Eric Douglas Morley was an English television host and the founder of the Miss World pageant and Come Dancing programme.
12 Facts About Eric Morley
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Eric Morley said that his father "was at Oxford and spoke nine languages" but he died young.
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Eric Morley joined the Royal Fusiliers at 14 and played french horn in the band.
4.
Eric Morley had adapted the seaside beauty contest into fashion shows at Mecca dance halls; he developed this into a national beauty pageant and a TV concept.
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Eric Morley changed the company from a small catering and dancing firm into a leading entertainment and catering company in the UK.
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Eric Morley provided catering and entertainment services for several of the biggest football clubs in London; Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
7.
Eric Morley supported both the Variety Club of Great Britain and Variety Clubs International, the former as Chief Barker in 1973, and the latter as president in 1978.
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Eric Morley was a confirmed supporter of Margaret Thatcher, and had political ambitions of his own.
9.
Eric Morley stood for the Conservatives twice in Dulwich, in the general elections of October 1974 and 1979, and the second time lost by only 122 votes.
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Eric Morley had married his wife Julia in 1960 after meeting at a dance hall.
11.
Eric Morley's family are now beneficiaries of the Dancing with the Stars franchise globally.
12.
Eric Morley is portrayed by Rhys Ifans in the 2020 British comedy-drama film Misbehaviour, about the feminist protest at Miss World 1970, and by Neil Pearson in the Jimmy Savile television drama The Reckoning.