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'''Douglas Arthur Smith'''<ref>''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007''</ref> (11 February 1924 – 15 October 1972)<ref name="Stevens">{{cite book |last= Stevens |first= Christopher|title= Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams|publisher= John Murray|year= 2010|isbn = 978-1-84854-195-5|page=370}}</ref> was a British radio announcer and comedian who spent 25 years with the [[BBC]].<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=Mr Douglas Smith |work=[[The Times]] |page=14 |date=16 October 1972 }}</ref> He began his [[broadcasting]] career with the BBC European Service (now the [[BBC World Service|World Service]]) in 1946 and later worked as an announcer and newsreader on the [[BBC Home Service|Home Service]] and the [[BBC Third Programme|Third Programme]].<ref name="Stevens"/> He is probably best remembered as the formal announcer on ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]'' (1958–1964), its successor ''[[Round the Horne]]'' (1965–1968) and the short-lived ''[[Stop Messing About]]'' (1969–1970), where his "[[Received Pronunciation|BBC accent]]" was used to comic effect.<ref name="Stevens"/> In this role, he advertised ''Dobbiroids'' (a fictional product for horses) and the huge number of naïve sound effects he made to assist in the development of humorous and often bizarre plots.<ref name="Stevens"/> Smith performed "Nobody Loves a Fairy When She's Forty" in an episode of ''Round the Horne''. Many of his roles were portrayals of inanimate objects, e.g., volcanoes, "and I, Douglas Smith, play the part of the volcano", and "I, Douglas Smith, in my most taxing role to date, play the part of the world." (spoof on 'Around the World in 80 Days').
{{Infobox person
| name          = <!-- defaults to article title when left blank -->
| image        = Douglas Smith.jpg<!-- filename only, no "File:" or "Image:" prefix, and no enclosing [[brackets]] -->
| alt          = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis (text-to-speech) software -->
| caption      =  
| birth_name    = Douglas Arthur Smith
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1924|2|11}}
| birth_place  = [[w:Croydon|Croydon]], [[w:Surrey|Surrey]]
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|1972|10|15|1924|2|11}}<!--  (DEATH date then BIRTH date) -->
| death_place  = [[Kingston upon Thames]]
| occupation    = BBC News presenter
| years_active  = 1946-1972
| known_for    =  
| notable_works = [[Round the Horne]]
}}


A native of Croydon, he died aged 48 in [[Kingston upon Thames]].<ref name="times"/>
'''Douglas Arthur Smith'''<ref>''England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007''</ref> (11 February 1924 – 15 October 1972)<ref name="Stevens">{{cite book |last= Stevens |first= Christopher|title= Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams|publisher= John Murray|year= 2010|isbn = 978-1-84854-195-5|page=370}}</ref> was a British radio announcer and comedian who spent 25 years with the [[w:BBC|BBC]].<ref name="times">{{cite news |title=Mr Douglas Smith |work=[[w:The Times|]] |page=14 |date=16 October 1972 }}</ref> He began his [[w:broadcasting|broadcasting]] career with the BBC European Service (now the [[w:BBC World Service|World Service]]) in 1946 and later worked as an announcer and newsreader on the [[w:BBC Home Service|Home Service]] and the [[w:BBC Third Programme|Third Programme]].<ref name="Stevens"/>
 
He is probably best remembered as the formal announcer on ''[[Beyond Our Ken]]'' (1958–1964), its successor ''[[Round the Horne]]'' (1965–1968) and the short-lived ''[[Stop Messing About]]'' (1969–1970), where his "[[w:Received Pronunciation|BBC accent]]" was used to comic effect.<ref name="Stevens"/> In this role, he advertised ''Dobbiroids'' (a fictional product for horses) and the huge number of naïve sound effects he made to assist in the development of humorous and often bizarre plots.<ref name="Stevens"/> Smith performed "Nobody Loves a Fairy When She's Forty" in an episode of ''Round the Horne''. Many of his roles were portrayals of inanimate objects, e.g., volcanoes, "and I, Douglas Smith, play the part of the volcano", and "I, Douglas Smith, in my most taxing role to date, play the part of the world." (spoof on 'Around the World in 80 Days').
 
A native of Croydon, he died aged 48 in [[w:Kingston upon Thames|Kingston upon Thames]].<ref name="times"/>


==References==
==References==
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[[Category:20th-century British comedians]]
[[Category:20th-century British comedians]]
[[Category:People from Croydon]]
[[Category:People from Croydon]]
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{{UK-actor-stub}}

Revision as of 21:17, 14 September 2022

Douglas Smith
Douglas Smith.jpg
Born
Douglas Arthur Smith

(1924-02-11)February 11, 1924
Croydon, Surrey
DiedOctober 15, 1972(1972-10-15) (aged 48)
Kingston upon Thames
OccupationBBC News presenter
Years active1946-1972
Notable workRound the Horne

Douglas Arthur Smith[1] (11 February 1924 – 15 October 1972)[2] was a British radio announcer and comedian who spent 25 years with the BBC.[3] He began his broadcasting career with the BBC European Service (now the World Service) in 1946 and later worked as an announcer and newsreader on the Home Service and the Third Programme.[2]

He is probably best remembered as the formal announcer on Beyond Our Ken (1958–1964), its successor Round the Horne (1965–1968) and the short-lived Stop Messing About (1969–1970), where his "BBC accent" was used to comic effect.[2] In this role, he advertised Dobbiroids (a fictional product for horses) and the huge number of naïve sound effects he made to assist in the development of humorous and often bizarre plots.[2] Smith performed "Nobody Loves a Fairy When She's Forty" in an episode of Round the Horne. Many of his roles were portrayals of inanimate objects, e.g., volcanoes, "and I, Douglas Smith, play the part of the volcano", and "I, Douglas Smith, in my most taxing role to date, play the part of the world." (spoof on 'Around the World in 80 Days').

A native of Croydon, he died aged 48 in Kingston upon Thames.[3]

References

  1. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
  2. ^ a b c d Stevens, Christopher (2010). Born Brilliant: The Life Of Kenneth Williams. John Murray. p. 370. ISBN 978-1-84854-195-5.
  3. ^ a b "Mr Douglas Smith". [[w:The Times|]]. 16 October 1972. p. 14.

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