Web Page No 2788 29th May 2021 EAMON ANDREWS First Picture: A YOUNG EAMON ANDREWS

Second Picture: WHATS MY LINE?

Third Picture: EAMON AND GRAINNE AT HOME

Fourth Picture: THIS IS YOUR LIFE

EAMONN ANDREWS WAS BORN IN DUBLIN ON 19TH DECEMBER 1922, AND WAS EDUCATED AT THE CITY'S SYNGE STREET CHRISTIAN BROTHERS' SCHOOL, NOT FAR FROM THE FAMILY HOME HE SHARED WITH HIS PARENTS, THREE SISTERS AND A BROTHER. IT WAS WHILE HE WAS AT SCHOOL THAT EAMONN DEVELOPED A PASSION FOR SPORT, AND IN PARTICULAR, BOXING. HE JOINED ST ANDREWS BOXING CLUB IN DUBLIN AND BECAME A SUCCESSFUL AMATEUR BOXER, WINNING THE ALL-IRELAND JUVENILE TITLE. HIS OTHER GREAT LOVES WERE LITERATURE AND THEATRE. HE HAD AN INTEREST IN AMATEUR DRAMATICS, AND ALONG WITH A GROUP OF FRIENDS, ESTABLISHED A DRAMA GROUP CALLED BLUE WHITE PRODUCTIONS, NAMED FOR THEIR OLD SCHOOL COLOURS. IN ADDITION TO ACTING, HE WAS A KEEN WRITER AND WROTE PLAYS AND POETRY. EAMONN WON THE FIRST PRIZE OF A BICYCLE IN AN ESSAY WRITING COMPETITION AT THE AGE OF 13 IN MAY 1936 BOXING TOOK UP MUCH OF HIS TIME OUTSIDE SCHOOL, AND IRONICALLY HIS FIRST PAYMENT FOR WRITING WAS CONNECTED TO HIS BOXING. BY THE AGE OF 16 EAMONN ALREADY HAD AN AMBITION TO BROADCAST, AND CLAIMING TO BE AN EXPERT ON BOXING, HE APPLIED FOR WORK WITH RADIO EIREANN - DUBLIN'S COMMERCIAL RADIO STATION – AND FOLLOWING AN AUDITION, HE WAS OFFERED A TRY-OUT: THE TRY-OUT WAS A SUCCESS AND EAMONN BEGAN HIS BROADCASTING CAREER WITH REGULAR SPORTING COMMENTARIES FOR BOXING, RUGBY AND SOCCER. IN ADDITION, HIS CONTINUING INTEREST IN THEATRE SAW HIM STUDYING ACTING UNDER RIA MOONEY AT THE ABBEY THEATRE. HE ALSO TOOK PART IN PLAYS ON RADIO EIREANN, AND HAD HIS OWN PLAY, A SOLEMN – AND UNSUCCESSFUL – WORK ENTITLED THE MOON IS BLACK, PRODUCED AT THE PEACOCK THEATRE. AS A TEENAGER EAMONN HAD A VARIETY OF INTERESTS TO KEEP HIM BUSY, INCLUDING BOXING AND LITERATURE. AFTER LEAVING SCHOOL HE TOOK HIS PARENTS ADVICE TO SECURE A STEADY JOB AT THE HIBERNIAN INSURANCE COMPANY IN DUBLIN AS A JUNIOR CLERK, WHERE HE WAS PAID £1 A WEEK. AND HE WAS STILL BOXING - AT THE AGE 22 IN 1944 AT THE NATIONAL STADIUM IN DUBLIN, EAMONN ENTERED THE IRISH JUNIOR MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE – AND WON. BUT NOT BEFORE HE HAD COMMENTATED ON THE OTHER SEMI-FINAL! WITH THE EXTRA ACTIVITIES BOOSTING HIS INCOME, EAMONN MADE THE DECISION, WITH TREPIDATION, TO LEAVE THE SECURITY OF A REGULAR INCOME AT THE HIBERNIAN, AND BECOME A FULL-TIME WRITER AND BROADCASTER IN 1946. THE DECISION PROVED TO BE THE RIGHT ONE FOR HIM - AS WELL AS THE BOXING COMMENTARIES, EAMONN'S TIME WAS FREED UP TO WORK ON OTHER PROGRAMMES, INCLUDING MICROPHONE PARADE, WHICH RAN FOR ALMOST THREE YEARS WITHOUT A BREAK, AND INVOLVED HIM INTERVIEWING VISITING CELEBRITIES. EAMONN BECAME A FULL TIME WRITER AND BROADCASTER AFTER LEAVING THE HIBERNIAN INSURANCE COMPANY WHERE HE HAD WORKED AS A CLERK HE ALSO BECAME INVOLVED WITH A NEW ENTERTAINMENT PHENOMENON THAT WAS SPRINGING UP IN IRELAND AT THE TIME CALLED CINE VARIETY, WHERE AS A TAX BREAK CINEMA OWNERS COULD OFFER LIVE ENTERTAINMENT BEFORE SHOWING A FILM. AS PART OF CINE VARIETY, EAMONN WAS OFFERED THE OPPORTUNITY TO PRESENT A QUIZ CALLED DOUBLE OR NOTHING, WHICH INVOLVED MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE ANSWERING A SERIES OF QUESTIONS FOR CASH PRIZES. AFTER BEING ON THE ROAD IN LIMERICK AND GALWAY, THE SHOW SECURED A REGULAR SPOT AT THE THEATRE ROYAL IN DUBLIN, WHERE EAMONN, AS COMPERE, GAINED VALUABLE EXPERIENCE OF WORKING DIRECTLY WITH THE PUBLIC. IT WAS AT THE THEATRE ROYAL AFTER A PERFORMANCE OF DOUBLE OR NOTHING IN JULY 1949 THAT EAMONN MET GRAINNE BOURKE, WHO WAS ENJOYING A NIGHT OUT WITH HER FAMILY. THE BOURKES RAN A COSTUMIER BUSINESS IN DUBLIN, AND WERE THEATRICAL FRIENDS OF EAMONN'S. HE HAD MET GRAINNE CASUALLY A FEW TIMES, BUT THAT NIGHT HE JOINED THEIR PARTY AFTER THE SHOW, AND GRAINNE AND EAMONN HAD THEIR FIRST REAL 'DATE'. THEIR COURTSHIP LASTED NEARLY TWO AND A HALF YEARS, AND THEY WERE MARRIED AT DUBLIN'S CORPUS CHRISTI CHURCH ON 7TH NOVEMBER 1951. IT WAS DURING A SEASON AT THE THEATRE ROYAL THAT EAMONN MET JOE LOSS, WHO CHANGED THE COURSE OF HIS PROFESSIONAL CAREER: JOE LOSS WAS A SUCCESSFUL BANDLEADER WHO HAD BEEN BOOKED FOR TWO WEEK’S. HE LIKED EAMONN AND WHAT HE WAS DOING WITH DOUBLE OR NOTHING AND OFFERED HIM THE OPPORTUNITY TO BRING THE SHOW OVER TO ENGLAND. THIS RESULTED IN A LIFELONG FRIENDSHIP WHILE IN LONDON, EAMONN APPROACHED THE BBC IN PERSON, AND EVENTUALLY AN OPPORTUNITY AROSE. STEWART MACPHERSON, THE CANADIAN BROADCASTER WHO HAD BEEN ONE OF THE MOST FAMILIAR VOICES ON BRITISH RADIO DURING THE WAR, ANNOUNCED HE WAS LEAVING. EAMONN WAS SWIFT TO TRY THE BBC AGAIN; POINTING OUT THAT HE COULD DO EVERYTHING THAT MACPHERSON DID. HIS AUDITION WAS SUCCESSFUL, AND AT THE AGE OF 27 IN 1950, HE MOVED TO LONDON, SECURED HIMSELF AN AGENT, AND BEGAN A 14-YEAR LONG BROADCASTING CAREER WITH THE BBC. EAMONN ANDREWS CHAIRED HIS FIRST EDITION OF IGNORANCE IS BLISS, HE ALSO WORKED ON OTHER RADIO PROGRAMMES, INCLUDING SPORTS REPORT, A SATURDAY AFTERNOON FOOTBALL RESULTS PROGRAMME WHICH HE JOINED IN DECEMBER 1950, AND WOULD CONTINUE CONTRIBUTING TO UNTIL 1964. THE IDEA OF APPEARING ON TELEVISION HAD NOT THRILLED HIM BUT, IN THE SPRING OF 1951 THE BBC COMMISSIONED A NEW GAME SHOW FROM AMERICA, CALLED WHAT'S MY LINE, THE PANEL GAME DEBUTED ON BBC TELEVISION IN THE SUMMER OF 1951 WITH EAMONN ANDREWS AS THE CHAIRMAN BY 1955 THE BBC - NOW WELL AWARE OF EAMONN'S TALENT AND POPULARITY - WERE ON THE LOOK OUT FOR A NEW SHOW FOR HIM TO FRONT. RONNIE WALDMAN, THE THEN HEAD OF BBC LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT, HAD HIS SIGHTS SET ON CREATING A BRITISH VERSION OF A HUGELY POPULAR AMERICAN SHOW CALLED THIS IS YOUR LIFE. SO, ON FRIDAY 29 JULY 1955, EAMONN ANDREWS AND FREDDIE MILLS TOOK THEIR SEATS AT THE BBC TELEVISION THEATRE IN SHEPHERD'S BUSH, AS RALPH EDWARDS, ON LIVE TELEVISION, TEASED THE AUDIENCE ABOUT WHOSE LIFE STORY WOULD BE TOLD ON BRITAIN'S FIRST EDITION OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE. RALPH EDWARDS HANDED EAMONN THE THIS IS YOUR LIFE BOOK, AND AS EAMONN HIMSELF WOULD DO TO HIS FUTURE SUBJECTS ON MANY SUBSEQUENT OCCASIONS, ASKED HIM TO READ THE COVER. HIS REACTION ON SEEING HIS OWN NAME PRINTED ON THE COVER WAS – "THIS IS YOUR – OH BLIMEY!" EAMONN'S THIS IS YOUR LIFE WAS A HUGE SUCCESS, WITH MANY POSITIVE REVIEWS IN THE FOLLOWING DAY'S PRESS. EAMONN HAD RECEIVED A TASTE OF WHAT HIS FUTURE SUBJECTS WOULD EXPERIENCE AND TO HIM THE SURPRISE WOULD ALWAYS BE THE SHOW'S CENTREPIECE. THE PROGRAMMEWENT FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, AND WAS SOON BEING BROADCAST WEEKLY AND EAMONN BECAME SYNONYMOUS WITH THE PROGRAMME. HE PRESENTED 255 EDITIONS OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE FOR THE BBC BETWEEN 1955 AND 1964 EAMONN ALSO PRESENTED OTHER TELEVISION SHOWS FOR THE BBC, INCLUDING THE CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMES PLAYBOX AND CRACKERJACK! WHICH INCLUDED HIS OWN INVENTION: THE PARLOUR GAME 'DOUBLE OR DROP'. BY 1964, AFTER NINE SERIES OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE, THERE WAS A FEELING AMONG THE BBC HIERARCHY THAT THE PROGRAMME HAD LOST A LOT OF ITS SPONTANEITY AND EXCITEMENT. THE BBC MADE THE DECISION TO DROP THE PROGRAMME. EAMONN TOOK THIS NEWS BADLY, AS IT CAME IN ADDITION TO THE ANNOUNCEMENT THAT HIS OTHER RATINGS WINNER, WHAT'S MY LINE? HAD ALSO BEEN RECENTLY CANCELLED. HOWEVER, AN OPPORTUNITY AROSE WITH AN OFFER FROM ABC TELEVISION FOR EAMONN TO FRONT WORLD OF SPORT, AS WELL AS HIS OWN LIVE WEEKLY CHAT SHOW. His CHAT SHOW, THE EAMONN ANDREWS SHOW, HIT THE AIR LIVE IN OCTOBER 1964 AND QUICKLY BECAME A SUCCESS, ATTRACTING GUESTS AS DIVERSE AS NOEL COWARD AND THE BEATLES. IT RAN FOR FIVE YEARS AND EAMONN LAUNCHED WORLD OF SPORT ON THE ITV NETWORK IN JANUARY 1965, AND REMAINED AS HOST UNTIL 1968 IN 1968 HE WAS GIVEN THE TASK OF FRONTING THAMES TELEVISION'S NEW TODAY PROGRAMME. THE DAILY LIVE ENTERTAINMENT AND INFORMATION SHOW AIMED TO REFLECT "WHAT IS GOING ON IN LONDON". EAMONN ANDREWS PRESENTED THAMES TELEVISION'S TODAY PROGRAMME BETWEEN 1968 AND 1977 HOWEVER, IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE HE WAS SUGGESTING THE IDEA OF REVIVING THIS IS YOUR LIFE. HE FELT THAT THE BBC HAD KILLED OFF THE SHOW TOO EARLY, AND THAT THE FORMAT HAD YEARS OF 'LIFE' STILL IN IT. T THAMES - COMMISSIONED A 13 PART SERIES EXTENDED TO 26 EDITIONS. HE CONTINUED TO PLAY A MAJOR PART IN THE SHOW'S PRODUCTION, AND WAS INFLUENTIAL IN HELPING TO SECURE SUCH HIGH RATING SUBJECTS AS MUHAMMAD ALI AND ALSO LORD MOUNTBATTEN, THOUGH HIS DREAM TO SURPRISE THE QUEEN MOTHER NEVER MATERIALISED! HE PRESENTED 480 EDITIONS OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE FOR THAMES TELEVISION BETWEEN 1969 AND 1987 SINCE 1961 EAMONN AND GRAINNE HAD BEEN LIVING IN CHISWICK WITH THEIR THREE ADOPTED CHILDREN, BUT IN 1970 THE FAMILY MOVED BACK TO IRELAND. THEY SET UP HOME OUTSIDE DUBLIN, FROM WHERE EAMONN COMMUTED TO LONDON, FOR THE WEEKLY ROUTINE OF MEETINGS AND RECORDINGS. EAMONN BECAME A SUBJECT OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE FOR A SECOND TIME IN MAY 1974 WHEN HE WAS SURPRISED WHILE APPEARING AS A GUEST ON THE DAVID NIXON SHOW. A SELF-CONFESSED WORKAHOLIC, HE SHOWED NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN, DESPITE A DOCTOR'S WARNING AFTER HE HAD CONTRACTED BRONCHITIS. IN AILING HEALTH, HE CONTINUED WORKING TO HIS LIMIT. FOLLOWING SEVERAL BOUTS OF ILLNESS, EXACERBATED BY THE DEMANDING SCHEDULE AND NXIETY OVER SOME TROUBLED BUSINESS INTERESTS IN DUBLIN, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES AND VIEWERS BECAME INCREASINGLY CONCERNED ABOUT HIM. AS THE 28TH SERIES OF THIS IS YOUR LIFE BEGAN, IT WAS EVIDENT THAT EAMONN WAS DETERIORATING PHYSICALLY AND, ONLY AT GRAINNE'S BEHEST, DID HE AGREE TO POSTPONE THE PLANNED RECORDING OF A PARTICULAR SHOW, AND ATTEND THE CROMWELL HOSPITAL FOR URGENT TESTS. SOME HOURS LATER EAMONN DIED PEACEFULLY IN HIS SLEEP IN THE EARLY HOURS OF 5 NOVEMBER 1987. STAY IN TOUCH PETER