Reginald Roy Grundy (4 August 1923 – 6 May 2016) was an Australian entrepreneur and media mogul, best known for his numerous television productions. He was the producer of various Australian game shows, such as '' Blankety Blanks'' (based on a Mark Goodson–Bill Todman production, ''

Match Game ''Match Game'' is an American television panel game show that premiered on NBC in 1962 and has been revived several times over the course of the last six decades. The game features contestants trying to match answers given by celebrity panelist ...

'') and ''

Wheel of Fortune The Wheel of Fortune or ''Rota Fortunae'' has been a concept and metaphor since ancient times referring to the capricious nature of Fate. Wheel of Fortune may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Art * ''The Wheel of Fortune'' (Burne-Jo ...

'' (based on the US

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own ta ...

production of the same name) before later diversifying into soap operas and serials including ''

Prisoner A prisoner (also known as an inmate or detainee) is a person who is deprived of liberty against their will. This can be by confinement, captivity, or forcible restraint. The term applies particularly to serving a prison sentence in a prison. ...

'', ''

The Young Doctors ''The Young Doctors'' is an Australian early-evening soap opera originally broadcast on the Nine Network and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation, it aired from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March 1983. The series is prima ...

'', '' Sons and Daughters'' and ''

Neighbours ''Neighbours'' is an Australian television soap opera, which has aired since 18 March 1985. It was created by television executive Reg Watson. The Seven Network commissioned the show following the success of Watson's earlier soap '' Sons an ...

'', the last of which was inducted into the

Logie Hall of Fame The Logie Hall of Fame is a specialised industry-voted award presented annually at the Australian TV Week Logie Awards. It was first awarded at the 26th Annual TV Week Logie Awards held in 1984. The award is given to recognise the outstanding c ...

in 2005.

Early life

Reginald Roy Grundy was born on 4 August 1923 in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, to Roy Grundy and Lillian Lees. Grundy served in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (Austral ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

as a Sergeant stationed in Sydney in the 1 Motor Division Signals. He enlisted in December 1941 and was discharged in August 1946.

Career

Grundy started his media career as a boxing and general sports commentator for the Sydney radio station

2SM 2SM is an Australian radio station, licensed to and serving Sydney, broadcasting on 1269 kilohertz on the AM band. It is owned and operated by Broadcast Operations Group. The SM call sign is taken from the initials of Saint Mary's. 2SM's progra ...

in 1947. While he was working at 2CH Sydney in 1957, Grundy conceived and hosted the ''

'' game show on radio, which moved to Channel Nine two years later. He founded his own production company Reg Grundy Enterprises in 1960, and began producing game shows for the Australian and overseas market, before eventually branching out into drama in 1973. In 1977, he co-produced '' ABBA: The Movie''. The company produced several successful television soap operas and drama series, including '' Class of '74'', ''

The Restless Years ''The Restless Years'' is an Australian soap opera which followed the lives of several Sydney school-leavers and the drama and relationships faced by young adults. It was created by Reg Watson and produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for N ...

'', ''

Glenview High ''Glenview High'' is an Australian television drama series produced by the Reg Grundy Organisation for the Seven Network between 1977 and 1978. Story English teacher Greg Walker (Grigor Taylor) transfers from the country to Glenview High, a to ...

'', '' Sons and Daughters'' and ''

''. Grundy was the first person to sell an Australian drama to America (''Prisoner'') and the first to sell an Australian quiz show to the UK ('' Going for Gold''). He subsequently started the US-based company

Reg Grundy Productions Reg Grundy Organisation (founded as Reg Grundy Enterprises, later known as both Reg Grundy Productions and Grundy Television and known informally as Grundy's) was an Australian-based multinational mass media company, primarily involved in tele ...

, which produced the 1980s

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

daytime game shows ''

Sale of the Century ''Sale of the Century'' (stylized as ''$ale of the Century'') is an American television game show that originally debuted on September 29, 1969, on NBC daytime. It was one of three NBC game shows to premiere on that date, the other two being th ...

'' and ''

Scrabble ''Scrabble'' is a word game in which two to four players score points by placing tiles, each bearing a single letter, onto a game board divided into a 15×15 grid of squares. The tiles must form words that, in crossword fashion, read left t ...

'', as well as ''

Time Machine Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...

'' for NBC, ''

Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak ''Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak'' is an American television game show that aired on ABC from January 6 to April 4, 1986. British television personality Bruce Forsyth hosted the series, the only time he hosted a series outside of his native United ...

'' for

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, and ''

Scattergories ''Scattergories'' is a creative-thinking category-based party game originally published by Parker Brothers in 1988. Parker Brothers was purchased by Hasbro a few years later, which published the game internationally under its Milton Bradley b ...

'' (also for NBC). The Grundy Organisation was ultimately owned by Grundy Worldwide Ltd, based in the

tax haven A tax is a compulsory financial charge or some other type of levy imposed on a taxpayer (an individual or legal entity) by a governmental organization in order to fund government spending and various public expenditures (regional, local, or n ...

of Bermuda. In 1995, he sold the Grundy Organisation to the media and publishing company

Pearson PLC Pearson plc is a British multinational corporation, multinational publishing and education company headquartered in London, England. It was founded as a construction business in the 1840s but switched to publishing in the 1920s.J. A. Spende ...

, now

Fremantle Fremantle () () is a port city in Western Australia, located at the mouth of the Swan River in the metropolitan area of Perth, the state capital. Fremantle Harbour serves as the port of Perth. The Western Australian vernacular diminutive for ...

, for $386 million. Grundy owned the private media investment company RG Capital, which had shares in several FM radio stations. Grundy also had shares in WAM Capital,

Austereo Austereo was an Australian mass media company based in Melbourne. It was founded in 1980 by Paul Thompson, and operated 16 radio stations in metropolitan and regional Australia under the Today Network and Triple M brands. In 2011, the company' ...

, Argus Solutions and Photon Group.

Photography

Grundy had a lifelong passion for wildlife photography. He published a book of photographs in 2005, ''The Wildlife of Reg Grundy''. In June 2009, an exhibition of photographs of Bermuda Longtail birds by Grundy, "Longtails: The Bermuda Dream", opened in The Rick Faries Gallery at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

Personal life

Grundy married Patricia Lola Powell in 1954 and they had a daughter, Kim. After Grundy and Powell divorced, he married the actress and author

Joy Chambers Joy Chambers (born 1947) is an Australian actress, author, and businesswoman. Career Chambers is known for such television soap opera roles as Rita Merrick in '' The Restless Years'', Dr Robyn Porter in ''The Young Doctors'', and Rosemary Danie ...

in 1971. The couple met at a television audition in the 1960s. Chambers was 18 and Grundy was in his forties. They renewed their vows several times. Grundy and Chambers moved to

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

in 1982. In 2015, the ''

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

'' listed Grundy as Australia's 59th richest individual, with a wealth of $809 million. Grundy published an eponymous autobiography in 2010. He was the owner of a yacht named Boadicea, which was sold in 2009.

Death

Grundy died on 6 May 2016 at his Bermuda home, with his family by his side. No cause was given. After his death was announced, many tributes were paid to Grundy. Presenter Andrew Denton commented, "I'm sure the record will show that more Australians have watched more hours of Reg Grundy television than that of any other individual." While actress

Jackie Woodburne Jacqueline Anne Woodburne (born 5 February 1956) is a Northern Irish-born Australian actress, who is notable for her roles in TV soap operas. Since 1994, Woodburne has played teacher Susan Kennedy in ''Neighbours''. She first became notable for ...

, who worked on Grundy productions ''Neighbours'', ''Prisoner'' and ''The Young Doctors'', stated that "Reg was a true groundbreaker in Australian television in the 0s and 0s, and beyond in light entertainment and drama."

Tracy Grimshaw Tracy Grimshaw (born 3 June 1960) is an Australian journalist and television presenter. She was the host of '' A Current Affair'' between 2006–2022, and was a co-host of ''Today'' between 1996–2005. Career Grimshaw's career began in 1981 w ...

, who interviewed Grundy in 2010, said: "RG was a pioneer in game shows, in drama, in soapies. He was a star maker. But he totally rejected the limelight. He only gave one television interview in his life, and I was privileged and fascinated to be the one who spoke with him." Grimshaw's interview with Grundy was rebroadcast during the 9 May edition of ''

A Current Affair ''A Current Affair'' may refer to: * ''A Current Affair'' (Australian TV program), 1971–present Australian current affairs program that airs on Nine Network * ''A Current Affair'' (American TV program), a 1986–1998 American television news ...

''. Ian Hogg, whose company bought Grundy Organisation, announced that FremantleMedia were thinking of a permanent way to honour Grundy.

Honours

Grundy was appointed an Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

in the

New Years Honours The New Year Honours is a part of the British honours system, with New Year's Day, 1 January, being marked by naming new members of orders of chivalry and recipients of other official honours. A number of other Commonwealth realms also mark this ...

of 1983. He was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

of 2008. He received the

International Emmy Founders Award The International Emmy Founders Award (or Founders Award) is given by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences to individuals whose creative accomplishments have contributed in some way to the quality of global television producti ...

in 1996 and the AFI Raymond Longford Award in 2010. In July 2004, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

Popular culture

Colloquially, in Australia, "Reg Grundies", "Grundies" or "Reggies", is

rhyming slang Rhyming slang is a form of slang word construction in the English language. It is especially prevalent among Cockneys in England, and was first used in the early 19th century in the East End of London; hence its alternative name, Cockney rhymin ...

for "undies" (

underpants Underpants are underwear worn on the lower body. In British English the term is often shortened to pants and refers to men’s clothing only. Types of underpants Long underpants Long underpants are the bottom half of a style of two-piece unde ...

Bibliography

*''The Wildlife of Reg Grundy'' (2005, Grundy Foundation) *''Mother and Child: Wildlife Photography'' (2015, Glitterati Incorporated) *''Reg Grundy'' (2010, Allen & Unwin)

References

External links

Australian television pioneer and media mogul Reg Grundy has died, aged 92.
*

World War II Nominal Roll

The Photon Group
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grundy, Reg 1923 births 2016 deaths Australian art collectors Australian autobiographers Australian expatriates in Bermuda Australian Army soldiers Australian Army personnel of World War II Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian television personalities Australian television producers Australian photographers Companions of the Order of Australia International Emmy Founders Award winners Logie Award winners Nature photographers Businesspeople from Sydney University of Queensland alumni