26 Facts About Graham Kerr

Graham Kerr was born on 22 January 1934 and is an English cooking personality who is best known for his television cooking show The Galloping Gourmet, which aired from 30 December 1968 to 14 September 1972.

In 1945, Kerr met Treena Van Doorne, later, his wife, at Michael Hall School.

Graham Kerr became trainee manager at the Roebuck Hotel in Forest Row, East Sussex, England, when he was 15 years old.

Graham Kerr moved to New Zealand in 1958, becoming chief catering adviser for the Royal New Zealand Air Force.

Graham Kerr moved into television in New Zealand when being recruited by TVNZ producer Shirley Maddock.

Graham Kerr's recipes were delivered on radio and in magazines, and the first edition of a related book, Entertaining with Kerr, was sold out in eight days.

Miller was at first sceptical of taking Graham Kerr on, having just lost heavily on a disastrous promotion of a folk music concert, but Hollows was insistent, and after seeing Graham Kerr in action, Miller immediately saw his potential.

Graham Kerr signed on as Miller's first management client, and the relationship proved enormously important and financially rewarding to both men.

All Graham Kerr had to do was make a few commercials, pose for a few photos, and use the product on his cooking show.

Miller and Graham Kerr parted ways in the late-1960s after Graham Kerr received a lucrative offer from Fremantle of Canada.

The title was echoed in the opening of each episode, where Graham Kerr entered the stage area by running in and leaping over a chair in the dining room set.

Graham Kerr would raise a glass of wine to his lips as a cue to the director to cut to commercials, then would bring it back up to his lips right before the show came back on.

From 1969 to 1972 Graham Kerr made guest appearances on Monitor, a long-running NBC radio variety programme.

Some near-tragedies caused Graham Kerr to suspend his television career, thus ending the show.

In 1975, Treena became a born-again Christian after being encouraged by an employee; Graham Kerr became religious at the same time.

Graham Kerr returned to television in 1975 with a daily syndicated five-minute series, Take Graham Kerr, which featured a particular recipe for each show.

Graham Kerr apologised for two of his trademarks on that show, his wine drinking and his double entendres.

Graham Kerr stated that he was trying to convince TV stations to remove reruns of the show from syndication.

The "MEV," as he referred to it in recipes, was intended to remedy what he perceived as a lack of focus in vegetarian meals; according to Graham Kerr, while omnivorous cuisine generally has a central focus in a meat dish, vegetarian plates are often little more than collections of side dishes, and the MEV was an attempt to provide a central focus for such meals.

From 1996 to 2000, Graham Kerr was the editor-at-large for Cooking Light magazine.

Since the late 1990s, Graham Kerr appeared in a series of radio and television features for the 5 A Day programme of the National Cancer Institute, called Do Yourself a Flavor, emphasising the use of fruits and vegetables in recipes.

Graham Kerr has worked with Bastyr University and many businesses looking for innovation, better health and good taste.

Graham Kerr included videos shot on location on a worldwide voyage aboard the ship Queen Elizabeth 2.

Also in 2003, Graham Kerr was awarded an Honorary Life Member of the American Dietetic Association.

Treena Graham Kerr died on 17 September 2015, five days before their 60th wedding anniversary.

Graham Kerr moved to a retirement home in Warm Beach, Washington, in 2015, and tours the area.