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.
Infamy later found Grundy when the punk band Sex Pistols were featured at short notice on the show on December 1 1976. The Pistols were a last minute stand-in for the rock band Queen who were intended to appear but had had 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". A tabloid press furore erupted the following day which made it into a national "scandal" (Today was only shown in the London area), leading to a two week suspension for Grundy. 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.
In 1978 the punk band Television Personalities recorded an EP entitled Where's Bill Grundy Now?
See also
External links
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