BBC aired an obituary on Thatchers death presented by Andrew Marr - Marr was recovering from a stroke at the time so must have been recorded well in advance of Thatchers death.
Nothing new. i'm sure I read something a few years ago that Rudyard Kipling was quoted as that he would wake up in the morning and read The Times to see if his obituary had been published.
The sweeptake, won't be something that is an official BBC practice and just something private individuals who happen to work for the Beeb are partaking in. It's not a new concept, not something I'm keen on personally but it's more a form of dark humour really.
It sounds a bit weird. I don't like Bruce Forsyth much but why have a sweepstake on when he's going to snuff it? Would anyone have a sweepstake on the date of death of a close friend or family member unless they were inheritance vultures?
IIRC I think Jennie Bond (former BBC Royal Correspondent) said in an interview that they had had a rehearsal where a senior member of the Royal Family died in a car accident in Paris - just a few weeks before th Diana crash.
Although conspiracy nuts (The Daily express mainly) would probably argue it was dry run by the SAS !!
Agreed that this is a bit of a non-story. It would be more shocking if broadcasters didn't have obituaries etc ready for elderly celebrities. Imagine the fuss if they hastily cobbled something together and got things wrong.
It sounds a bit weird. I don't like Bruce Forsyth much but why have a sweepstake on when he's going to snuff it? Would anyone have a sweepstake on the date of death of a close friend or family member unless they were inheritance vultures?
Preparing for deaths is nothing new. The BBC spent about 10 years rehearsing the Queen Mother's death. These things don't come to people off the top of their heads you know.
I love the idea that news organisations should wait until Somebody Famous Has Died* before wondering what to do when the inevitable does happen. The Telegraph is famous for its obits and makes no secret of the fact that the majority of the obit dept's job is to keep them up to date - it's no good publishing one that covers in great detail everything up to 1978 then ignores the last 35 years of some old colonel's life as he survived some guerilla uprising way back then.
Sweepstakes? Show me a decent sized company where the staff don't have some sort of black humour. It's the real-world, not the faux outrage of the Daily Mail.
And finally - if you're such a fan of Brucie and it stuns you to discover this apparent lack of respect, perhaps you could show the man some respect himself and capitalise his name properly in the thread title - Bruce Forsyth. Just a suggestion...
* Spitting Image news item read by Alistair Burnett - "Somebody famous has died... <brief tribute...> In a heartless attempt at grabbing viewers we'll be showing an episode that he starred in, in place of the scheduled programme". Somebody famous has died became a staple mock way of mentioning a famous death back then in our pub.
IIRC I think Jennie Bond (former BBC Royal Correspondent) said in an interview that they had had a rehearsal where a senior member of the Royal Family died in a car accident in Paris - just a few weeks before th Diana crash.
Really? That would be a fairly amazing coincidence.
I Sweepstakes? Show me a decent sized company where the staff don't have some sort of black humour. It's the real-world, not the faux outrage of the Daily Mail.
QUOTE]
Some years ago, the office I was working in at the time, had, not realy a sweepstake as such, but a game where we all put a name forward of someone who we thought would die that year. Unfortunatly, I chose Perry Como who had died about five years earlier.
And finally - if you're such a fan of Brucie and it stuns you to discover this apparent lack of respect, perhaps you could show the man some respect himself and capitalise his name properly in the thread title - Bruce Forsyth. Just a suggestion...
seriously you are mixing the death of someone with a capital letter. i've got a capital word for you *&%$
Yesterday at a reunion I got talking to an old friend that works at BBC news. She was talking about what she had been upto recently and from this conversation I know for a fact that the BBC have a tape ready to launch within minutes of brucie dying and they have a sweepstake with themselves as to the date.
I'm so appalled at their behavior and planning for bruce to die and to make cash out of it!
And in this day and age of digital editing, it is far more easy to update obits than it was in the linear editing days. Now you just get you update bits, decide where they to be inserted and let the machine do it for you.
Do you not think the one for Prince Phillip hasn't been updated a lot recently with his trips to hospital? And of course they will have one for the Queen and may other people closers to the end of their lives than the beginning. Old people can dies at any time over night in their sleep, so it's not just the ones who are ill.
In May 1897, the great American humorist, novelist and social critic Samuel Clemens — best known by his pen name, Mark Twain — was in London.
someone started a rumor that he was gravely ill. It was followed by a rumor that he had died.
According to a widely-repeated legend, one major American newspaper actually printed his obituary and, when Twain was told about this by a reporter, he quipped:
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
bruce i THINK he is the oldest person in the world to have been on TV .It was july 1939 ...aged 10,its not so much his age but the fact only england had a TV service..
And in this day and age of digital editing, it is far more easy to update obits than it was in the linear editing days. Now you just get you update bits, decide where they to be inserted and let the machine do it for you.
Do you not think the one for Prince Phillip hasn't been updated a lot recently with his trips to hospital? And of course they will have one for the Queen and may other people closers to the end of their lives than the beginning. Old people can dies at any time over night in their sleep, so it's not just the ones who are ill.
I thought Price Phillip looked quite ill on his Rememberence Sunday outing. His look reminded me so much of how my Grandad look in the weeks before his sad death a few years ago.
Yesterday at a reunion I got talking to an old friend that works at BBC news. She was talking about what she had been upto recently and from this conversation I know for a fact that the BBC have a tape ready to launch within minutes of brucie dying and they have a sweepstake with themselves as to the date.
I'm so appalled at their behavior and planning for bruce to die and to make cash out of it!
Not really news is it, this kind of thing goes on all the time. I know a company that has programmes ready to release when Ali and Mandela pass away. And the BBC aren't really making cash out of it are they.
Would anyone have a sweepstake on the date of death of a close friend or family member unless they were inheritance vultures?
Probably not, but yours is a 'straw man' argument since 'Brucie' is very unlikely to be a "close friend or family member" of those allegedly participating in the sweepstake, assuming it actually exists.
I know that as a visiting alien newly arrived on Earth (:p ) you're unfamiliar with human nature, but you should be aware that people will bet on absolutely anything!
Armed with this tidbit of information you may wish to conclude that No, people wouldn't generally bet on the death of a family member or close friend, but anyone and anything else, up to and including who will be next to "have their collar felt" by Operation Yewtree, is considered fair game.
You mean they didn't make the hours and hours of Thatcher footage in the five minutes after she died?
Also (less sarcastically), Humphrey Lyttleton's obituary in the Guardian was written by George Melly, who died a year earlier.
I remember Humph saying he asked an old friend what they had been up to. "Well, actually, i've just been in BH recording a piece for your obituary" came the response
Sweepstakes? Show me a decent sized company where the staff don't have some sort of black humour. It's the real-world, not the faux outrage of the Daily Mail.
Somewhere in Northcliffe Towers a journalist is keeping very quiet about having picked Paul Dacre in the "death pool"
Comments
yeah mentioned this in post 16
Like any good TV channel this thread is full of repeats.
It sounds a bit weird. I don't like Bruce Forsyth much but why have a sweepstake on when he's going to snuff it? Would anyone have a sweepstake on the date of death of a close friend or family member unless they were inheritance vultures?
Although conspiracy nuts (The Daily express mainly) would probably argue it was dry run by the SAS !!
Perhaps no such sweepstake ever existed?
You mean they waited until she was in her 90s???
Sweepstakes? Show me a decent sized company where the staff don't have some sort of black humour. It's the real-world, not the faux outrage of the Daily Mail.
And finally - if you're such a fan of Brucie and it stuns you to discover this apparent lack of respect, perhaps you could show the man some respect himself and capitalise his name properly in the thread title - Bruce Forsyth. Just a suggestion...
* Spitting Image news item read by Alistair Burnett - "Somebody famous has died... <brief tribute...> In a heartless attempt at grabbing viewers we'll be showing an episode that he starred in, in place of the scheduled programme". Somebody famous has died became a staple mock way of mentioning a famous death back then in our pub.
Really? That would be a fairly amazing coincidence.
I was sceptical as well, could also be someone winding up a reporter.
It's the real world dear.
Do you not think the one for Prince Phillip hasn't been updated a lot recently with his trips to hospital? And of course they will have one for the Queen and may other people closers to the end of their lives than the beginning. Old people can dies at any time over night in their sleep, so it's not just the ones who are ill.
someone started a rumor that he was gravely ill. It was followed by a rumor that he had died.
According to a widely-repeated legend, one major American newspaper actually printed his obituary and, when Twain was told about this by a reporter, he quipped:
“The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”
bruce i THINK he is the oldest person in the world to have been on TV .It was july 1939 ...aged 10,its not so much his age but the fact only england had a TV service..
I thought Price Phillip looked quite ill on his Rememberence Sunday outing. His look reminded me so much of how my Grandad look in the weeks before his sad death a few years ago.
The OP said there was but I don't know how true it is.
Not really news is it, this kind of thing goes on all the time. I know a company that has programmes ready to release when Ali and Mandela pass away. And the BBC aren't really making cash out of it are they.
Probably not, but yours is a 'straw man' argument since 'Brucie' is very unlikely to be a "close friend or family member" of those allegedly participating in the sweepstake, assuming it actually exists.
I know that as a visiting alien newly arrived on Earth (:p ) you're unfamiliar with human nature, but you should be aware that people will bet on absolutely anything!
Armed with this tidbit of information you may wish to conclude that No, people wouldn't generally bet on the death of a family member or close friend, but anyone and anything else, up to and including who will be next to "have their collar felt" by Operation Yewtree, is considered fair game.
I remember Humph saying he asked an old friend what they had been up to. "Well, actually, i've just been in BH recording a piece for your obituary" came the response
Somewhere in Northcliffe Towers a journalist is keeping very quiet about having picked Paul Dacre in the "death pool"