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

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

as a

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and ...

but also in distribution and licensing.

Reg Grundy 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 ...

, the company's namesake founded the media enterprise locally in 1959, It branched out internationally in the late 1980s under the banner Grundy World Wide Limited with divisions in Europe, United Kingdom, the United States and Asia The company first produced game shows, then branched into

soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...

s in 1973. In 1995 Reg Grundy sold the company to

Pearson Television Pearson Television was the British-based television production and distribution arm of a British company Pearson PLC. History In 1994 after a bidding war, Pearson PLC bought the former British ITV franchisee Thames Television. Then in 1995 i ...

, now known as

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 ...

, part of the

RTL Group RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France an ...

(in turn 90% owned by

Bertelsmann Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...

). In 2006 Fremantle merged Grundy Television and Crackerjack Productions to form the localised arm

Fremantle Australia Fremantle Australia Pty Ltd. (formerly FremantleMedia Australia) is the Australian arm of global British production and entertainment company Fremantle. It was formed in 2006 by the merger of market leader Grundy Television and comedy special ...

. Until 2013 the Grundy name still existed internationally in Germany as Grundy Light Entertainment and in Italy as Grundy Productions Italy.

Company history/foundation

Reg Grundy's started his media career in radio, before moving to television producing

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 ...

which launched on

Nine Network The Nine Network (stylised 9Network, commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of five main free-to-air television netw ...

in 1959. Another show with this title, although based on the USA version celebrated its 25th anniversary in Australia, a week before its cancellation in July 2006. In the late 1980s Reg Grundy established Grundy World Wide Limited''. He created and operated local, independent television production and distribution companies in Europe, Asia and North and South America.

(now

) acquired the Grundy group of companies in April 1995. On 30 August 2006, FremantleMedia announced they would merge Grundy Television with their other Australian production company, Crackerjack Productions, to form a single "super" production company called "FremantleMedia Australia". The new company is now managed by the management team from Crackerjack, with Mark Fennessy as chief executive officer and his brother Carl Fennessy as chief operating officer. Simon Spalding (Fremantle Director of Asia Pacific Operations) said in an interview that Grundy Television's premises in Sydney are to be refurbished and that once complete, all Sydney based staff will be located there. He claims that this will help to create a 'deeper' production facility and is not a cost-cutting exercise. Spalding also said that although the Grundy name would be disappearing, he was looking at how FremantleMedia could retain the Grundy name and the heritage associated with it.

Programmes

''See

Divisions

The company had several divisions in other countries:

France

Grundy France EURL - the now defunct French division (later Pearson Television France in 1999) which was best known for producing '' Questions pour un champion'', along with other programs ''

Le Juste Prix ''Le Juste Prix'' ("The Fair Price") is a French adaptation of the American game show ''The Price Is Right'' that airs on TF1. It first premiered in 1988 and ran until the original version was canceled in 2001. In 2002 a brief sequel, ''Le Juste ...

'' and '' La Gym de Neurones'', now known as Fremantle France SAS.

Germany

Grundy Light Entertainment UFA GmbH, shortened to UFA (), is a film and television production company that unites all production activities of the media conglomerate Bertelsmann in Germany. Its name derives from Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft (normally abbreviated a ...

- the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

division, which produces such shows as '' Ruck Zuck'' (best known of Grundy's German game shows), ''

Das Quiz mit Jörg Pilawa Das or DAS may refer to: Organizations * Dame Allan's Schools, Fenham, Newcastle upon Tyne, England * Danish Aviation Systems, a supplier and developer of unmanned aerial vehicles * Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad, a former Colombian ...

'', '' Q-Boot'', along owing and producing German versions of RTL Group formats ''

Family Feud ''Family Feud'' is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson. It features two families who compete to name the most popular answers to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes. The show has had three separate runs, th ...

'' (Familien-Duell), ''

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 ...

'' (Hopp oder Top), and ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is a television game show franchise created by Bob Stewart, originally produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman; currently it is produced and owned by Fremantle. The franchise centers on television game shows, but also inc ...

'' (Der Preis ist heiß). Since September 2013, the company has been renamed "UFA Show & Factual".

Italy

Grundy Productions Italy -

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

division, which was founded in 1980 and produced programs like ''

Furore Furore is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of south-western Italy. Furore is located on the Amalfi Coast. Geography The municipality of Furore expands from sea level, where there is the hamlet of Fiordo di ...

'' and ''

Un posto al sole ''Un posto al sole'' (English: ''A Place in the Sun'') is an Italian soap opera transmitted by Rai 3 since 1996. It is set in a fictional apartment building called Palazzo Palladini, located in front of the sea in the Naples neighborhood of Posill ...

'', now known as Fremantle Italia SpA.

Mexico

Grundy Productions Mexico S.A. de C.V. - Now known as Fremantle Mexico S.A. de C.V..

Spain

Grundy Producciones Spain - Now known as Fremantle España S.A..

Sweden

Their Swedish operation produced a local version of '' Sons and Daughters'' - ''

Skilda världar ''Skilda världar'' (''Worlds Apart'') is a former Swedish soap opera originally airing from 1996 to 2002 about two families in Stockholm and their friends. One rich family and one poor and about Daniel and Sandra who are from the two families an ...

''. It also produced the

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

version of ''

Card Sharks ''Card Sharks'' is an American television game show. It was created by Chester Feldman for Mark Goodson- Bill Todman Productions. The game features two contestants who attempt to predict the outcome of survey questions to gain control of a ro ...

'' - ''Lagt kort ligger''.

United States

Reg Grundy Productions was the American wing of the worldwide television production company Grundy Worldwide, founded by Australian television producer

. Reg Grundy Productions was responsible for the production of two highly successful daytime game shows on

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 ...

during the 1980s, ''

'' 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 ...

'', and produced a revival of ''Scrabble'' in 1993. The company also produced ''

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 ...

'' (a history-themed game show similar in format to ''

'') 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 ...

'' 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 ''

Small Talk Small talk is an informal type of discourse that does not cover any functional topics of conversation or any transactions that need to be addressed. In essence, it is polite and standard conversation about unimportant things. The phenomenon ...

'' for The Family Channel. Of the game shows Grundy produced in America, only ''Sale'' and the original ''Scrabble'' were hits; ''Time Machine'' lasted 16 weeks, ''Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak'', and ''Small Talk'' had 13-week runs each and ''

'' and the revival of ''Scrabble'' were cancelled after five months (the latter returning only on a limited basis). Frequent announcers of the company's game shows included

Jay Stewart Jay Stewart Fix (September 6, 1918 – September 17, 1989), known professionally as Jay Stewart, was an American television and radio announcer known primarily for his work on game shows. He was probably best known as the announcer on the long r ...

Don Morrow Donald Gordon Morrow (January 29, 1927 – October 27, 2020) was an American announcer, television presenter, and voiceover artist.Stephen Heyman ''The New York Times'', April 10, 2009. Morrow was the announcer for the 1950s game show '' On Y ...

Gene Wood Eugene Edward Wood (October 20, 1925 – May 21, 2004) was an American television personality, known primarily for his work as an announcer on various game shows. From the 1950s to the 1990s, he announced many game shows, primarily Mark Goodson ...

and Charlie Tuna. Bill Mason was EP of ''Sale of the Century'', ''Jeopardy!'' and ''Wheel of Fortune New Zealand'') operated the American-based Grundy operation, and was the executive in charge of production for all of the Grundy-based game shows in the States. Former co-creator of game show ''

Concentration In chemistry, concentration is the abundance of a constituent divided by the total volume of a mixture. Several types of mathematical description can be distinguished: '' mass concentration'', ''molar concentration'', ''number concentration'', an ...

'', Robert Noah was also the driving force behind several of the aforementioned game shows, including ''Time'', ''Sale'' and ''Scrabble''. The company also produced re-edited versions of the highly successful soap operas ''

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. ...

'' and on some markets ''

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 ...

'' In the United States, RGP was headquartered in west Los Angeles, near Century City, and was responsible for launching the career of television and talent agent entrepreneur, Sean Perry, whose father

Jim Perry James Perry may refer to: * James Perry (journalist) (1756–1821), journalist * James Franklin Perry (1790–1853), early Texas settler (with wife Emily Austin Perry) * Jimmy Perry (1923–2016), English actor and scriptwriter * James E. C. Perr ...

, hosted ''Sale of the Century'', the company, along with Mark Goodson Productions, is now defunct and folded into Fremantle North America.

United Kingdom

In the UK, Reg Grundy Productions produced two big hit shows for the BBC called '' Going for Gold'' and ''

''. They also produced three cult shows for ITV called '' Keynotes'', ''

Celebrity Squares ''Celebrity Squares'' is a British comedy game show based on the American comedy game show '' Hollywood Squares''. It first ran from 20 July 1975 to 7 July 1979 and was hosted by Bob Monkhouse, then—also hosted by Monkhouse—from 8 Ja ...

'' and '' Man O Man''. before becoming a joint production company with Channel 5 to produce a few more shows such as '' 100%'', ''

Whittle Whittle may refer to: Crafts *Whittling, the carving of wood with a knife People * Whittle (name), a surname, and a list of people with the name Places * Whittle, Kentucky * Whittle, Derbyshire, a hamlet near Glossop, Derbyshire, United Kingdom ...

'', ''

Night Fever "Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to ''Saturday Night Fever'' on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film ''Saturday Night'', but singer Robin Gibb expressed ...

'', '' Fort Boyard'', '' Win Beadle's Money'', ''One to Win'' (a revival of ''Going for Gold''), ''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as und ...

'' and ''

The Desert Forges ''The Desert Forges'' is a game show set in the Wadi Rum desert region in Jordan. It was first aired on Channel 5 from 23 June to 25 August 2001. It is based on a French format called ''Les Forges du Désert'', created by Pierre Sportolaro in 1 ...

''. It also owned the rights to two

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series '' Sunday Nig ...

game shows such as ''

Play Your Cards Right ''Play Your Cards Right'' (or ''Bruce Forsyth's Play Your Cards Right'') is a British television game show based on, and played similarly to, the American show ''Card Sharks''. History ''Play Your Cards Right'' broadcast on ITV from 1 Februar ...

'' and ''

'' as well as a Tim Clark game show called ''

Give Us a Clue ''Give Us a Clue'' is a British televised game show version of charades which was broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. The original host was Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1984, followed by Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992. The show featured two ...

'', a

Michael Barrymore Michael Ciaran Parker (born 4 May 1952), known by his stage name Michael Barrymore, is an English actor, comedian and television presenter of game shows and light entertainment programmes on British television in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s ...

game show called '' Strike It Lucky'', a

Paul O'Grady Paul James O'Grady MBE DL (born 14 June 1955) is an English comedian, broadcaster, actor, writer and former drag queen. He achieved notability in the London gay scene during the 1980s with his drag queen persona Lily Savage, very popular in ...

game show called ''

Lily Savage's Blankety Blank ''Blankety Blank'' is a British comedy game show which started in 1979 and is still running today, albeit with some sizeable gaps. The original series ran from 18 January 1979 to 12 March 1990 on BBC1, hosted first by Terry Wogan from 1979 un ...

'', a

Dale Winton Dale Jonathan Winton (22 May 1955 – 18 April 2018) was an English radio DJ and television presenter. He presented the shows ''Dale's Supermarket Sweep'' from 1993 until 2001 and again in 2007, the National Lottery game show '' In It to W ...

game show called ''

Dale's Supermarket Sweep ''Supermarket Sweep'' is a British game show that is based on the original American version. Originally hosted by Dale Winton, it ran for exactly 8 years from 6 September 1993 to 6 September 2001 and then revived from 12 February to 31 August 2 ...

'' and a Liza Tarbuck's version of '' Blockbusters''.

References

External links

* {{Cite web, url=http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/grundyreg/grundyreg.htm, title=Reg Grundy (1923–2016), access-date=2019-08-23, publisher=

Museum of Broadcast Communications The Museum of Broadcast Communications (MBC) is an American museum, the stated mission of which is "to collect, preserve, and present historic and contemporary radio and television content as well as educate, inform and entertain through our archi ...

, author=Albert Moran, archive-date=2008-09-19, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080919013742/https://museum.tv/archives/etv/G/htmlG/grundyreg/grundyreg.htm Television production companies of Australia Television production companies of the United States Mass media companies established in 1959 Mass media companies disestablished in 2006 RTL Group Former Bertelsmann subsidiaries Australian companies established in 1959 1995 mergers and acquisitions Australian companies disestablished in 2006 2006 mergers and acquisitions