Wilfred Makepeace Lunn (20 March 1942 – 13 December 2023) was a British inventor, prop maker and television presenter. He is best known for his regular appearances on the 1960s and 1970s children's television show ''

Vision On ''Vision On'' was a British children's television programme, shown on BBC1 from 1964 to 1976 and designed specifically for children with hearing impairment. Concept and production ''Vision On'' was conceived and developed by BBC producers Ursu ...

''.

Early life and career

Wilfred Makepeace Lunn was born in

Rastrick Rastrick is a village in the county of West Yorkshire, England, between Halifax, 5 miles (8 km) north-west and Huddersfield, 4 miles (7 km) south. The population of the Calderdale Civil Ward at the 2011 census was 11,351. It is perh ...

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

, England on 20 March 1942 to deaf parents. He later taught

lip-reading Lip reading, also known as speechreading, is a technique of understanding a limited range of speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue without sound. Estimates of the range of lip reading vary, with some figures as ...

and religious education at Odsal House School for the Deaf in

Odsal Odsal is an area of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire. Odsal Stadium is currently the home of Bradford rugby league club and YorStox F1 and F2 stock cars. The Richard Dunn Sports Centre is named after the boxer who lived in Bradford at th ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. In the first part of this self-made interview video series "My Best Cellar", available through his website, Lunn claims he was "brought up in a cellar by deaf mutes". The parents of actor

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

lived nearby, leading to Lunn meeting Mason, who effected an introduction to the theatrical agent Blanche Marvin. An unsuccessful interview for ''

'' was followed by an appearance on Joan Bakewell's '' Late Night Line-Up'' that night. This was Lunn's first television appearance. He subsequently appeared on the children's TV show ''

Magpie Magpies are birds of various species of the family Corvidae. Like other members of their family, they are widely considered to be intelligent creatures. The Eurasian magpie, for instance, is thought to rank among the world's most intelligent c ...

'', and on ''Vision On''. He later appeared in several other series, including '' Jigsaw'' and ''

Eureka Eureka often refers to: * Eureka (word), a famous exclamation attributed to Archimedes * Eureka effect, the sudden, unexpected realization of the solution to a problem Eureka or Ureka may also refer to: History * Eureka Rebellion, an 1854 g ...

''. Lunn built novelty bicycles and had a separate career as an inventor. When asked, in an interview with the

b3ta B3ta (stylised as b3ta) is a popular British website, described as a "puerile digital arts community" by ''The Guardian''. It was founded in 2001 by Rob Manuel, Denise Wilton and Cal Henderson. B3ta's main feature is a newsletter featuring ...

website, "In the event of the end of the world, what would be the last thing you'd do before death?" Lunn answered: "I'm constantly being told at the end I would turn to God. I always point out it was your God that made me an atheist. I have been teetotal for fifteen years, so I would turn to drink." Lunn died on 13 December 2023, at the age of 81.

Television appearances

* '' Late Night Line-Up'' * ''

'' * ''

'' * '' Jigsaw'' * '' Ask Aspel'' * ''Patently Obvious'' * ''Object in Question'' * ''

Jim'll Fix It ''Jim'll Fix It'' is a British television series broadcast by the BBC, presented by Jimmy Savile and running for almost two decades, between May 1975 and July 1994. Devised by Bill Cotton, the show encouraged children to write a letter to Savi ...

'' * ''What's the Idea'' (writer and presenter) * ''

Game for a Laugh ''Game for a Laugh'' was a British light entertainment programme which ran for 56 editions and four specials between 26 September 1981 and 23 November 1985, made by LWT for the ITV network. Description The show revolved around a variety o ...

'' * ''

The 6 O'Clock Show ''The Six O'Clock Show'' is an Irish evening-time television show on Virgin Media One (formerly known as "TV3"). Broadcast live, the show provides chat, live music, cooking, entertainment, showbiz and technology updates. It replaced '' The 7 ...

'' * ''Home James'' (James Mason documentary) * ''Mad Science'' * '' The Word'' * '' See It Saw It'' * '' 3-2-1'' (game designer) * ''

Mooncat ITV Yorkshire, previously known as Yorkshire Television and commonly referred to as just YTV, is the British television service provided by ITV Broadcasting Limited for the Yorkshire franchise area on the ITV (TV network), ITV network. Until 19 ...

'' – presenter * ''Magic Music Man'' (art director) * '' Fun Factory'' * '' Rolf on Saturday, OK!'' * ''Fantastic Facts'' (with

Jonathan Ross Jonathan Stephen Ross (born 17 November 1960) is an English broadcaster, film critic, comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He presented the BBC One chat show '' Friday Night with Jonathan Ross'' during the 2000s and early 2010s, hosted his ow ...

)

Stage shows

* Huddersfield Novelty Suicide Company – Disco Queen (

pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment, generally combining gender-crossing actors and topical humour with a story more or less based on a well-known fairy tale, fable or ...

) *

Theatre Museum The Theatre Museum in the Covent Garden district of London, England, was the United Kingdom's national museum of the performing arts. It was a branch of the UK's national museum of applied arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum. It opened in 197 ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

(one-man-show)

Books

* ''Mad Things to Make from 'Vision On (1976) * ''Cheap, Cheerful and Sometimes Grotty Gifts to Make'' (1984) * ''My Best Cellar: An Autobiography Up to the Age of Eleven... and Other Stuff '' (2008), Shaffron Publishing Ltd , * ''No Animals Were Harmed Making These Christmas Cards'' (2012)

Awards

Prix Jeunesse Prix was an American power pop band formed in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1975 by Tommy Hoehn and Jon Tiven. The group ended up primarily as a studio project. Its recordings were produced by Tiven along with former Big Star member Chris Bell, who a ...

* BAFTA Harlequin Award for Drama/Light Entertainment (for ''Jigsaw'') * Critic's Award * Ohio State Award

References

External links

Wilf Lunn's Official website
*
''Vision On''
at

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

''Vision On'' (1964–76)
at

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

"Inventions: Wacky British inventor showcases 90s 'diet sleeves'"
published by

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

"Wilf Lunn – Autobiography to age 11"
– "My Best Cellar" – Clip 1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Lunn, Wilf 1942 births 2023 deaths English television presenters People educated at Hipperholme Grammar School People from Rastrick English atheists English inventors