire show, and completely
:49:12. > :49:20.getting it and embracing it and being rather brilliant on it. What a
:49:21. > :49:24.lovely audience! In 2004, the BBC head of entertainment was looking
:49:25. > :49:28.for a suitable host for a prime-time Saturday night show. I suggested
:49:29. > :49:35.this to him and explained what the format was, a pro-celebrity come
:49:36. > :49:41.dancing, and he started laughing. And I said to him, are you laughing
:49:42. > :49:49.at us, or with us? He said, with you, that is a genius idea. Strictly
:49:50. > :49:53.Come Dancing would become one of the biggest Saturday night television
:49:54. > :49:58.spectaculars ever. At the centre was Bruce Forsyth, the key figure
:49:59. > :50:04.between the audience, performers and the judges. Please welcome your
:50:05. > :50:11.host, Bruce Forsyth! And Tess Daly. The first time that I met Bruce was
:50:12. > :50:15.through Strictly. And he was so relaxed that he's sort of made the
:50:16. > :50:20.rest of us relax. Myself and the crew were all a little bit on pins
:50:21. > :50:29.in the early days, because he was just such a legend. It's nice to
:50:30. > :50:35.twirl you, to twirl you... Nice. It is so nice to be working with you,
:50:36. > :50:39.tests. I am excited to be working with you but I am a little bit
:50:40. > :50:46.nervous. Oh, forget you are working with a superstar. Bruce...
:50:47. > :50:53.No one handle the live television quite like he did. He was in charge
:50:54. > :51:02.of that studio floor. I was watching you carefully. Will you face me and
:51:03. > :51:06.smile? He has a wonderful way of making people feel comfortable and
:51:07. > :51:13.what I call knock-about stuff. He never puts you down, or may chew
:51:14. > :51:19.feel awkward or uncomfortable. It is all wonderfully drawing you in. On a
:51:20. > :51:24.personal level, his friendship has meant so much to me. Because he is
:51:25. > :51:28.always there with a word of advice, if I needed it. And he really
:51:29. > :51:32.supported me and welcomed me with open arms on the show. And here he
:51:33. > :51:39.was, a legend, and he could not have been kinder. And I always really
:51:40. > :51:46.appreciated that, because he made me feel so welcome. And we just had so
:51:47. > :51:56.many good times working together. After all, it's time to meet the
:51:57. > :52:00.stars of our show. Yes. Bruce kept the integrity of the show. It was
:52:01. > :52:05.always about the dancing and the competition. They did not become
:52:06. > :52:09.slapstick and comedic. He kept the integrity of the show, always. Lady
:52:10. > :52:18.and gentleman, we give you tonight's competitors. BBC Breakfast
:52:19. > :52:26.anchorwoman Natasha Kaplinsky and her partner, Brendan Cole. Bruce was
:52:27. > :52:29.so supportive, understanding, and gave me a confident that even if I
:52:30. > :52:37.fell over he would be there to pick me up.
:52:38. > :52:44.He had the most extraordinary ability to really empathise and
:52:45. > :52:49.understand, and I guess that is why everybody loved him so much.
:52:50. > :52:58.Natasha, I'm afraid I don't agree with any of the other judges. I
:52:59. > :53:01.thought you were Dahl, dull, dull. Bruce always supported the
:53:02. > :53:07.contestants and he would turn on you about how you could say this or
:53:08. > :53:15.that. Your time is up. Your time is up. That is what the judges thought.
:53:16. > :53:20.But don't worry, you are the best. I said it right from the start. Bruce
:53:21. > :53:24.always used to say, you're my favourite. And somehow, even though
:53:25. > :53:31.you knew he said it to everybody else, you felt like he really meant
:53:32. > :53:39.it. OK, my darling, you are going to finish up in Vegas. Not reading the
:53:40. > :53:43.news, making the news. Is she easy? Bruce understands how to play to the
:53:44. > :53:53.crowds in the best possible way. He is a performer from the top of his
:53:54. > :53:57.head to the tip of his toes. After more than seven decades on screen
:53:58. > :54:05.and a publicly supported campaign, he was honoured with a knighthood by
:54:06. > :54:11.the Queen in 2011. Serb Bruce Forsyth Johnson, for services to
:54:12. > :54:15.entertainment and to charity. I can honestly say that on my way here I
:54:16. > :54:19.was very nervous, thinking, is anything going to happen, is this
:54:20. > :54:24.really happening, is this really me, am I getting this wonderful honour?
:54:25. > :54:33.The Queen asked me how long I had been in show business. When I said
:54:34. > :54:37.70 years, she was very shocked. Sir Bruce Forsyth, an all-round
:54:38. > :54:44.entertainer whose career reflected the regression of British television
:54:45. > :54:47.itself. Is there anybody here who has seen me on television but never
:54:48. > :54:55.in the flesh, put your hands up. Quite a few. Now put up your hands
:54:56. > :54:59.if you are regretting it already. He brought something new to a
:55:00. > :55:05.television screen that nobody else had really done, or may ever do
:55:06. > :55:13.again. A proud family man who leaves six children and many grandchildren.
:55:14. > :55:20.I would just like to say, Bruce, that you are not only a great
:55:21. > :55:28.all-round performer, you are a great all-round human being. The music,
:55:29. > :55:40.gossiping, silly, nonsensical, seeing the silly side of life, and
:55:41. > :55:46.being considerate. A most generous, kind, humorous colleague. And I
:55:47. > :55:55.certainly, at any meeting I have ever had with him, never forgot that
:55:56. > :55:59.he was a star. Never short of energy or enthusiasm, Bruce Forsyth, the
:56:00. > :56:05.consummate professional, in a 3-piece suit, with a smile and an
:56:06. > :56:11.ever ready catchphrase. Nice to see you, to see you nice. With Bruce, we
:56:12. > :56:21.have so much fabulous footage of him performing. With his jokes, his
:56:22. > :56:25.music. It's brilliant. Every room he walked into, Healy at it up. I will
:56:26. > :56:33.always be grateful for those years with Brucie, just being a little
:56:34. > :56:38.part of a very long life. He once said that if he lived to be 100, he
:56:39. > :56:45.would book the London Palladium for the celebration. Honoured and
:56:46. > :56:51.thrilled to have been able to consider Bruce my friend. When your
:56:52. > :57:02.hero becomes your friend, it's just perfection, really. A showmance, to
:57:03. > :57:05.the end. He was always Brucie. From Sunday night at the Palladium to
:57:06. > :57:12.Strictly, he is still the Bruce Forsyth we know and love. His
:57:13. > :57:52.achievements will never, ever be bettered.
:57:53. > :57:54.Hello, I'm Sarah Campbell with your 90 second update.
:57:55. > :57:59.One of Britain's greatest entertainers Sir Bruce Forsyth has
:58:00. > :58:02.A career spanning more than 70 years - he invented and re-invented