Terry Wogan RIP (1938 -2016)

[ace5150]

Cancer strikes again it seems.
RIP Terry

[daz]

Another part of my growing up gone. He always seemed to be on the telly when I was a kid.

He didn't bother me either way. He could tell a story thats for sure, he must have swallowed the Blarney stone instead of kissing it.

Always thought he let himself down when discovered he was getting paid for doing Children in Need.

Cancer is a bas**rd of a disease.

RIP Terry.

[dscarter1975]

Back in the '80s, me and my family would always be in the living room watching his show every weekday evening while we were having our dinner.  He would tell his usual anecdotes before introducing his guests and there would always be a pop or rock group turning up to perform their latest hit single.  But an enduring image of him for me will be him with mike in hand presenting Blankety Blank.  RIP Mr. Wogan.

BTW does anyone remember Wogan's Web which was on BBC1 during the daytime in the late 1990s?  That was quite funny in a dark way as he once threw darts at a picture of Carol Vorderman who was ubiquitous at the time.

[daz]

Jan 31, 2016 15:14:18 GMT dscarter1975 said:

Back in the '80s, me and my family would always be in the living room watching his show every weekday evening while we were having our dinner.  He would tell his usual anecdotes before introducing his guests and there would always be a pop or rock group turning up to perform their latest hit single.  But an enduring image of him for me will be him with mike in hand presenting Blankety Blank.  RIP Mr. Wogan.

BTW does anyone remember Wogan's Web which was on BBC1 during the daytime in the late 1990s?  That was quite funny in a dark way as he once threw darts at a picture of Carol Vorderman who was ubiquitous at the time.

Blankety Blank is my abiding memory of him, with a stupidly long microphone.

[flyingsquad]

Jan 31, 2016 15:14:18 GMT dscarter1975 said:

Back in the '80s, me and my family would always be in the living room watching his show every weekday evening while we were having our dinner.  He would tell his usual anecdotes before introducing his guests and there would always be a pop or rock group turning up to perform their latest hit single.  But an enduring image of him for me will be him with mike in hand presenting Blankety Blank.  RIP Mr. Wogan.

BTW does anyone remember Wogan's Web which was on BBC1 during the daytime in the late 1990s?  That was quite funny in a dark way as he once threw darts at a picture of Carol Vorderman who was ubiquitous at the time.

I remember it. It was when I also used to watch 'Wipeout' with Bob Monkhouse during daytime. There were some decent programmes on BBC1 during daytime back in the 90s instead of the cooking, antiques, property etc. programmes on daytime BBC1 now.

[ace5150]

I recall some card calling up Children in Need one year offering a donation for Terry to take his 'Irish jig' off live on air. Terry declined. I respected him a lot for that, but to be honest, I only watched it as Joanna Lumley was appearing wearing stockings.

[jno]

RIP Terry ... off to give out the Blankety Blank "Cheque Pen & Book" upstairs from now on.

[ace5150]

To be honest, I always thought Les Dawson was a far better host on the show.
The less said about Lily Savage, the better!

[flyingsquad]

Jan 31, 2016 20:09:41 GMT ace5150 said:

To be honest, I always thought Les Dawson was a far better host on the show.
The less said about Lily Savage, the better!

I hate Paul O'Grady as he said he was going to leave the country if the Tories were re-elected but hasn't.

[vicboy]

I suspect that I will be in the small minority on this website who will remember Wogan for his breakfast time Radio 2 show rather than his TV work - late 1970's and 1980's.

As a DJ he was funny and quite subversive in a way (on Twitter this morning Matt Lucas put up an excellent message along the lines of how Wogan was conventional, square, yet very subversive in his own way).

That was the great strength of his Radio work. He would quietly take the mick out of many everyday things without ever being offensive - something many up coming comedians at the time were completely unable to do.

He was also highly observant about everyday life as a whole. At one point he and his listeners, by post remember because no email back then, debated for months what a tower in Northampton was for. He called it 'The Northampton Lighthouse'. Eventually it emerged that it was a testing site for lift shafts! It might seem daft now but it was something that aroused the interest of many people in the late 1970's.

Another time I well remember him saying something that resonated with me and would have also done so with many others. One of Wogan's long time producers was a man called Paul Walters. 'Paulie', as Wogan called him, died and Terry was obviously upset. A couple of years later, Wogan was talking about it almost being June 21st, the longest daylight hours of the year. It was only a tiny thing but Wogan suddenly said something along the lines of 'Ah, midsummer's day. Poor old Paulie used to plunge into a black mood when that day arrived, saying that it was all downhill to the long days of winter from there onwards'.

Again, it was a tiny thing but let's not forget that today Twitter and Facebook are full of people announcing the most mundane detail about their lives to the world. At least when Wogan discussed mundane stuff it was laced with wit and feeling.

so, I fondly remember Wogan for the radio but his TV work as a chat show host never appealed to me at all. He was a poor interviewer who, much to my surprise, appeared to love the conversation with a guest turning back to himself. Watching some of the replays of his 1980's shows make me cringe now.

A guest makes an obviously rehearsed comment about Wogan and he would slowly turn to the near-hysterical audience with a look of self mocking, surprise, or pretend hurt depending on the nature of the interview. Wogan would also repeatedly get in the way of what his guests were saying. But then again, it was a 7pm chat-show and nobody was ever going to be too naughty. That is aside from a very pi**ed George Best who infamously starting answering every questions with 'I like screwing, Terry'. Wogan could clearly be seen to be angry and handled the situation very poorly.

As for Blankety-Blank, have to agree that Les Dawson was much better as a host. As for Lily Savage - no comment!

So, I will miss Wogan and am sad that so many big hitters from my younger days have gone in one dreadful month - take heed younger Mindernarians, nobody tells you when you are o

[vicboy]

..sorry about the above but to finish off..

when you are young that from about 50 your younger days start to seem a long way off when those who were part of your life begin to die away. It makes you feel strange and realise nobody is immortal.

The passing of Wogan has again done that to me, even though I was only a fan of around 50% of what he did.

RIP TW...

[plasticpenguin]

The Grim Reaper seems to be working overtime recently. Always a stalwart of British TV. RIP Wogan.

[Deleted]

Saddened to hear of Terry's passing.Very entertaining and witty radio presenter.

RIP Sir Terry Wigon.

[daz]

Jan 31, 2016 20:09:41 GMT ace5150 said:

To be honest, I always thought Les Dawson was a far better host on the show.
The less said about Lily Savage, the better!

Wogan was a very good host, but Les Dawson owned it.  I think Terry himself admitted that.

[plasticpenguin]

Feb 1, 2016 7:32:40 GMT @maninasuitcase said:

Saddened to hear of Terry's passing.Very entertaining and witty radio presenter.

RIP Sir Terry Wigon.

Terry Wogan wasn't my cup of char but appreciate he had millions of loyal followers.

[Deleted]

My ideal era of BBC Radio was 'Wake up with Wigon' followed by the Ken Bruce Show every weekday morning. Unbeatable.

[watermania]

what a legend! I think Dennis was guest on his show in the 80's...

[plasticpenguin]

Excellent.

[Deleted]

Yes, I can imagine where Tel would have liked to shove that mic after that.......

[Portland Road]

Terry and Kenny were good friends, going back to late 60s BBC Radio and possibly the Light Programme.

Great post vicboy:

Jan 31, 2016 21:03:32 GMT vicboy said:

I suspect that I will be in the small minority on this website who will remember Wogan for his breakfast time Radio 2 show rather than his TV work - late 1970's and 1980's.

As a DJ he was funny and quite subversive in a way (on Twitter this morning Matt Lucas put up an excellent message along the lines of how Wogan was conventional, square, yet very subversive in his own way).

That was the great strength of his Radio work. He would quietly take the mick out of many everyday things without ever being offensive - something many up coming comedians at the time were completely unable to do.

[Portland Road]

vicboy - I also remember Wogan on his original Radio 2 breakfast show run (1972-83) because my mother used to listen.

I remember liking the theme tune, called 'Just Like That' by Brass Incorporated (1970). It is quite hard to find, even on You Tube. But here it is on a clip from Terry's Radio 1&2 afternoon show in 1970:



I liked him on 'Blankety Blank' and remember watching it in the earliest days. At the time, it was quite unusual for the BBC to have such a game show, and it was Terry's first ongoing TV work.

I remember the early evening chat show, which eventually went on three times a week. I didn't necessarily see these, I was doing other things (work, going out etc). I think he got over exposure and I have heard a few people mention about his contrived camera reactions etc.

He got back into his element on the Radio 2 breakfast show again in 1993. I think this is where he was best. I enjoyed his understated, observant wit. One of his strengths is that he was not deferential to showbiz, in the way that Steve Wright can be.  

[thewoodster]

His early morning radio2 breakfast show(wake up with wogan) was most memorable to me rather than his tv work.