EyeSpy: Remembering Patrick Moore
Yesterday it was announced that legendary BBC broadcaster Sir Patrick Moore had died aged 89. Best known for his role as host of stargazing series The Sky At Night he was also a man of humour and music with numerous appearances on television and radio down the years. He was also in more recent times an author.
With The Sky At Night Patrick became the longest running television presenter for any programme, first hosting the series back in 1957 a show he was still presenting up until recently with his last recorded episode airing last week. The fortnightly programme covers a wide range of general astronomical and space-related topics but Moore wasn’t just known for his amateur astronomy he was also a keen pianist but was best known musically for his lively playing of the xylophone which he played on several programmes raning from Children’s BBC magazine series Going Live! and news show Nationwide. He composed a number of works including two operettas.
He also had a great sense of comedy which was used on such programmes as comedy Morecambe and Wise, people show The Generation Game and sketch series The Goodies. In the 1990s he also became a youth-cult figure as host of gaming show GamesMaster where he set computer/video game challenges and answered questions on cheats and tips.
The monocled presenter recently released three new books, the publishing house Carlton paid tribute:
“It was less than two months ago that Patrick generously welcomed us along with over one hundred guests into his home for the press launch of his third Carlton book, The Cosmic Tourist, which he had written with Brian May and co-presenter of The Sky at Night Chris Lintott. He allowed us to wander freely through what was like an astronomy museum, to marvel at the grand telescope through which he mapped the moon… He was in high spirits that night, taking press interviews, toasting the event with whisky and enjoying the company of his friends. Patrick was renowned among friends for hosting fantastic parties and guests proclaimed this last ever gathering to be a special evening never to be forgotten. The Independent on Sunday awarded the event as “the most eccentric and wonderful book launch of the year!”
“Eccentric” and “wonderful” are just the words to sum up Sir Patrick Moore, a star who will always be remembered.” said Nicole Ettinger, Head of Communications at Carlton Publishing.
While fellow stargazer Queen guitarist Brian May said Patrick was the “father of astronomy” in Britain. Adding “We all learned astronomy from Patrick Moore, we learned that kind of thirst and joy for knowledge that he had and shared with everybody, the whole of Britain owes its astronomy to Patrick
“He did his homework; he absorbed new ideas quickly. To a TV audience, he was a ‘character’ – indeed in the earlier days of science broadcasting the demeanour of a mad professor seemed a prerequisite for media success.” said Astronomer Sir Martin Rees.
Moore will however be best known for The Sky At Night and so we keep with that theme in our video tribute. In this clip from You Tube Queen guitarist Brian May talks to Patrick for VH1.
Sir Patrick Alfred Caldwell-Moore, CBE, FRS, FRAS – March the 4th 1923 – 9th of December 2012
