Bill Grundy
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.
Biography
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 for letting himself be ambushed by his guests, the punk band Sex Pistols and their entourage. They featured at short notice on the show of December 1 1976 as a last minute stand-in for Queen, who were forced to cancel.
During the interview he patronized them and goaded them to swear after Johnny Rotten unintentionally muttered the word "shit" (though he missed Steve Jones swearing previously). Grundy then made a somewhat inept attempt (Grundy was an alleged heavy drinker) to "chat up" Siouxsie of Siouxsie and the Banshees who was part of the band's entourage. Pistols guitarist Steve Jones responded by calling Grundy a "dirty bastard" and a "fucking rotter". Although Today was only shown in the London ITV franchise, it became a national "rumpus" (see picture) as the tabloid press stoked public outrage. 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 British television. Grundy died of a heart attack on 9th 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 11th 1993, Inglis himself died.
The clip often features on programmes such as British Television's Most Embarrassing Moments.
In 1978 the punk band Television Personalities recorded an EP entitled Where's Bill Grundy Now?
See also
External links
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