Eric Baume OBE  was an Australian based journalist, radio presenter, actor and talk show host.

Eric Baume was born Frederick Ehrenfried Baume in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 New Zealand in 1900. He moved to Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

 in the early 1920s and worked for as editor for several papers. At this time he developed what was to become a life-long addiction to gambling, which kept the family in debt for decades.

He is well remembered as "The Beast" in the Australian TV talkshow Beauty and the Beast

Beauty and the Beast (talk show)

Beauty and the Beast is an Australian panel television show that has appeared in numerous versions since the early days of Australian television. The first version began in 1963 on the Seven Network with host Eric Baume as the "Beast". Baume was later replaced by presenters including John Laws,...

, where his gruff style compared to the ladies on the panel kept the ratings high.

In 1966 he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire

Order of the British Empire

The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...

 (OBE).

Baume died in 1967. His debts considerably exceeded his assets.

He was the uncle of Michael Baume

Michael Baume

Michael Ehrenfried Baume AO was an Australian Liberal Party politician who represented the Division of Macarthur in the House of Representatives and the state of New South Wales in the Senate.Born in Sydney, Baume earned a B.A...

 and was also related to Peter Baume

Peter Baume

Peter Erne Baume, AC is a former Australian politician.Baume was born in Sydney, New South Wales and was educated at North Sydney Boys High School and Sydney Grammar School. He married Jennifer Tucson 1958 and they have one son and one daughter...

, both Liberal politicians and ministers.