18 Facts About Bruce Gyngell

Bruce Gyngell AO was an Australian television executive, active for more than 40 years in both Australian and UK television.

Bruce Gyngell was managing director of the breakfast television franchise holder TV-am in the United Kingdom from 1984 to 1992.

Bruce Gyngell's great-grandfather was the pyrotechnician for the wedding of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, while his grandfather, who settled in Australia, introduced cider-making to the continent.

Bruce Gyngell's father ran a flying circus before becoming an engineer with Mobil, and his mother was of Irish extraction.

Bruce Gyngell worked as a disc jockey for the ABC, and joined the University Air Squadron but the Korean War ended before he had a chance to participate.

Bruce Gyngell was poached by Sir Frank Packer, who hired him to assist in the establishment of TCN-9, Australia's first commercial television station, in 1956.

Bruce Gyngell is often credited as being the first person to appear on Australian television on 16 September 1956, when he spoke the words, "Good evening, and welcome to television".

From 1964 Bruce Gyngell become the managing director of Nine Network before switch to the Seven Network in 1969.

Bruce Gyngell was the first chief executive of Australia's Channel 0 from 1980.

Bruce Gyngell returned to the United Kingdom, where he become managing director at TV-am between Spring 1984 and 1992 and is credited with introducing the sofa format of breakfast television.

Kerry Packer's Consolidated Press had a large stake in the business and it was at the insistence of Packer that Bruce Gyngell assumed the position.

The UK Conservative government introduced legislation which inadvertently led to the demise of TV-am; Bruce Gyngell received a personal letter of apology from Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Bruce Gyngell returned to Australia in 1993 as chief executive of Nine.

In 1995, Bruce Gyngell was asked by company chairman Ward Thomas to join Yorkshire Television.

Bruce Gyngell stayed with the company until 1997 when it was taken over by Granada, who ultimately dropped the "Channel 3" branding from both channels in 1998, and revived the "Tyne Tees Television" name.

Bruce Gyngell repeated his opening night words upon the opening of the Special Broadcasting Service in 1980, and again in 1995, when cable television brought along Optus Television.

Bruce Gyngell was the founder of the Nine Network's music-variety program, Bandstand, which he had adapted from the US programme American Bandstand.

Bruce Gyngell died at the age of 71, on 7 September 2000 in Chelsea, London, from lung cancer; he did not smoke.