Yahoo News Sir Bruce Forsyth, TV's great entertainer, dies aged 89
Legendary TV entertainer Sir Bruce Forsyth has died at the age of 89.
The former Strictly Come Dancing presenter had been unwell for some time and was in hospital earlier this year after a severe chest infection.
"It is with great sadness that the Forsyth family announce that Sir Bruce passed away this afternoon, peacefully at his home surrounded by his wife Wilnelia and all his children," said his manager Ian Wilson in a statement.
"A couple of weeks ago, a friend visited him and asked him what he had been doing these last 18 months. With a twinkle in his eye, he responded 'I've been very, very busy... being ill!'"
Sir Bruce's family have also expressed their thanks for the support of the fans who "have sent cards and letters to Bruce wishing him well over his long illness and know that they will share in part, the great, great loss they feel."
Related: Bruce Forsyth dies, aged 89: Celebrities pay tribute to Strictly Come Dancing host
Few can boast as impressive a TV career as Sir Bruce, who has been a fixture of British television and a friendly face known to millions for the past seven-and-a-half decades.
Perhaps no other presenter in television history is as synonymous with game show and light entertainment formats as Sir Bruce, who brought The Generation Game, Play Your Cards Right and You Bet! into our homes.
But those events all came decades after Brucie's showbiz career began as a song-and-dance man at the early age of just 14. At that time, he was billed as Boy Bruce, the Mighty Atom, because of his boundless energy.
He made his very first appearance on TV aged just 11 on Come and Be Televised in 1939, at a time when television was far from regularly available in British homes.
It was the early ITV variety show Sunday Night at the London Palladium that made Sir Bruce a household name in the late 1950s, and provided an early TV outlet for his zany sense of humour.
He would go on to front his own primetime series and make television history in 1971 as host of The Generation Game, one of the BBC's biggest hits for the next 30 years.
The game itself was simple enough – four teams, each of two people from the same family, competing for prizes – but Sir Bruce's charm and his unique catchphrases made The Generation Game a national phenomenon.
As much of a trademark as the game itself were Sir Bruce's now-legendary turns of phrase. Each show opened with Brucie joyfully shouting the greeting: "Nice to see you, to see you", to which the audience would enthusiastically shout back: "NICE!"
Regardless of how well or poorly a contestant had done, Sir Bruce would always congratulate each team with an encouraging "didn't they do well?" or "good game, good game".
And the show's theme tune, 'Life Is the Name of the Game'? Written and performed by the man himself.
Sir Bruce went on to front game shows like Play Your Cards Right, The Price Is Right, You Bet! and Bruce Forsyth's Big Night through the late '70s, '80s and '90s, before his life changed forever when the dancefloor called his name.
In 2004, Sir Bruce and Tess Daly brought BBC One viewers into the ballroom for a modest little Saturday night celebrity reality competition called Strictly Come Dancing.
Little did they know at the time that Strictly would become an international phenomenon that now airs in more than 40 countries. Its UK version remains a crown jewel for the BBC to this very day.
Speaking about his own retirement from Strictly in December 2016, head judge Len Goodman identified Sir Bruce as one of the key components that made the show such a massive success.
"I was convinced it wouldn't work. I really was," Len said. "It was 2004, ballroom dancing wasn't at the pinnacle of its popularity. I didn't think the celebrities would be able to dance to such a high standard.
"I think the pros did a brilliant, wonderful job. What I admire with the BBC – if I'd have been the BBC, I'd have thought, 'We'll do it on a Wednesday after Newsnight and see how it goes'.
"No, they went full bore – Saturday night, huge band and Brucie. They had such nerve to do it like that. It's just truly been a phenomenon."
Sir Bruce was awarded the OBE in 1998, a CBE in 2006 and a knighthood in 2011 after a years-long public campaign. He was also granted the BAFTA Fellowship in 2008, and recognised for his lifetime achievement in TV by the RTS and the National Television Awards.
In 2012, he had the honour of carrying the Olympic torch ahead of the London Games, and the following summer he became one of the oldest-ever performers to take to the stage at Glastonbury Festival.
Sadly, ill health had largely kept Sir Bruce away from regular TV commitments in the past few years – he was hospitalised in February 2017 after developing a severe chest infection – and 2016's Strictly Christmas special was the very first not to include any appearance from the TV icon.
His wife Wilnelia offered hope to fans that he would make a TV comeback once his health had recovered, but sadly that was not to be.
Sir Bruce Forsyth is survived by his wife of 34 years Wilnelia, six children, nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
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