Hughie Green - Revision history

Kurt at 19:38, 27 December 2022

2022-12-27T19:38:09Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:38, 27 December 2022
Line 1:		Line 1:
	~~{{EngvarB\|date=September 2022}}~~
	{{short description\|English actor and television personality}}		{{short description\|English actor and television personality}}
	{{Infobox person		{{Infobox person
	\| name = Hughie Green		\| name = Hughie Green
	\| image = Hughie Green ~~1955~~.jpg		\| image = Hughie Green.jpg
	\| caption = ~~Green presenting the first episode of<br />''[[w:Double Your Money\|Double Your Money]]'', 1955~~		\| caption =
	\| birth_name = Hugh Hughes Green		\| birth_name = Hugh Hughes Green
	\| birth_date = {{birth date\|df=yes\|1920\|02\|02}}		\| birth_date = {{birth date\|df=yes\|1920\|02\|02}}

Kurt at 22:17, 12 December 2022

2022-12-12T22:17:21Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:17, 12 December 2022
Line 9:		Line 9:
	\| birth_place = [[w:Marylebone\|Marylebone]], London, England		\| birth_place = [[w:Marylebone\|Marylebone]], London, England
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1997\|05\|03\|1920\|02\|02}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1997\|05\|03\|1920\|02\|02}}
	\| death_place = [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea\|]], London, England		\| death_place = [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, England
	\| years_active = 1943–1978		\| years_active = 1943–1978
	\| resting_place = [[w:Golders Green Crematorium\|Golders Green Crematorium]], London		\| resting_place = [[w:Golders Green Crematorium\|Golders Green Crematorium]], London

Kurt at 22:16, 12 December 2022

2022-12-12T22:16:52Z

Show changes

Kurt: /* Partial filmography */

2022-12-12T22:04:00Z

Partial filmography

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:04, 12 December 2022
Line 95:		Line 95:
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1934		\| 1934
	\| ''[[Little Friend (film)\|Little Friend]]''		\| ''[[w:Little Friend (film)\|Little Friend]]''
	\| Boy		\| Boy
	\| uncredited		\| uncredited
	\|-		\|-
	\|rowspan=2\|1935		\|rowspan=2\|1935
	\| ''[[Radio Pirates]]''		\| ''[[w:Radio Pirates\|Radio Pirates]]''
	\| Impressionist		\| Impressionist
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\| ''[[Midshipman Easy]]''		\| ''[[w:Midshipman Easy\|Midshipman Easy]]''
	\| Midshipman Easy		\| Midshipman Easy
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1937		\| 1937
	\| ''[[Melody and Romance]]''		\| ''[[w:Melody and Romance\|Melody and Romance]]''
	\| Hughie Hawkins		\| Hughie Hawkins
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\|rowspan=2\|1939		\|rowspan=2\|1939
	\| ''[[Down Our Alley]]''		\| ''[[w:Down Our Alley\|Down Our Alley]]''
	\| Hughie Dunstable		\| Hughie Dunstable
	\|		\|
Line 123:		Line 123:
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1940		\| 1940
	\| ''[[Tom Brown's School Days (1940 film)\|Tom Brown's School Days]]''		\| ''[[w:Tom Brown's School Days (1940 film)\|Tom Brown's School Days]]''
	\| Walker Brooke		\| Walker Brooke
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1947		\| 1947
	\| ''[[If Winter Comes]]''		\| ''[[w:If Winter Comes\|If Winter Comes]]''
	\| Freddie Perch		\| Freddie Perch
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1948		\| 1948
	\| ''[[Hills of Home (film)\|Hills of Home]]''		\| ''[[w:Hills of Home (film)\|Hills of Home]]''
	\| Geordie		\| Geordie
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1949		\| 1949
	\| ''[[Paper Orchid]]''		\| ''[[w:Paper Orchid\|Paper Orchid]]''
	\| Harold Croup		\| Harold Croup
	\|		\|
	\|-		\|-
	\| 1978		\| 1978
	\| ''[[What's Up Superdoc!]]''		\| ''[[w:What's Up Superdoc!]]''
	\| Bob Scratchitt		\| Bob Scratchitt
	\| final film role		\| final film role

Kurt: /* Retrospective media coverage */

2022-12-12T22:02:50Z

Retrospective media coverage

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:02, 12 December 2022
Line 82:		Line 82:

	==Retrospective media coverage==		==Retrospective media coverage==
	In light of the death in 2000 of his daughter [[Paula Yates]], his son Christopher Green, now a Canadian resident, wrote the biographical perspective ''Hughie and Paula: The Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates.''		In light of the death in 2000 of his daughter [[w:Paula Yates\|Paula Yates]], his son Christopher Green, now a Canadian resident, wrote the biographical perspective ''Hughie and Paula: The Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates.''

	On 2 April 2008 a TV film about Green's life was broadcast on [[BBC Four]]. In the film, entitled ''Hughie Green, Most Sincerely'', [[Trevor Eve]] was cast in the lead role.<ref>{{cite web\|title = Hughie Green, Most Sincerely\|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/hughiegreenmostsincerely/\|access-date = 31 March 2008}}</ref> In ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'' of 3 February 2008, his daughter Linda Plentl said the new BBC drama about her father would reopen intolerable wounds. She told of her struggle with his legacy and her three meetings with [[half-sister]] Paula Yates.<ref>{{cite news\|title = The Life and Many Loves of Hughie Green, Sunday Telegraph\|url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577434/The-life-and-many-loves-of-Hughie-Green.html\|access-date = 3 February 2008 \| location=London\|work=The Daily Telegraph\|first=Chris\|last=Hastings\|date=3 February 2008}}</ref>		On 2 April 2008 a TV film about Green's life was broadcast on [[w:BBC Four\|BBC Four]]. In the film, entitled ''Hughie Green, Most Sincerely'', [[w:Trevor Eve\|Trevor Eve]] was cast in the lead role.<ref>{{cite web\|title = Hughie Green, Most Sincerely\|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/hughiegreenmostsincerely/\|access-date = 31 March 2008}}</ref> In ''[[w:The Sunday Telegraph\|The Sunday Telegraph]]'' of 3 February 2008, his daughter Linda Plentl said the new BBC drama about her father would reopen intolerable wounds. She told of her struggle with his legacy and her three meetings with [[w:half-sister\|half-sister]] Paula Yates.<ref>{{cite news\|title = The Life and Many Loves of Hughie Green, Sunday Telegraph\|url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577434/The-life-and-many-loves-of-Hughie-Green.html\|access-date = 3 February 2008 \| location=London\|work=The Daily Telegraph\|first=Chris\|last=Hastings\|date=3 February 2008}}</ref>

	==Partial filmography==		==Partial filmography==

Kurt: /* Death */

2022-12-12T21:34:07Z

Death

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:34, 12 December 2022
Line 72:		Line 72:
	==Death==		==Death==
	[[File:Memorial plaque to Hughie Green, Golders Green Crematorium.JPG\|thumb\|250px\|Memorial plaque to Hughie Green, Golders Green Crematorium]]		[[File:Memorial plaque to Hughie Green, Golders Green Crematorium.JPG\|thumb\|250px\|Memorial plaque to Hughie Green, Golders Green Crematorium]]
	In 1983 Green sued the [[New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation]], claiming its 1975–78 version of ''Opportunity Knocks'' infringed his [[copyright]].<ref name="bailii">{{cite BAILII\|litigants=Hugh Hughes Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand \|court=UKPC \|division=\|year=1989 \|num=26 \|para=\|eucase=\|parallelcite=\|date=18 July 1989\|courtname=\|juris=New Zealand\|format=1}}</ref> He lost and in 1989 the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] rejected his appeal,<ref name="bailii"/> leaving him a £250,000 legal bill.		In 1983 Green sued the [[w:New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation\|New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation]], claiming its 1975–78 version of ''Opportunity Knocks'' infringed his [[w:copyright\|copyright]].<ref name="bailii">{{cite BAILII\|litigants=Hugh Hughes Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand \|court=UKPC \|division=\|year=1989 \|num=26 \|para=\|eucase=\|parallelcite=\|date=18 July 1989\|courtname=\|juris=New Zealand\|format=1}}</ref> He lost and in 1989 the [[w:Judicial Committee of the Privy Council\|Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] rejected his appeal,<ref name="bailii"/> leaving him a £250,000 legal bill.

	Green lived out his life away from the media in solitude, confined to his Baker Street flat and lacking the riches he enjoyed during his fame.		Green lived out his life away from the media in solitude, confined to his Baker Street flat and lacking the riches he enjoyed during his fame.

	In July 1993, after a lifetime of smoking a pipe, heavy drinking and latterly taking recreational [[barbiturates]],~~{{Citation needed\|date=April 2008}}~~ Green was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, and ~~therefore~~ admitted to the [[Royal Marsden Hospital]], [[Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London. By 1997, the cancer had spread to his lungs. Green died in hospital on Saturday 3 May 1997.		In July 1993, after a lifetime of smoking a pipe, heavy drinking and latterly taking recreational [[w:barbiturates\|barbiturates]], Green was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, and was admitted to the [[w:Royal Marsden Hospital\|Royal Marsden Hospital]], [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London. By 1997, the cancer had spread to his lungs. Green died in hospital on Saturday 3 May 1997.

	Green's son Christopher postponed his wedding and flew from Canada to be at his dying father's bedside.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hughie-green-tv-legend-dies-at-77-1259581.html\|title=Hughie Green, TV legend, dies at 77\|date=4 May 1997\|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref>		Green's son Christopher postponed his wedding and flew from Canada to be at his dying father's bedside.<ref>{{cite web\|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hughie-green-tv-legend-dies-at-77-1259581.html\|title=Hughie Green, TV legend, dies at 77\|date=4 May 1997\|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref>
	His memorial at [[Golders Green Crematorium]], reads: "You were the star that made opportunity knock. You will never be forgotten".<ref>{{cite book\|author=Darryl W Bullock\|title=The World's Worst Records: Volume One: An Arcade of Audio Atrocity\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRJ8BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA194\|year=2015\|publisher=Bristol Green Publishing\|isbn=978-1-4826-2446-5\|page=194}}</ref>		His memorial at [[w:Golders Green Crematorium\|Golders Green Crematorium]], reads: "You were the star that made opportunity knock. You will never be forgotten".<ref>{{cite book\|author=Darryl W Bullock\|title=The World's Worst Records: Volume One: An Arcade of Audio Atrocity\|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRJ8BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA194\|year=2015\|publisher=Bristol Green Publishing\|isbn=978-1-4826-2446-5\|page=194}}</ref>

	==Retrospective media coverage==		==Retrospective media coverage==

Kurt: /* Personal life */

2022-12-12T21:32:19Z

Personal life

← Older revision		Revision as of 16:32, 12 December 2022
Line 66:		Line 66:

	==Personal life==		==Personal life==
	Green met [[Montreal]] socialite Claire Wilson on a cruise liner in the mid-1930s when both were still teenagers. They married in 1942 and settled in Montreal, before moving to London in 1947. The couple had two children, son Christopher Green and daughter Linda Plentl (née Green). The family lived in a fifth-floor flat in [[Baker Street]], London, although with Green's numerous affairs and self-obsession, including taking luxury holidays and spending Christmas often on his own, his children defined it as "highly dysfunctional."~~{{citation needed\|date=December 2018}}~~ The Greens separated in 1961 and filed for divorce in March 1975 after Green started an affair with Gwen Claremont, the sister of an earlier lover, Pat. Later that year, Claire married ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)\|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' actor [[David Langton]]. After separation from his wife, Green's drinking became more compulsive, while his affairs continued even during the height of his fame presenting ''Opportunity Knocks''. Journalist [[Noel Botham]] approached Green to expose him, but Green countered with a lawsuit threat. Eventually the two became friends.~~{{citation needed\|date=September 2018}}~~		Green met [[w:Montreal\|Montreal]] socialite Claire Wilson on a cruise liner in the mid-1930s when both were still teenagers. They married in 1942 and settled in Montreal, before moving to London in 1947. The couple had two children, son Christopher Green and daughter Linda Plentl (née Green). The family lived in a fifth-floor flat in [[w:Baker Street\|Baker Street]], London, although with Green's numerous affairs and self-obsession, including taking luxury holidays and spending Christmas often on his own, his children defined it as "highly dysfunctional." The Greens separated in 1961 and filed for divorce in March 1975 after Green started an affair with Gwen Claremont, the sister of an earlier lover, Pat. Later that year, Claire married ''[[w:Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)\|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' actor [[w:David Langton\|David Langton]]. After separation from his wife, Green's drinking became more compulsive, while his affairs continued even during the height of his fame presenting ''Opportunity Knocks''. Journalist [[w:Noel Botham\|Noel Botham]] approached Green to expose him, but Green countered with a lawsuit threat. Eventually the two became friends.

	Botham then became key in two stories in Green's life. Green grew frustrated by Yorkshire Television's failure to remove programme producer [[Jess Yates]] when he requested this to be done and so leaked to Botham the stories of Yates' affair with the young actress Anita Kay, whose story, published in the ''[[News of the World]]'', destroyed Yates' career. In May 1997, shortly after Green's death, Botham wrote the exposé story, also in the ''News of the World'', of Green being the biological father of Jess Yates' daughter, TV presenter [[Paula Yates]],<ref>{{cite news\|title = 'I thought I was at the darkest point – now this'\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/39288.stm\|access-date = 3 February 2008 \| work=BBC News}}</ref> something she read when the [[Tabloid journalism\|tabloids]] printed the story, and which was later confirmed with a DNA test result in December 1997. Through his daughter Linda, Green had four granddaughters, Delia, Christina, Stephanie and Marina. Through his daughter Paula, Green had four other granddaughters whom he never knew: Fifi, [[Peaches Geldof\|Peaches]] and [[Pixie Geldof]], fathered by [[Bob Geldof]], and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, fathered by [[Michael Hutchence]]. Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence was legally adopted by Bob Geldof in 2007.~~{{citation needed\|date=October 2015}}~~		Botham then became key in two stories in Green's life. Green grew frustrated by Yorkshire Television's failure to remove programme producer [[w:Jess Yates\|Jess Yates]] when he requested this to be done and so leaked to Botham the stories of Yates' affair with the young actress Anita Kay, whose story, published in the ''[[w:News of the World\|News of the World]]'', destroyed Yates' career. In May 1997, shortly after Green's death, Botham wrote the exposé story, also in the ''News of the World'', of Green being the biological father of Jess Yates' daughter, TV presenter [[w:Paula Yates\|Paula Yates]],<ref>{{cite news\|title = 'I thought I was at the darkest point – now this'\|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/39288.stm\|access-date = 3 February 2008 \| work=BBC News}}</ref> something she read when the [[w:Tabloid journalism\|tabloids\|]] printed the story, and which was later confirmed with a DNA test result in December 1997. Through his daughter Linda, Green had four granddaughters, Delia, Christina, Stephanie and Marina. Through his daughter Paula, Green had four other granddaughters whom he never knew: Fifi, [[w:Peaches Geldof\|Peaches]] and [[w:Pixie Geldof\|Pixie Geldof]], fathered by [[w:Bob Geldof\|Bob Geldof]], and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, fathered by [[w:Michael Hutchence\|Michael Hutchence]]. Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence was legally adopted by Bob Geldof in 2007.

	==Death==		==Death==

Kurt: /* External links */

2022-12-12T17:28:55Z

External links

← Older revision		Revision as of 12:28, 12 December 2022
Line 158:		Line 158:
	*{{Discogs artist}}		*{{Discogs artist}}
	*{{IMDb name\|0337916\|Hughie Green}}		*{{IMDb name\|0337916\|Hughie Green}}

	~~{{authority control}}~~

	{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Hughie}}		{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Hughie}}
Line 171:		Line 169:
	[[Category:People from Meopham]]		[[Category:People from Meopham]]
	[[Category:People from Marylebone]]		[[Category:People from Marylebone]]
	~~[[Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer]]~~
	~~[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]~~
	[[Category:Golders Green Crematorium]]		[[Category:Golders Green Crematorium]]
	[[Category:Canadian World War II pilots]]		[[Category:Canadian World War II pilots]]

Kurt: 1 revision imported

2022-11-30T23:00:42Z

1 revision imported

← Older revision	Revision as of 18:00, 30 November 2022
(No difference)

en>Kind Tennis Fan: Reference tidy.

2022-10-24T01:37:47Z

Reference tidy.

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2022}}
{{short description|English actor and television personality}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Hughie Green
| image = Hughie Green 1955.jpg
| caption = Green presenting the first episode of<br />''[[Double Your Money]]'', 1955
| birth_name = Hugh Hughes Green
| birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1920|02|02}}
| birth_place = [[Marylebone]], London, England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1997|5|3|1920|2|2}}
| death_place = [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London, England
| years_active = 1943–1978
| resting_place = [[Golders Green Crematorium]], London
| nationality = British
| other_names =
| known_for = ''[[Double Your Money]]<br />[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]''
| education = [[Arnold House School]]
| employer =
| occupation = Radio and television presenter, game show host, actor
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party =
| boards =
| spouse = {{marriage|Claire Wilson|1942|1975|reason=divorced}}
| partner =
| children = 4, including [[Paula Yates]]
| relatives = [[Peaches Geldof]] (granddaughter)<br />[[Pixie Geldof]] (granddaughter)
}}
'''Hugh Hughes Green'''<ref name="receiving order" /> (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor.

==Early life==
Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former [[British Army]] officer from Glasgow who made his fortune supplying canned fish to the Allied forces in the [[First World War]], and an English mother, Violet Elenore (née Price),<ref>{{cite ODNB|url=http://oxfordindex.oup.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/65454|title=Green, Hugh Hughes [Hughie] (1920–1997), entertainer : Oxford Dictionary of National Biography – oi|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/65454|year=2004}}</ref> from [[Surrey]], the daughter of an Irish gardener. The family had a home in [[Meopham]], Kent, where the children lived with their mother, who took frequent lovers, while their father did business from the [[Savoy Hotel]], and often stayed there. Green attended [[Arnold House School]], a boys' [[Preparatory school (United Kingdom)|prep school]], in the [[St John's Wood]] district of [[Westminster]], Greater London.<ref>{{cite book|title=Hughie and Paula: The Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zwKrBBrGy-IC|first=Christopher|page=34|publisher=[[Robson Books]]|last=Green|date=2003|isbn=9781861056092}}</ref>

==Career==

===Child performer===
After the family business went bankrupt, Green's father encouraged his stage-obsessed son into performance, and by the age of 14 Hughie Green had his own [[BBC Radio]] show and created and toured with his own all-children cast concert party called "Hughie Green and his Gang". After an extensive tour of Canada, in 1935 Green appeared in his first film, ''[[Midshipman Easy]]'', then went to Hollywood where he appeared in the film ''[[Tom Brown's School Days (1940 film)|Tom Brown's School Days]]'' and at the [[Cocoanut Grove, Santa Cruz, California|Cocoanut Grove]] with his [[cabaret]] act.

===Second World War===
Having already fathered his first illegitimate child with Vera Hands, a Birmingham [[usher (occupation)|usherette]], at the age of 17 and having been caught in North America on the declaration of war, during the [[Second World War]] Green served as a pilot in the [[Royal Canadian Air Force]], ferrying aircraft across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] with [[RAF Ferry Command]]. In 1942, he married [[Montreal]] society beauty Claire Wilson, and went on to work in the aircraft industry as a [[Ferry flying|ferry]] transport pilot and stunt pilot. From 1947, when he returned to London, he was involved in business activities that included selling aircraft.

===Radio presenter===
In 1949, Green devised a talent show called ''[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]]'', which was commissioned by BBC Radio. The show lasted for only one series, and Green was apparently told it was "too American" for the British audience.<ref>Joe Moran, "[http://hwj.oxfordjournals.org/content/70/1/172.full.pdf Stand Up and Be Counted: Hughie Green, the 1970s and Popular Memory]{{dead link|date=May 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}", ''History Workshop Journal'', 70 (Autumn 2010): 179, citing Christopher Green with Carol Clerk, ''Hughie and Paula: the Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates'', London, 2003, p. 96.</ref> After the show was cancelled, Green sued the BBC, [[Carroll Levis]], and six friends and family of Levis, alleging a conspiracy to keep his ''Opportunity Knocks'' show off the air to preserve Levis's rival show, "Discoveries". The case came to trial at the [[High Court]] in May 1955, with Green represented by [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone|Viscount Hailsham]].<ref>"High Court of Justice", ''The Times'', 3 May 1955, p 5.</ref> The trial lasted for twenty days, but on 27 May, after a retirement of only 20 minutes, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants.<ref>"High Court of Justice", ''The Times'', 27 May 1955, p. 5.</ref> As a result of the costs in the case, Green's creditors filed a petition for his bankruptcy, and a receiving order was made on 8 May 1956.<ref name="receiving order">{{London Gazette |issue=40776 |date=11 May 1956 |page=2799}}</ref> He was not discharged from bankruptcy until 18 June 1958.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=41460 |date=29 July 1958 |page=4762}}</ref>

===Mainstream popularity===
Green became a household name in 1955, with the [[ITV (TV network)|ITV]] [[quiz show]] ''[[Double Your Money]], ''which had actually originated some years earlier on [[Radio Luxembourg (English)|Radio Luxembourg]]. Green brought his future co-host [[Monica Rose]] to the screen. Rose, a chirpy 15-year-old [[Cockney]] junior accounts clerk, had won £8 answering questions on famous women and was invited back by Green to be a [[Radio presenter|hostess]].

On 8 November 1966, Hughie Green presented the show from ''The House of Friendship'' in Moscow. Along with Monica Rose, he also had Natasha Vasylyeva as assistant. Because the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] would not allow money as a prize, the top prize was a television set.<ref name="Schofield interviews Green">Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/yPCc_UjqZxE Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20151017131837/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCc_UjqZxE Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|title = Television s Greatest Hits – 1966 – Game Shows|via = YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPCc_UjqZxE|access-date=20 October 2014}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

Green's most successful show format was his self-developed long-running talent show, ''[[Opportunity Knocks (UK TV series)|Opportunity Knocks]].'' It started as a UK-wide touring show produced for the radio, and one of Green's early finds was singer [[Frankie Vaughan]], who came second as part of a duet.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/britmusical/frankievaughanguardian.htm |title=Frankie Vaughan |newspaper=The Guardian |date=18 September 1999 |access-date=2 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041031194419/http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/britmusical/frankievaughanguardian.htm |archive-date=31 October 2004 }}</ref> When the show transferred to television on the ITV network, first in 1956 and then again from 1964, it began the show business careers of [[Les Dawson]], [[Lena Zavaroni]], [[Pam Ayres]], and [[Mary Hopkin]], among others. Green, who possessed a [[pilot's licence]], would fly the panel of judges between audition venues all over Britain, in his small [[Cessna]] aircraft.{{CN|date=December 2020}}

His game show ''[[The Sky's the Limit (game show)|The Sky's the Limit]]'' was generally considered a failure and was dropped by most ITV regional companies after the first run, although it lasted until 1974 in the Yorkshire and Granada regions, eventually being cancelled due to low ratings, combined with a falling-out between Green and producer [[Jess Yates]].

Right up until its final shows, ''Opportunity Knocks'' was a ratings hit that attracted up to 18 million viewers weekly. But Green, known for his [[right-wing politics]], had decided he was bigger than the show format he had devised and began politicising an apolitical family-friendly format. It has been suggested{{by whom|date=July 2022}} that Green believed that [[Harold Wilson]] and his Labour government were communists and that [[Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh]], should replace Wilson as leader of the country and, to that end, he used ''Opportunity Knocks'' as an end-of-year soapbox, telling the country at the end of 1974 to 'wake up!'

Two years later, in December 1976, Green recited a monologue about the state of the United Kingdom, followed by a choir singing "Stand Up and Be Counted", with the words coming up in subtitles: "Stand up and be counted, where the managers manage and the workers don't go on strike". It was released as a single in 1977, and partly seen as an open support of [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]] leader [[Margaret Thatcher]]; he was disciplined by [[Thames Television]], but continued to make political comments. After numerous viewer complaints, Thames axed the show in March 1978, despite its attracting high ratings, something Green mentioned in a bitter rant against Thames in his last show.{{cn|date=July 2022}} Replacing the family-friendly ''Opportunity Knocks'' was the youth-orientated comedy series, ''[[The Kenny Everett Video Show]],'' which attracted 10 million viewers, even though it never attracted the ratings that ''Opportunity Knocks'' achieved.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.transdiffusion.org/tmc/itv50/trashed.php |title=The Network that Trashed itself |publisher=transdiffusion.org |access-date=2 April 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080403060603/http://www.transdiffusion.org/tmc/itv50/trashed.php |archive-date=3 April 2008 }}</ref>

After his rather slow-paced and "end of the [[pier]]" entertainment-style shows were replaced with more active audience participation formats, Green tried presenting variants on the ''Opportunity Knocks'' theme in Ireland, Australia and one show in the [[USSR]].<ref name="Schofield interviews Green"/>

==Style==
Green was often mocked for his permanent door-to-door salesman's smile and Canadian accent. His catchphrase "I mean that most sincerely" was also mocked, to such an extent that it is sometimes mistakenly believed to have been invented by the impressionist [[Mike Yarwood]], who was known for his impersonation of Green. Green told [[Phillip Schofield]] in a TV interview in 1992 that he came up with the catchphrase himself.<ref name="Schofield interviews Green" />
During ''[[Double Your Money]]'' Green kept up an occasional but good-natured feud with "rival" quiz show host [[Michael Miles]], who compered ''[[Take Your Pick]]'', Miles even appearing on one occasion with a huge bouquet of flowers for a guest, to Green's mock indignation.

==Personal life==
Green met [[Montreal]] socialite Claire Wilson on a cruise liner in the mid-1930s when both were still teenagers. They married in 1942 and settled in Montreal, before moving to London in 1947. The couple had two children, son Christopher Green and daughter Linda Plentl (née Green). The family lived in a fifth-floor flat in [[Baker Street]], London, although with Green's numerous affairs and self-obsession, including taking luxury holidays and spending Christmas often on his own, his children defined it as "highly dysfunctional."{{citation needed|date=December 2018}} The Greens separated in 1961 and filed for divorce in March 1975 after Green started an affair with Gwen Claremont, the sister of an earlier lover, Pat. Later that year, Claire married ''[[Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs]]'' actor [[David Langton]]. After separation from his wife, Green's drinking became more compulsive, while his affairs continued even during the height of his fame presenting ''Opportunity Knocks''. Journalist [[Noel Botham]] approached Green to expose him, but Green countered with a lawsuit threat. Eventually the two became friends.{{citation needed|date=September 2018}}

Botham then became key in two stories in Green's life. Green grew frustrated by Yorkshire Television's failure to remove programme producer [[Jess Yates]] when he requested this to be done and so leaked to Botham the stories of Yates' affair with the young actress Anita Kay, whose story, published in the ''[[News of the World]]'', destroyed Yates' career. In May 1997, shortly after Green's death, Botham wrote the exposé story, also in the ''News of the World'', of Green being the biological father of Jess Yates' daughter, TV presenter [[Paula Yates]],<ref>{{cite news|title = 'I thought I was at the darkest point – now this'|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/39288.stm|access-date = 3 February 2008 | work=BBC News}}</ref> something she read when the [[Tabloid journalism|tabloids]] printed the story, and which was later confirmed with a DNA test result in December 1997. Through his daughter Linda, Green had four granddaughters, Delia, Christina, Stephanie and Marina. Through his daughter Paula, Green had four other granddaughters whom he never knew: Fifi, [[Peaches Geldof|Peaches]] and [[Pixie Geldof]], fathered by [[Bob Geldof]], and Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence, fathered by [[Michael Hutchence]]. Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily Hutchence was legally adopted by Bob Geldof in 2007.{{citation needed|date=October 2015}}

==Death==
[[File:Memorial plaque to Hughie Green, Golders Green Crematorium.JPG|thumb|250px|Memorial plaque to Hughie Green, Golders Green Crematorium]]
In 1983 Green sued the [[New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation]], claiming its 1975–78 version of ''Opportunity Knocks'' infringed his [[copyright]].<ref name="bailii">{{cite BAILII|litigants=Hugh Hughes Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand |court=UKPC |division=|year=1989 |num=26 |para=|eucase=|parallelcite=|date=18 July 1989|courtname=|juris=New Zealand|format=1}}</ref> He lost and in 1989 the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]] rejected his appeal,<ref name="bailii"/> leaving him a £250,000 legal bill.

Green lived out his life away from the media in solitude, confined to his Baker Street flat and lacking the riches he enjoyed during his fame.

In July 1993, after a lifetime of smoking a pipe, heavy drinking and latterly taking recreational [[barbiturates]],{{Citation needed|date=April 2008}} Green was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, and therefore admitted to the [[Royal Marsden Hospital]], [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]], London. By 1997, the cancer had spread to his lungs. Green died in hospital on Saturday 3 May 1997.

Green's son Christopher postponed his wedding and flew from Canada to be at his dying father's bedside.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/hughie-green-tv-legend-dies-at-77-1259581.html|title=Hughie Green, TV legend, dies at 77|date=4 May 1997|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref>
His memorial at [[Golders Green Crematorium]], reads: "You were the star that made opportunity knock. You will never be forgotten".<ref>{{cite book|author=Darryl W Bullock|title=The World's Worst Records: Volume One: An Arcade of Audio Atrocity|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iRJ8BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA194|year=2015|publisher=Bristol Green Publishing|isbn=978-1-4826-2446-5|page=194}}</ref>

==Retrospective media coverage==
In light of the death in 2000 of his daughter [[Paula Yates]], his son Christopher Green, now a Canadian resident, wrote the biographical perspective ''Hughie and Paula: The Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates.''

On 2 April 2008 a TV film about Green's life was broadcast on [[BBC Four]]. In the film, entitled ''Hughie Green, Most Sincerely'', [[Trevor Eve]] was cast in the lead role.<ref>{{cite web|title = Hughie Green, Most Sincerely|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/hughiegreenmostsincerely/|access-date = 31 March 2008}}</ref> In ''[[The Sunday Telegraph]]'' of 3 February 2008, his daughter Linda Plentl said the new BBC drama about her father would reopen intolerable wounds. She told of her struggle with his legacy and her three meetings with [[half-sister]] Paula Yates.<ref>{{cite news|title = The Life and Many Loves of Hughie Green, Sunday Telegraph|url =https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1577434/The-life-and-many-loves-of-Hughie-Green.html|access-date = 3 February 2008 | location=London|work=The Daily Telegraph|first=Chris|last=Hastings|date=3 February 2008}}</ref>

==Partial filmography==
{|class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class = "unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1934
| ''[[Little Friend (film)|Little Friend]]''
| Boy
| uncredited
|-
|rowspan=2|1935
| ''[[Radio Pirates]]''
| Impressionist
|
|-
| ''[[Midshipman Easy]]''
| Midshipman Easy
|
|-
| 1937
| ''[[Melody and Romance]]''
| Hughie Hawkins
|
|-
|rowspan=2|1939
| ''[[Down Our Alley]]''
| Hughie Dunstable
|
|-
| ''Music Hall Parade''
| Himself
|
|-
| 1940
| ''[[Tom Brown's School Days (1940 film)|Tom Brown's School Days]]''
| Walker Brooke
|
|-
| 1947
| ''[[If Winter Comes]]''
| Freddie Perch
|
|-
| 1948
| ''[[Hills of Home (film)|Hills of Home]]''
| Geordie
|
|-
| 1949
| ''[[Paper Orchid]]''
| Harold Croup
|
|-
| 1978
| ''[[What's Up Superdoc!]]''
| Bob Scratchitt
| final film role
|}

==References==
*''Hughie and Paula: The Tangled Lives of Hughie Green and Paula Yates'', by Christopher Green {{ISBN|1-86105-609-5}}
* John Holmstrom, ''The Moving Picture Boy: An International Encyclopaedia from 1895 to 1995'', Norwich, Michael Russell, 1996, p. 96–97.

===Notes===
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Discogs artist}}
*{{IMDb name|0337916|Hughie Green}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Hughie}}
[[Category:1920 births]]
[[Category:1997 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Arnold House School]]
[[Category:English television presenters]]
[[Category:English game show hosts]]
[[Category:English people of Irish descent]]
[[Category:English people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:People from Meopham]]
[[Category:People from Marylebone]]
[[Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer]]
[[Category:Deaths from cancer in England]]
[[Category:Golders Green Crematorium]]
[[Category:Canadian World War II pilots]]
[[Category:Royal Canadian Air Force officers]]
[[Category:British expatriate male actors in the United States]]
[[Category:Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II]]

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:17, 12 December 2022
Line 9:		Line 9:
	\| birth_place = [[w:Marylebone\|Marylebone]], London, England		\| birth_place = [[w:Marylebone\|Marylebone]], London, England
	\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1997\|05\|03\|1920\|02\|02}}		\| death_date = {{Death date and age\|df=yes\|1997\|05\|03\|1920\|02\|02}}
	\| death_place = [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea\|]], London, England		\| death_place = [[w:Chelsea, London\|Chelsea]], London, England
	\| years_active = 1943–1978		\| years_active = 1943–1978
	\| resting_place = [[w:Golders Green Crematorium\|Golders Green Crematorium]], London		\| resting_place = [[w:Golders Green Crematorium\|Golders Green Crematorium]], London