Graham Skidmore
Graham Skidmore | |
---|---|
Born | Graham George Skidmore 22 September 1931 Shooting Stars |
Spouse |
Pauline Mickleburgh (m. 1966) |
Children | 3 |
Graham George Skidmore (22 September 1931 – 27 December 2021)
Early life
Skidmore was born in West Bromwich in 1931. He grew up in London and carried out his National Service in the Royal Army Medical Corps.[3] Skidmore had wanted to be a physician, but he missed his final exams due to an ear infection;[4] he was also due to fight in the Korean War, but missed this for the same reason.[5][6]
Career
In 1959, after taking singing lessons, Skidmore successfully auditioned for the musical Marigold at the Savoy Theatre in London.[7][3] He could be seen in a background role in the 1960 film The Pure Hell of St Trinian's,[4] and also played a minor role in the 1961 film The Day the Earth Caught Fire.[3]
Skidmore was best known for being the voiceover on London Weekend Television's dating gameshow Blind Date from 1985 to 2002.[8] Host Cilla Black referred to him as "our Graham".[6] In 2002, after viewing figures declined, Skidmore was sacked by letter from the show, being replaced by Tommy Sandhu.[3][9]
Skidmore also had a similar role as a voiceover artist on the
He was a background character in the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut,[4] and appeared in person on The Justin Lee Collins Show in 2009.[10] Skidmore found work as a photographic model, and appeared on advertising posters and in television commercials, both in person and as a voiceover.[3]
Personal life and death
Skidmore married Pauline Mickleburgh in 1966. The marriage produced three children: a son and two daughters.[3]
He attended the funeral of Blind Date host Cilla Black in 2015.[11] Skidmore suffered from vascular malignancy and vascular dementia, which also affected his speech, during the last decade of his life, and spent his final years living in Kent.[12][13]
He died on 27 December 2021,[1][2] aged 90, in Margate, Kent, but his death was not made widely known until it was reported by the entertainment union Equity in June 2022.[14][3][15][16]
References
- ^ a b Hayward, Anthony (15 July 2022). "Graham Skidmore obituary" – via The Guardian.
- ^ HuffPost UK. 27 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Graham Skidmore, singer, actor and model who became the voice of Blind Date – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. 28 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ a b c d "Graham Skidmore: Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90". Sky News. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90". The Guardian. 27 June 2022.
- ^ a b "Graham Skidmore: Blind Date voiceover artist dies aged 90". BBC News. 27 July 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Marigold (Original London Production, 1959) | Ovrtur". ovrtur.com. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Blind Date voiceover artist Graham Skidmore has died aged 90". The Independent. 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Graham Skidmore dead: Blind Date's Our Graham's death confirmed". Liverpool Echo. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "The Justin Lee Collins Show". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Cilla Black Funeral: Stars And Thousands Of Fans Mark Final Return To Liverpool". HuffPost. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "'Our Graham': Voice of Blind Date Graham Skidmore dies aged 90". The Herald. Glasgow. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- ^ "Graham Skidmore: Blind Date voiceover artist dies aged 90". BBC News. 27 June 2022.
- ^ "Blind Date's 'Our Graham' dies aged 90". ITV News. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
- Wales Online. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
- ^ "Graham Skidmore obituary". 18 June 2023 – via The Times.
External links
- Graham Skidmore at IMDb
- Graham Skidmore at the British Film Institute
- Graham Skidmore (Aveleyman)