Brian Johnston

Infobox Person
name = Brian Johnston


image_size = 240px
caption = "It's Been A Lot Of Fun", double cassette cover, 1997 (autobiography)
birth_name = Brian Alexander Johnston
birth_date = birth date|1912|06|24
birth_place = Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire
death_date = death date and age|1994|01|05|1912|06|24
death_place = Westminster, London, England
death_cause = Heart attack
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nationality = British
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occupation = Commentator, Cricket commentator
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Brian Alexander Johnston MC (24 June 1912 - 5 January 1994) (known as Johnners) was a cricket commentator for the BBC from 1946 until his death.

Early biography and education

Born in Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, he was educated at Eton and New College, Oxford. On 27 August 1922 his father drowned at Bude, Cornwall at the age of 44. Brian's grandfather was governor of the Bank of England between 1908 and 1913. The World War II air commander Frederick 'Boy' Browning was his first cousin. [cite book |last=Johnston |first=Brian |title= Someone Who Was |page=p.66|year=1992 |publisher=Methuen |location=London |id=ISBN 0-7493-1099-5 ]

Johnston obtained a fourth-class degree in History in 1933 and he then joined the family's coffee business, where he worked until the outbreak of the war. During the 1930s, he was posted to Brazil but admitted years later that he had little liking or enjoyment of the work. He wanted to be an actor originally. When war was declared in 1939 Johnston joined the 2nd Battalion Grenadier Guards, where he served as a Technical Adjutant and was awarded the Military Cross in 1945.

Later biography

After he was de-mobilised, Brian Johnston joined the BBC in January 1946, after service with the Grenadier Guards in the Second World War in which he won the Military Cross. He began his cricket commentating career at Lord's for BBC Television in June 1946 at the England v India Test match. On 22 April 1948 he married Pauline Tozer. They had five children. The last of his children to be born, a daughter, Joanna, has Down's Syndrome. In these early years, Johnston was an occasional presenter of other BBC shows, including "Come Dancing" and "All Your Own".

He became a regular member of the TV commentary team and, in addition, became BBC cricket correspondent in 1963. From 1965 onwards Johnston split his commentary duties between television (three Tests) and radio (two Tests) each summer. In 1970 Johnston was unceremoniously dropped from the TV commentary team but continued to appear as a member of the Test Match Special (TMS) radio team. He retired from the BBC in 1972 on his sixtieth birthday, and became a freelance commentator and it was in that capacity that he continued to appear on TMS for the next twenty-two years.

Johnston was responsible for a number of the TMS traditions, including the creation, often using the so-called Oxford '-er', of the nicknames of fellow commentators (for example, Jonathan Agnew is still known as "Aggers", Henry Blofeld as "Blowers" and Bill Frindall as "the Bearded Wonder"). He once complained on air that he had missed his cake at tea during one match - the TMS team are still sent cakes by listeners.

Incidents and gaffes

In one famous incident during a Test match at the Oval, Jonathan Agnew suggested that Ian Botham was out hit wicket because had failed to "get his leg over." Johnston carried on commentating (and giggling) for 30 seconds before dissolving into helpless laughter. [Listen to [http://www.bbc.co.uk/fivelive/fungames/audio/legover.mp3 mp3] .] Among his other gaffes was cquote|There's Neil Harvey standing at leg slip with his legs wide apart, waiting for a tickle. when Neil Harvey was representing Australia at the Headingley Test in 1961.cite book |last=Johnston |first=Brian |title=Chatterboxes: My Friends the Commentators |year=1984 |publisher=W H Allen & Co|location=London |id=ISBN 0-352-31493-1]

The oft cited quote:allegedly occurred when Michael Holding of the West Indies was bowling to Peter Willey of England in a Test match at the Oval in 1976. Johnston claimed not to have noticed saying anything odd during the match, and that he was only alerted to his gaffe by a letter from "a lady" named "Miss Mainpiece". [cite book |last=Johnston |first=Brian |title= It's Been a Piece of Cake|year=1990 |publisher=Methuen |location=London |id=ISBN 0-7493-0293-3 ] According to Christopher Martin-Jenkins, [cite book|last=Martin-Jenkins |first=Christopher |title= Ball by Ball - The Story of Cricket Broadcasting|year=1990 |publisher=Grafton Books|id=ISBN 0-246-13568-9 |pages=160 ] the cricinfo biography, [ [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/player/15526.html Cricinfo - Players and Officials - Brian Johnston ] ] and the biography of Brian by Johnston's son Barry, [cite book|last=Johnston |first=Barry |title= Johnners - The Life of Brian |year=2003 |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|id=ISBN 0-340-82471-9 |pages=367 ] Johnston never actually made the remark. His son says "It was too good a pun to resist...but Brian never actually said that he had spoken the words on air." . However, this is contradicted by an account [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/test_match_special/2664751.stm BBC SPORT | Cricket | Test Match Special | A breeze for Blowers ] ] offered by Henry Blofeld, who claims to have been present at the time. It is perhaps worth noting though that, with Blofeld's recollection of the score being 81-7 when the remark was made, England had a healthy first innings, and in the second Willey was the fourth wicket. [ [http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1970S/1976/WI_IN_ENG/WI_ENG_T5_12-17AUG1976.html Cricinfo Archive | 5th TEST: England v West Indies at The Oval, 12-17 Aug 1976] ]

A popular cricket website, [http://www.holdingwilley.com Holdingwilley.com] , has named itself after this well-known cricket anecdote, although the site is a general cricket website and doesn't focus on that incident alone.

Other work

As a BBC staff commentator Johnston variously presented and participated in a wide range of BBC radio and television programmes. These included radio programmes such as "In Town Tonight", "Down Your Way", "Trivia Test Match", and the Royal Command Performance of "The Good Life". He also commentated on events like the funeral of King George VI, the coronation of Elizabeth II and the wedding of HRH The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. Brian was also for several years one of the presenters of the Channel 4 magazine programme for the over sixties "Years Ahead" along with Robert Dougall, Zena Skinner and Paul Lewis.

Brian Johnston was a great fan of the British Music Hall and revelled in its often mildly risqué "schoolboy" humour. The "An Evening with Johnners" one-man show that he performed at the end of his life included many excruciating jokes, as well as his broadcasting and cricket reminisces.

He was appointed OBE in 1983 and CBE in 1991.

Bibliography

*(Autobiography) "It's Been a Lot of Fun", was published by WH Allen in 1974, with an updated version appearing in 1985.
*(Autobiography) "Someone who was; reflections on a life of happiness and fun" First published by Methuen in 1992 with reprints in the same year [Taken from the book in question]
* "Let's Go Somewhere"
* "Stumped for a Tale"
* "The Wit of Cricket"
* "Armchair Cricket" - co-author with Roy Webber [First published BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) - No date given. but Circa 1960 in small paperback]
* "It's a Funny Game"
* "Rain Stops Play"
* "Brian Johnston's Guide to Cricket"
* "Brian Johnston's Down Your Way"
* "Chatterboxes"
* "45 Summers"
* "More Views From the Boundary: Celebrity Interviews from the Commentary Box" Edited by Peter Baxter. [A Book published by Methuen in 1933 and reprinted several times and sub-titled "BBC test Match Special"]
* "Summer Will Never Be The Same: A Tribute to Brian Johnston" Edited by Christopher Martin-Jenkins and Pat Gibson [First published by Partridge Press (UK) and reprinted several times in 1994]

Obituary

Johnston's informal and humorous style was very popular. When he died on 5 January 1994 [GRO Register of Deaths: JAN 1994 B29C 7 WESTMINSTER - Brian Alexander Johnston, DoB = 24 Jun 1912 aged 81] , a month after suffering a massive heart attack, the Daily Telegraph described him as "the greatest natural broadcaster of them all" and John Major, the British Prime Minister and cricket fan, said that "Summers simply won't be the same without him". Brian Johnston’s memorial service was held at a packed Westminster Abbey on 16 May 1994. Over 2,000 people were present. The following year the Brian Johnston Memorial Trust was established to promote cricket in schools and youth clubs, to help young cricketers in need of financial support, and to further disabled cricket. The trust is now part of the Lord's Taverners.

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/cricket/test_match_special/legends/2939054.stm BBC Test Match Special Legends]
* [http://www.johnners.com Official Brian Johnston web site]
* [http://www.blindcricket.org.uk/ Blind Cricket, of which Brian was a supporter]
* [http://www.lordstaverners.org/about/bjmt_history.asp Brian Johnston Memorial Trust]

References

* Heald, Tim (1995). "Brian Johnston: The Authorised Biography", Methuen. ISBN 0-413-69320-1.

Persondata
NAME = Johnston, Brian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Commentator, Cricket commentator
DATE OF BIRTH = 1912-06-24
PLACE OF BIRTH = Little Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, England
DATE OF DEATH = 1994-01-05
PLACE OF DEATH = Westminster, England