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An Irish war correspondent becoming a straight-man to a Saturday evening entertainment show involving practical jokes in the early 1980s did seem almost difficult to believe, but it did happen, and as Terry Wogan and Eamonn Andrews both proved, the Irish did indeed make great hosts, and even a former colleague Jeremy Beadle mentioned so in his autobiography. Henry Kelly, the "straight" host of the original Game For a Laugh four, has died at the age of 78; becoming the second presenter of the show to pass away after Beadle in 2008. We were watching him, almost watching us,
Kelly might have almost found himself out of place in a unique environment of fun, silliness and laughter, but he did fit in quite well with his colleagues of Beadle, Sarah Kennedy and Matthew Kelly (no relation). In fact, on a number of occasions, I did see quite a few times in the 1980s, "Notes and Queries" questions submitted to newspapers, wondering whether Henry and Matthew Kelly were indeed related because of Game for a Laugh and their shared surname, and of course, they were not - just like all the Robinsons who presented Points of View, they just had the same surname, and co-hosted the same silly show. Unlike Beadle and Matthew Kelly, this was Henry Kelly's only foray into Saturday evening TV, preferring more daytime parts and also radio. Although Henry Kelly was famous for Game for a Laugh, he also presented the Saturday morning edition of Good Morning Britain between 1983 and 1985 after Michael Parkinson and his wife decided to leave, presumably to host Give us a Clue. Wearing Argyle sweaters while sitting on the famous beige sofa, he hosted a magazine-alike format at weekends, interviewing various people who had made the news. It was also around this time that he decided to leave Game For a Laugh, with Kennedy and Matthew Kelly leaving along with him.
In September 1992 he also became a mid-morning host on Classic FM at its launch, staying for many years and later moving to Sundays. Also on the radio, he presented on LBC and also BBC Radio Berkshire; a local radio station which seemed to attract more nationally-known presenters than any other BBC local radio station. And of course, he presented Going for Gold between 1987 and 1995, a show where contestants spoke perfect English; the United Kingdom didn't exist, splitting our nation into England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and his friendliness towards contestants, and catchphrases such as: "what am I?" and: "lady and gentleman would you accompany me please, and why don't you come too?", referring to the viewer. Personally, I would have liked him to have done more Saturday evening TV shows just like Matthew Kelly and Jeremy Beadle.
That old cliché again: "yet another person from my childhood who has now gone..."
Kelly might have almost found himself out of place in a unique environment of fun, silliness and laughter, but he did fit in quite well with his colleagues of Beadle, Sarah Kennedy and Matthew Kelly (no relation). In fact, on a number of occasions, I did see quite a few times in the 1980s, "Notes and Queries" questions submitted to newspapers, wondering whether Henry and Matthew Kelly were indeed related because of Game for a Laugh and their shared surname, and of course, they were not - just like all the Robinsons who presented Points of View, they just had the same surname, and co-hosted the same silly show. Unlike Beadle and Matthew Kelly, this was Henry Kelly's only foray into Saturday evening TV, preferring more daytime parts and also radio. Although Henry Kelly was famous for Game for a Laugh, he also presented the Saturday morning edition of Good Morning Britain between 1983 and 1985 after Michael Parkinson and his wife decided to leave, presumably to host Give us a Clue. Wearing Argyle sweaters while sitting on the famous beige sofa, he hosted a magazine-alike format at weekends, interviewing various people who had made the news. It was also around this time that he decided to leave Game For a Laugh, with Kennedy and Matthew Kelly leaving along with him.
In September 1992 he also became a mid-morning host on Classic FM at its launch, staying for many years and later moving to Sundays. Also on the radio, he presented on LBC and also BBC Radio Berkshire; a local radio station which seemed to attract more nationally-known presenters than any other BBC local radio station. And of course, he presented Going for Gold between 1987 and 1995, a show where contestants spoke perfect English; the United Kingdom didn't exist, splitting our nation into England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and his friendliness towards contestants, and catchphrases such as: "what am I?" and: "lady and gentleman would you accompany me please, and why don't you come too?", referring to the viewer. Personally, I would have liked him to have done more Saturday evening TV shows just like Matthew Kelly and Jeremy Beadle.
That old cliché again: "yet another person from my childhood who has now gone..."
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