Eric Ehrenfried Baume OBE (29 May 190024 April 1967) was a New Zealand-born Australian based journalist, novelist, radio presenter, actor and television talk show host.

Early life

Eric Baume was born Frederick Ehrenfried Baume in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand in 1900. His father, of the same name, was a lawyer and politician; his mother, Rosetta Baume, was a teacher and community worker, and one of the first women to stand for Parliament in New Zealand. Eric moved to Sydney in the early 1920s and worked for as editor for several papers. At this time he developed what was to become a lifelong addiction to gambling, which kept his family in debt for decades.

Career

Baume wrote thirteen books, mostly novels, including ''Half Caste'' (1933). Film rights were purchased in 1946 by

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. He hosted a radio series titled ''

This I Believe ''This I Believe'' was originally a five-minute program, originally hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955 on CBS Radio Network. The show encouraged both famous and everyday people to write short essays about their own personal ...

''. A television version aired on ATN-7 from 3 December 1956 to circa 27 July 1958. He also hosted a short-lived show on ATN-7 on Sundays titled '' State Your Case'' during 1957. In 1959 he hosted '' Men at the Top'', and then began hosting '' Eric Baume's Viewpoint'' (1959–1961). He is well remembered as "The Beast" in the Australian TV talk show ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine ...

'', where his gruff style compared to the ladies on the panel kept the ratings high.

Honour

In 1966 he 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 o ...

(OBE).

Death

Baume died in 1967. His debts considerably exceeded his assets.

Personal life

He was the uncle of

Michael Baume Michael Ehrenfried Baume AO (born 6 July 1930) is an Australian former Liberal Party politician who represented the Division of Macarthur in the House of Representatives and the state of New South Wales in the Senate. He left politics in 1996 ...

and was also related to

Peter Baume Peter Erne Baume, AC (born 30 January 1935) is a retired Australian doctor and politician. He was a Senator for New South Wales from 1974 to 1991, representing the Liberal Party. He served as Minister for Aboriginal Affairs (1980–1982) a ...

, both Liberal politicians and ministers. His brother Sydney E. Baume was an executive with the

Macquarie Broadcasting Network Nine Radio (formerly Macquarie Media Limited) is an Australian media company, owned by parent company Nine Entertainment Co. and headquartered in North Sydney, New South Wales, the company operates radio stations nationally in the capital citi ...

References

Australian Dictionary of Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baume, Eric 1900 births 1967 deaths Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire Australian television personalities New Zealand emigrants to Australia 20th-century Australian journalists