Patrick Moore

Shows

Gamesmaster (as the Gamesmaster)

Biography

Veteran astronomer, broadcaster and percussionist, most famous for hosting The Sky At Night from 1957 until his death in 2012, which is such an incredibly long time that we don't even need to exaggerate it. It even got him into the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest unbroken run as host of a regular TV show.

Trivia

He was also famous for wearing a monocle, and wrote his books on a manual typewriter long after everyone else had moved over to word processing.

Moore was apparently the first ever personality to swallow a fly live on television. On an early edition of 'The Sky At Night', he had just opened his mouth to make some important announcement when the fly flew in and then, according to the director, Moore had a look of glazed horror on his face, after which he gave a strangled gulp and carried on. Moore's mother apparently later told her son, "It was nasty for you, but so much worse for the fly", which seemed to sum it up quite neatly.