Cliff Michelmore

Cliff Michelmore CBE
Portrait byVivienne,c. 1955–1965
Born	Arthur Clifford Michelmore (1919-12-11)11 December 1919 Cowes,Isle of Wight, England
Died	16 March 2016(2016-03-16)(aged 96) Petersfield,Hampshire, England
Education	Loughborough College
Occupations	Presenter producer
Employers	BBC Radio BBC Television
Notable credits	Tonight 24 Hours Holiday
Spouse	Jean Metcalfe ​ ​ (m.1950;died2000)​
Children	2, includingGuy

Arthur Clifford MichelmoreCBE(11 December 1919 – 16 March 2016) was an English television presenter and producer.

He is best known for theBBC TelevisionprogrammeTonight,which he presented from 1957 to 1965. He also hosted theBBC's television coverage of theApollo Moon landings,theAberfan disaster,the1966and1970UK general elections, theassassination of John F. Kennedyand theinvestiture of Prince CharlesasPrince of Wales.

He was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in 1969.

Early life

Michelmore was born inCowes,Isle of Wight,on 11 December 1919,youngest of six childrenof insurance agent and former prison officer, police constable, andgroomservant (Albert) Herbert Michelmore and Ellen, daughter of labourer Richard Alford.The Michelmores had moved to the Isle of Wight in hopes of relieving his father's tuberculosis. His father died when Michelmore was two years old, and he was raised- with five siblings- by his mother in a terraced house near the Cowes boatyards until being sent to live with his sister and her husband, a farmer. His mother was unable to afford the fares to the grammar school in Newport,so he attended Cowes Secondary School on Denmark Road in Cowes, where he was head boy and captain of cricket,Loughborough College,and Leicester College of Technology and Art. He was a member of the 32nd entry of theAircraft Apprentice SchemeatNo. 1 School of Technical Training RAFwhich was located atRAF Halton.He was asquadron leaderin theRoyal Air Forceduring theSecond World Warand began broadcasting onBritish Forces Networkradio.

Broadcasting career

After the war he worked forBBC Radioand television as a freelance sports commentator, then as a news reporter and as a producer of children's programmes, includingAll Your Own.

From 1955 to 1957 Michelmore presented the BBC TV programmeHighlight,a current affairs show with a reputation for uncompromising interviews. On 18 February 1957 he becameanchorfor BBC Television's new topical weekday magazine showTonight (1957 TV programme),withFyfe Robertson,,which ran for eight years and attracted eight million viewers at its peak. This made him probably the most frequently appearing person on television at the time, and hence one of the best-known people in the UK. He was namedBAFTATelevision Personality of the Yearin 1958.He was on air when the news of theassassination of John F. Kennedybroke in 1963. Michelmore introduced a 17-year-oldDavid Bowieto his first television audience onTonightin 1964. Bowie was introduced as the spokesman and founder of 'The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Long-Haired Men'. Arguably Michelmore's most poignant commentary was in October 1966 on theAberfan disaster,where 116 children and 28 adults died after the collapse of a colliery spoil tip.

WhenTonightfinished in 1965, Michelmore hosted aBBC Oneseries called24 Hoursuntil 1968. In 1967 he presented the UK segment ofOur World,a worldwide TV broadcast that was the first to use satellite communication extensively in an attempt to "connect the whole world by television".The programme featured a performance bythe Beatlesof their song "All You Need Is Love".Michelmore presented coverage of theApollo 11mission to the Moon in 1969, alongsideJames BurkeandPatrick Moore.In the 1970s and until the demise ofSouthern Televisionin December 1981 (theITVcontractor for much of southernEngland), Michelmore acted as chief anchor and presenter for the evening local news programmeDay by Day.When the BBC closed itsLime Grove Studiosin 1991, Michelmore presented the last broadcast from Lime Grove.

After leaving full-time television work, Michelmore became head ofEMI's new video division. He was a regular presenter onBBC One'sHolidayprogramme from 1969 to 1986, and presented other shows for BBC TV, ITV and BBC Radio.

Michelmore returned to the BBC on 18 November 2007 to present a programme on theBBC Parliamentchannel, recalling the 1967 devaluation of thepound.

Personal life

Michelmore married a nurse during theSecond World Warbut theydivorcedin 1949.

On 4 March 1950 he marriedJean Metcalfe,aBBC Light Programmeannouncer, who presentedFamily Favouritesin London while he was presenting theHamburglink in the programme for theBritish Forces Broadcasting Service.The two did not meet face to face for six months, but after meeting they were quickly engaged and married. Michelmore called it "love at first hearing".The marriage produced a daughter, actress Jenny Michelmore, and a son, broadcaster and composerGuy Michelmore,both of whom have children.

Michelmore resided during his later life in theWest Sussexvillage ofSouth Harting.He died at Petersfield Hospital inHampshireon 16 March 2016, aged 96.Paying tribute, theDirector-General of the BBC,Tony Hall,said: "It's impossible to overestimate just how important a national figure he was at a time when there were just two channels... He was natural, warm, engaging - he was utterly himself and showed he was one of us." His body was buried in the graveyard of Saint Mary & Saint Gabriel Church in South Harting.

External links

• Portraits of Cliff Michelmoreat theNational Portrait Gallery, London
• Cliff MichelmoreatIMDb