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Gilbert Charles Harding (5 June 1907 – 16 November 1960) was a British journalist and radio and television personality. His many careers included schoolmaster, journalist, policeman,
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music f ...
, actor, interviewer and television presenter. He also appeared in several films, sometimes in character parts but usually as himself – for example in ''
Expresso Bongo
''Expresso Bongo'' is a 1958 West End musical and a satire of the music industry. It was first produced on the stage at the Saville Theatre, London, on 23 April 1958. Its book was written by Wolf Mankowitz and Julian More, with music by David ...
'' (1959).
Harding had a sizeable role alongside
John Mills
Sir John Mills (born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills; 22 February 190823 April 2005) was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portray ...
in the 1952 film ''
The Gentle Gunman
''The Gentle Gunman'' is a 1952 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring John Mills, Dirk Bogarde and Elizabeth Sellars. The film is based on a 1950 play of the same title by Roger MacDougall that was televised by the BBC in Se ...
'', and narrated the introduction to the film ''
Pacific Destiny
''Pacific Destiny'' is a 1956 British drama film directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Denholm Elliott, Susan Stephen and Michael Hordern. The screenplay concerns a young British couple who win the respect of the inhabitants of a South Pacific i ...
'' (1956). He also made a couple of comedy records in the 1950s.
Early life
Harding was born in
Hereford
Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
where his parents were employed as "master" and "matron" of the city's
workhouse
In Britain, a workhouse () was an institution where those unable to support themselves financially were offered accommodation and employment. (In Scotland, they were usually known as poorhouses.) The earliest known use of the term ''workhouse'' ...
.
His father, also called Gilbert Harding, died in 1911 aged 30 following an
appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...
operation, and so his mother placed their son into the care of the
Royal Orphanage of Wolverhampton.
Harding's education continued at
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
, after which he took jobs teaching English in Canada and France. He returned to Britain and worked as a policeman in
Bradford
Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...
, before taking a position as ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' correspondent in
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
. In 1936 he again returned to Britain and began a long-term career with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.
BBC career
He was a regular on BBC Radio's
Twenty Questions and was voted Personality of the Year in the National Radio Awards of 1953-4. Harding regularly appeared on the BBC television panel game ''
What's My Line?
''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...
'' as a panellist, having been the presenter of the very first episode in 1951.
Harding was notorious for his irascibility and was at one time characterised in the tabloid press as "the rudest man in Britain". His fame sprang from an inability to
suffer fools gladly
Suffer fools gladly is a well-known phrase in contemporary use, first coined by Saint Paul in his second letter to the Church at Corinth (chapter 11). The full verse of the original source of the idiom, 2 Corinthians 11:19 (KJV), reads "For ye su ...
, and many 1950s TV viewers watched ''What's My Line?'' less for the quiz elements than for the chance of a live Harding outburst. An incident on an early broadcast started this trend when Harding became annoyed with a contestant, and told him that he was getting bored with him. Harding's rudeness off-screen was also commented upon; at a wedding reception at which a guest remarked that the bride and groom would make an ideal couple, Harding replied "You should know, you've slept with both of them". He became increasingly unable to move anywhere in public without being accosted by adoring viewers. On one occasion he asked a mother with two children if "your children are crippled", because they had stayed seated on a railway bench.
In 1960 he was reduced to tears on an edition of the ''
Face to Face'' series, after being questioned by the host
John Freeman. As the focus of the interview moved on to the subject of death, Freeman asked Harding if he had ever been in the presence of a dead person. At this point, in replying in the affirmative, Harding's voice began to break and his eyes watered. Freeman later said he had not anticipated the effect this would have; Harding had witnessed his mother's death in 1954. Freeman appeared to be unaware that Harding was referring to his mother, for later in the interview he asserted that Harding's mother was still alive. Harding contradicted him, and Freeman moved quickly on. This version of events has been contradicted by the producer,
Hugh Burnett
Hugh Burnett (July 14, 1918 – September 29, 1991) was an African-Canadian carpenter and a civil rights leader. A descendant of slaves, Hugh Burnett was a carpenter in the rural Canadian town of Dresden, Ontario. He was active in the National U ...
.
Freeman publicly expressed regret about this line of questioning; its emphasis on Harding's "closeness" to his mother has since been seen by at least one commentator as a tactless attempt to expose his
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
, though the viewing public did not become aware of it, and he was seen as merely a lonely
bachelor
A bachelor is a man who is not and has never been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". ().
Etymo ...
. Harding kept his sexuality secret because male homosexual behaviour was a criminal offence in the UK. Harding also admitted in the programme that his bad manners and temper were "indefensible". "
'mprofoundly lonely", he stated, later adding, "I would very much like to be dead."
Death
Harding died a few weeks after the ''Face to Face'' programme was broadcast, collapsing outside
Broadcasting House
Broadcasting House is the headquarters of the BBC, in Portland Place and Langham Place, London. The first radio broadcast from the building was made on 15 March 1932, and the building was officially opened two months later, on 15 May. The main ...
as he was about to climb into a taxi. The cause was an
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...
attack. He was 53 years old.
He was buried in
St. Mary's Roman Catholic Cemetery
St Mary's Catholic Cemetery is located on Harrow Road, Kensal Green in London, England. It has its own Catholic chapel.
History
Established in 1858, the site was built next door to Kensal Green Cemetery. It is the final resting place for mo ...
,
Kensal Green
Kensal Green is an area in north-west London. It lies mainly in the London Borough of Brent, with a small part to the south within Kensington and Chelsea. Kensal Green is located on the Harrow Road, about miles from Charing Cross.
To the w ...
, west London.
Media
Behind Harding's gruff exterior there was a lonely and complex man who constantly donated to charity, visited the sick and helped many in need. But such details, in conflict with the public image, became public only after his death. In 1979, radio presenter Owen Spencer-Thomas on BBC Radio London's ''Gilbert Harding'' described him as "enigmatic ... bad-tempered and rude, yet his friends counted him as one of the kindest, and most generous."
[Stephen Bourn]
"Harding, Gilbert"
, The Museum of Broadcast Communications website. URL retrieved 29 March 2010.
The ''Face to Face'' interview was rebroadcast on
BBC Four
BBC Four is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was launched on 2 March 2002 on 18 October 2005, following a repeated episode of ''What's My Line?''. It was also broadcast in part on the BBC Four series 'Talk at the BBC'. A three-hour programme, ''The Rudest Man in Britain'', was broadcast on
BBC Radio 4 Extra
BBC Radio 4 Extra (formerly BBC Radio 7) is a British digital radio station from the BBC, broadcasting archived repeats of comedy, drama and documentary programmes nationally, 24 hours a day. It is the sister station of BBC Radio 4 and the p ...
in 2014 and has been repeated several times. This included interviews with people who knew and worked with Harding, and explored his life, personality, sexuality and influence in a non-judgemental way. It included the ''Face to Face'' interview in full, as well as episodes of programmes in which Harding was either Chairman or panel member. It ended with
Stephen Wyatt
Stephen Wyatt, born 4 February 1948 in Beckenham, Kent (now Greater London), is a British writer for theatre, radio and television.
Early life and education
Wyatt was raised in Ealing, West London. He was educated at Latymer Upper School and ...
's play ''Dr Brighton and Mr Harding''.
References and sources
;References
;Sources
* Harding, Gilbert. (1953) ''Along My Line''. London:
Putnam (autobiography)
External links
*Russ J. Graham
"Gilbert Harding"at ''TV Heroes''.
*Andrew Roberts
"Harding, Gilbert (1907–1960)"at ''ScreenOnline'', British Film Institute.
Image of Gilbert Harding
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harding, Gilbert
1907 births
1960 deaths
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
BBC people
Burials at St Mary's Catholic Cemetery, Kensal Green
Deaths from asthma
English male journalists
English radio personalities
English Roman Catholics
English television personalities
LGBT broadcasters from the United Kingdom
LGBT DJs
LGBT journalists from the United Kingdom
People educated at the Royal Wolverhampton School
People from Hereford
writers from Wolverhampton
Writers from London
20th-century LGBT people