Bruce Gyngell (8 July 1929 – 7 September 2000), born in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
was a leading
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
executive. He was the head of many television networks in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, including the
Nine NetworkThe Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. For nearly 40 years between 1956 and 2005, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, the
Seven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by the Seven Media Group. It dates back to 2 December 1970, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Sydney and Melbourne. It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
during the 1970s and also as deputy chairman of
Associated TeleVisionAssociated TeleVision, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licenses to broadcast on the ITV network from September 24, 1955 until December 31, 1981.-Formation:...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. He was also the first Chief Executive of the
Special Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(
SBSThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
) in Australia during the 1980s. Gyngell also created the
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, the forerunner of the
Australian Broadcasting AuthorityThe Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications....
, and was its first Chairman in 1977.
Bruce Gyngell (8 July 1929 – 7 September 2000), born in
MelbourneMelbourne is the capital city and most populous city of the State of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne city centre is the anchor of the larger geographical area and statistical division known as the Greater Melbourne metropolitan area – of which Melbourne is...
,
VictoriaVictoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
was a leading
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
executive. He was the head of many television networks in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, including the
Nine NetworkThe Nine Network, or Channel Nine, is an Australian television network based in Willoughby, a suburb on the North Shore of Sydney. For nearly 40 years between 1956 and 2005, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
, the
Seven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by the Seven Media Group. It dates back to 2 December 1970, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Sydney and Melbourne. It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
during the 1970s and also as deputy chairman of
Associated TeleVisionAssociated TeleVision, often referred to as ATV, was a British television company, holder of various licenses to broadcast on the ITV network from September 24, 1955 until December 31, 1981.-Formation:...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
. He was also the first Chief Executive of the
Special Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
(
SBSThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
) in Australia during the 1980s. Gyngell also created the
Australian Broadcasting Tribunal, the forerunner of the
Australian Broadcasting AuthorityThe Australian Broadcasting Authority was an Australian government agency whose main roles were to regulate broadcasting, radiocommunications and telecommunications....
, and was its first Chairman in 1977. In the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, he was Managing Director at
TV-amTV-am was a breakfast television station that broadcast to the United Kingdom from 1 February 1983 to 31 December 1992. It made history by being the first national operator of an ITV franchise at breakfast-time, and was broadcast every day of the week, for most or all of the period between 06:00...
between 1984 and 1993, and
Yorkshire TelevisionYorkshire Television is the ITV contractor for the Yorkshire franchise. Up until 1974, this was primarily the three Ridings of Yorkshire and associated areas served by the Emley Moor television transmitter...
(which by then had become "Yorkshire-Tyne Tees Television" after taking over
Tyne Tees TelevisionTyne Tees Television is the ITV television franchise for North East England and some of North Yorkshire...
).
Gyngell's media career began in the record industry, in the mid-1950s, when he was hired by Australian label
Festival RecordsFestival Mushroom Records was an Australian music recording and publishing company which was founded in Sydney in 1952 and operated until 2005....
. He was soon poached by Sir Frank Packer, who hired him to assist in the establishment of
TCNTCN stands for:* Take Care Now, a private company providing out-of-hours medical cover in England* TanenbaumCHAT North Campus, a private Hebrew high school in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada* TCN-9, a Sydney television station...
-9,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
's first commercial television station, in 1956. Gyngell is often credited as being the first person to ever appear on
Australian televisionTelevision in Australia began experimentally as early as 1931 in Melbourne, and later from other locations, such as Brisbane in 1934 with transmissions by amateur station VK4CM....
on 16 September 1956 when he spoke the words, 'Good evening, and welcome to television'. However, many people had already appeared in television test broadcasts in Australia prior to Gyngell, including Alan Rowe, comedy duo "Ada & Elsie", "Happy" Hammond, and Graham Kennedy.
Gyngell would repeat his "opening night" words upon the opening of the
Special Broadcasting ServiceThe Special Broadcasting Service is a hybrid-funded Australian public broadcasting radio and television network. The stated purpose of SBS is "to provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians and, in doing so, reflect...
in 1980, and again in 1995, when
cable televisionCable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required...
with (
Optus TelevisionOptus Television is the cable television division of Australian telecommunications company Optus.-History:Its immediate predecessor was Optus Vision, a joint venture between, Optus and US West with small shareholdings by media companies Publishing and Broadcasting Limited and Seven Network...
). He was the founder of the Nine Network's most popular music-variety program, the long-running
Bandstand, which Gyngell had adapted from the American program of the same name.
Gyngell died at the age of 71, on 7 September 2000 in
Chelsea, LondonChelsea is an area of south-west London, England, bounded to the south by the River Thames, where its frontage runs from Chelsea Bridge along the Chelsea Embankment, Cheyne Walk, Lots Road and Chelsea Harbour. Its eastern boundary was once defined by the River Westbourne, which is now in a pipe...
from a cancer-related illness. Upon Gyngell's death,
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n
Prime MinisterA prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. The position is usually held by, but need not always be held by, a politician. In many systems, the prime minister selects and can dismiss other members of the cabinet, and...
John HowardJohn Winston Howard, AC was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
paid tribute to Gyngell saying, 'It's a big loss to the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n television industry. In a way, he probably contributed more to the industry than just about any other Australian.'
sunday.ninemsn.com.au.
He is the father of designer Briony Gyngell, restaurateur Skye Gyngell and Nine Network CEO
David GyngellDavid Gyngell is the CEO of Australian commercial broadcasting network Channel Nine. He is currently serving his second stint as CEO after resigning from the job in May 2005...
, who is married to
Leila McKinnonLeila McKinnon is the presenter of Weekend Today alongside Cameron Williams. She is also a reporter for Nine News and A Current Affair....
External links