The British magician and television presenter Newton "Paul" Daniels has died aged 77, after being diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour. Daniels made his television debut on Opportunity Knocks in 1970. He had a regular spot on an ITV variety show after that, before they gave him the first of his own shows. He moved to BBC at the end of the decade, who ran The Paul Daniels Magic Show from 1979 until 1994. He was known for several catchphrases. In 1982, he became the first non-US magician to receive the Magician of the Year award. He also started a long run of hosting game shows with Odd One Out, before going on to present Every Second Counts and Wipeout. In 1985, he co-created and starred in a series for children, Wizbit, about an alien who does magic. He also produced a line of magic sets, very popular in the UK at the time. His outspoken views and sometimes difficult nature led to him falling out with BBC bosses, and his show was cancelled. However, he made several appearances on reality shows and Louis Theroux hosted a documentary on his life. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35829251 RIP Paul - thanks for getting me interested in magic!
I have so many magic props thanks to him and Penn & Teller =P. Here he is talking about micro programming (24:48).
I think everyone in the UK must have known Paul Daniels. He was a very popular entertainer and in fact I only saw him on a comedy show only the other week. What was it? Could it have been Keith Lemons Sketch Show?
Wow, great find, @RedRingRico! I wonder how long he kept the Atari. Oh God, you watch that idiot?! Apparently, he was on The All Star Impressions Show as Dec (Ant and Dec). He's also been on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Pointless Celebrities, All Star Family Fortunes, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway, 10 O'Clock Live, Harry Hill's Little Cracker and also TV Burp (could be that - another idiot!), Ross Noble: Freewheeling, Dave Gorman: Modern Life is Goodish.... lots. Plus, as I mentioned, reality crap like Strictly Come Dancing, The Farm, Lads Army.
In an odd coincidence, I found some old episodes of comedian Phil Cool on youtube (remember him?). In one episode he's doing impressions of Terry Wogan (it's more like a sheep dip than a chat show) and Paul Daniels (idealise me... worship me... he he). A few days later Terry dies. 2 months later Paul Daniels dies. If you want to see it it's here. Can't say I ever warmed to PD as he came across as big headed and his own biggest fan. That said, it's always sad when someone passes on and I wish Debbie (what first attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?) and his kids all the best.
