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Bill Grundy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
Grundy began his career as a journalist in Manchester and was the first television presenter to present The Beatles on Granada Television on October 17, 1962.
Grundy later found infamy due to an incident that occurred when the punk band Sex Pistols and their entourage featured at short notice on the Today show of December 1, 1976 as a last minute stand-in for Queen, who were forced to cancel.
Having admitted to being drunk as he introduced them - "...they are as drunk as I am!", during the interview he patronized them and goaded them to swear after Johnny Rotten casually muttered the word "shit". Grundy later made a somewhat inept attempt to "chat up" Siouxsie Sioux who appeared as part of the band's entourage, known as the Bromley Contingent (at the time she was 19, he was 53). The show went downhill from there. Steve Jones responded by calling Grundy a "dirty old man" (a signature line from the British comedy show, Steptoe and Son). When Grundy further goaded the band to "say something outrageous", Jones was only too happy to oblige, calling Grundy a "dirty bastard" and "fucking rotter". Grundy could also be seen saying "oh shit" as the credits rolled after the incident. Although Today was only shown in the London ITV region, it became a national story due to coverage and comment by the tabloid press. As a result, Grundy was suspended for two weeks and Today was axed two months later.
The broadcast wrecked his 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. He also appeared as an interviewer in ITV's adaptation of "A Kind of Loving" in 1982. Grundy died of a heart attack on 9 February 1993 at the age of 69. After his death, the job of writing his obituary went to his friend and colleague Brian Inglis. On February 11, 1993, Inglis himself died.
In 1978 the punk band Television Personalities recorded an EP entitled Where's Bill Grundy Now?
His son Tim Grundy is a popular radio presenter in the Manchester area.
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