Larry Grayson
Biography
Born William White in 1923 to unmarried parents, Grayson was adopted into a coal mining family in Nuneaton.
By the age of 14, he was working under the name of Billy Breen as a supporting drag act on the comedy club circuit, and over the next thirty years he toured Great Britain with various male revues and drag shows.
After touring and presenting further variety shows in the 70s, including his own TV series Shut That Door (one of his catchphrases), he took over presenting The Generation Game from Bruce Forsyth.
He retired from television in 1981, but continued to perform in the theatre, particularly in pantomime. He died in 1995, aged 71.
Trivia
He was the presenter for the pilot of Every Second Counts.
Another unsuccessful pilot he presented was called Beyond Belief (Thames TV) and featured purported clairvoyants competing to predict events in the lives of members of the public.
His catchphrase, "Shut that door!", reputedly came about after his agent asked repeatedly for privacy when he and Grayson tried to have a private dressing room conversation.
He had a number of 'imaginary' friends which he would use to tell his anecdotes, including Everard, Slack Alice, Pop-it-in-Pete (the postman), Apricot Lil, Self Raising Fred (the baker), Non Stick Neil and Once a Week Nora.
