Ted Rogers
Encyclopedia
Ted Rogers was a fast-talking English
comedian and light entertainer who started his career as a Redcoat
entertainer and is best remembered as the only host in the original series of the Yorkshire Television
gameshow 3-2-1
.
, south London
and went to school in Lambeth
. His idol as a youngster was Danny Kaye
and Rogers won a holiday camp talent contest impersonating Kaye as a youngster, but he would later put all showbusiness offers on hold whilst he did his National Service
in the RAF.
In the early 1960s Rogers would appear as a stand up comedian on the radio programme Billy Cotton Band Show
, alongside singers such as Tom Jones
, Cliff Richard
, Alma Cogan
and comedians Terry Scott
and Hugh Lloyd
.
He went on to become a familiar presence on Sunday Night at the London Palladium
in the 1970s.
's variety gameshow 3-2-1. It ran for ten years in a top-rating Saturday night slot.
Rogers also appeared on the comedy panel game Joker's Wild
. He earned £130,000 a year in the early 1980s from 3-2-1 alone, and combined this with a career as a highly-paid after dinner speaker and made regular cabaret and public appearances.
3-2-1 was cancelled in 1988 when still attracting audiences of 12 million and in the top twenty ratings. In April 1996 Rogers told the Sunday Mirror
that "The Oxbridge
lot got control of TV and they didn't really want it. It was too downmarket for them. We were still getting 12 million viewers when they took it off after 10 years. These days if a show gets nine million everyone does a lap of honour".
Rogers also provoked ire in the music world with the obvious sub-text of his comedy act and persona deemed politically incorrect and epitomised the banality of American imported ideas regarding the game-show genre. One acidic song sung by indie group The Fall, "Joker Hysterical Face" with the barbed lyric, "Ted Rogers' brains burn in hell".
's Conservative
government of the 1980s: he spoke at their election rallies in 1979, 1983 and 1987. Rogers fell on hard times and was declared bankrupt in early 1992 having apparently invested his fortune in a failed business venture. His home at Little Chalfont
, Buckinghamshire
, was repossessed and Rogers' production company collapsed with debts of £80,000. He moved to Haslemere
, Surrey
, into a more modest house.
In 1996 Rogers performed three times a week as the headline act in the summer show in Whitby, North Yorkshire from 1 July to 6 September. In 1997/1998 Rogers appeared in the touring production of the play "Danny and Me" about his hero. Towards the end of the 1990s the satellite/cable station Challenge began re-running episodes of 3-2-1. In 2000, Rogers was seen during the sponsor credits for the ITV quiz Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
- sitting in a dressing room with 3-2-1 mascot Dusty Bin and bemoaning the new show's success.
Shortly before his death, he made several commercials for fast food chain, McDonald's
. His final television appearance saw him playing the host of a downmarket quiz show in the BBC
children's sitcom ChuckleVision
. Had he lived, he would have worked with his old friend Jackie Mason
on a Vaudeville
-type act in America which was due to start in October 2001.
in London.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
comedian and light entertainer who started his career as a Redcoat
Redcoats (Butlins)
Redcoat is the name given to frontline staff at Butlins holiday camps. A Redcoat may have many duties ranging from adult entertainer or children's entertainer to stewarding.-History:The first Redcoat was Norman Bradford...
entertainer and is best remembered as the only host in the original series of the Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television
Yorkshire Television, now officially known as ITV Yorkshire and sometimes unofficially abbreviated to YTV, is a British television broadcaster and the contractor for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV network...
gameshow 3-2-1
3-2-1
3–2–1 was a popular British game show that was made by Yorkshire Television for ITV. It ran for ten years, between 29 July 1978 and 24 December 1988. Throughout its run, the show was hosted by former Butlins Redcoat Ted Rogers. It was based on a Spanish gameshow called Un, dos, tres.....
.
Early life and career
Rogers was born in KenningtonKennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
, south London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and went to school in Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
. His idol as a youngster was Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye
Danny Kaye was a celebrated American actor, singer, dancer, and comedian...
and Rogers won a holiday camp talent contest impersonating Kaye as a youngster, but he would later put all showbusiness offers on hold whilst he did his National Service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the RAF.
In the early 1960s Rogers would appear as a stand up comedian on the radio programme Billy Cotton Band Show
Billy Cotton Band Show
The Billy Cotton Band Show was a popular Sunday afternoon radio programme on the BBC Light Programme from 1949 to 1968.The band leader, Billy Cotton, was a larger-than-life Cockney character who started each show with the cry “Wakey-Wake-aaaay!”, followed by the band’s signature tune “Somebody...
, alongside singers such as Tom Jones
Tom Jones (singer)
Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...
, Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard
Sir Cliff Richard, OBE is a British pop singer, musician, performer, actor, and philanthropist who has sold over an estimated 250 million records worldwide....
, Alma Cogan
Alma Cogan
Alma Cogan was an English singer of traditional pop music in the 1950s and early 1960s. Dubbed "The Girl With the Laugh/Giggle/Chuckle In Her Voice", she was the highest paid British female entertainer of her era...
and comedians Terry Scott
Terry Scott
Owen John "Terry" Scott was an English actor and comedian who appeared in seven Carry On films. He also appeared in BBC1's popular domestic sitcom Terry and June with June Whitfield...
and Hugh Lloyd
Hugh Lloyd
Hugh Lewis Lloyd, MBE was an English actor who made his name in television and film comedy from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was best known for appearances in Hugh and I and other sitcoms of the 1960s.-Life:...
.
He went on to become a familiar presence on Sunday Night at the London Palladium
Sunday Night at the London Palladium
Sunday Night at the London Palladium is a British television variety show produced by ATV for the ITV network, originally running from 1955 to 1967, with a brief revival in 1973 and 1974...
in the 1970s.
3-2-1
Rogers achieved his biggest success as the presenter of ITVITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's variety gameshow 3-2-1. It ran for ten years in a top-rating Saturday night slot.
Rogers also appeared on the comedy panel game Joker's Wild
Joker's Wild (TV series)
thumb|200px|Host Barry Cryer on Joker's WildJoker's Wild is a British comedy panel game that was produced by Yorkshire Television and broadcast for eight series on ITV from 1969 to 1974...
. He earned £130,000 a year in the early 1980s from 3-2-1 alone, and combined this with a career as a highly-paid after dinner speaker and made regular cabaret and public appearances.
3-2-1 was cancelled in 1988 when still attracting audiences of 12 million and in the top twenty ratings. In April 1996 Rogers told the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
that "The Oxbridge
Oxbridge
Oxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is now used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status...
lot got control of TV and they didn't really want it. It was too downmarket for them. We were still getting 12 million viewers when they took it off after 10 years. These days if a show gets nine million everyone does a lap of honour".
Rogers also provoked ire in the music world with the obvious sub-text of his comedy act and persona deemed politically incorrect and epitomised the banality of American imported ideas regarding the game-show genre. One acidic song sung by indie group The Fall, "Joker Hysterical Face" with the barbed lyric, "Ted Rogers' brains burn in hell".
After 3-2-1
Rogers was a staunch supporter of Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
's Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
government of the 1980s: he spoke at their election rallies in 1979, 1983 and 1987. Rogers fell on hard times and was declared bankrupt in early 1992 having apparently invested his fortune in a failed business venture. His home at Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont
Little Chalfont is a village and civil parish in Chiltern district in south east Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated in a small group of villages called The Chalfonts which also consists of Chalfont St Giles and Chalfont St Peter...
, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....
, was repossessed and Rogers' production company collapsed with debts of £80,000. He moved to Haslemere
Haslemere
Haslemere is a town in Surrey, England, close to the border with both Hampshire and West Sussex. The major road between London and Portsmouth, the A3, lies to the west, and a branch of the River Wey to the south. Haslemere is approximately south-west of Guildford.Haslemere is surrounded by hills,...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, into a more modest house.
In 1996 Rogers performed three times a week as the headline act in the summer show in Whitby, North Yorkshire from 1 July to 6 September. In 1997/1998 Rogers appeared in the touring production of the play "Danny and Me" about his hero. Towards the end of the 1990s the satellite/cable station Challenge began re-running episodes of 3-2-1. In 2000, Rogers was seen during the sponsor credits for the ITV quiz Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? (UK game show)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a British television quiz show which offers a maximum cash prize of one million pounds for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty...
- sitting in a dressing room with 3-2-1 mascot Dusty Bin and bemoaning the new show's success.
Shortly before his death, he made several commercials for fast food chain, McDonald's
McDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
. His final television appearance saw him playing the host of a downmarket quiz show in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
children's sitcom ChuckleVision
ChuckleVision
ChuckleVision is a popular British television series shown mainly on CBBC. New episodes are always first aired on BBC One, and occasionally episodes are shown on BBC Two. The first episode was shown on 26 September 1987. It follows the adventures of the Chuckle Brothers & the Patton Brothers, who...
. Had he lived, he would have worked with his old friend Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason
Jackie Mason is an American stand-up comedian and movie actor.-Early life:Born Yacov Moshe Maza in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, he grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City....
on a Vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
-type act in America which was due to start in October 2001.
Personal life
Ted Rogers was married twice, to his childhood sweetheart Marge, with whom he had two daughters, and then to Marion Mitchell, with whom he had a daughter, Canna, in 1986 and a son, Danny, in 1990.Death
On 2 May 2001 Ted Rogers died after open-heart surgery to replace a heart valve at St Thomas' HospitalSt Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS hospital in London, England. It is administratively a part of Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. It has provided health care freely or under charitable auspices since the 12th century and was originally located in Southwark.St Thomas' Hospital is accessible...
in London.