Robert Dougall
Robert Dougall MBE (27 November 1913 – 19 December 1999) was a British broadcaster and ornithologist, mainly known as a newsreader and announcer.
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[edit] Television news
Dougall's radio work took a back seat when he returned to London in 1951 to work as a television newsreader. (He is thought to have been the only person from the BBC's early radio service who had an enduring career in television.) Between 1946 and 1955, the BBC news was merely voiced over a photograph of Big Ben, a measure sanctioned by Chief News Editor Tahu Hole to reinforce the absolute impartiality for which the Corporation was renowned. However, the coming of commercial television and ITN in 1955 prompted the BBC to have its newsreaders perform to camera - indeed, they began this approach only three weeks before ITN began transmission. Dougall was among the first of these newsreaders to appear in-vision in 1955 (the others were his contemporaries Kenneth Kendall, Michael Aspel and Richard Baker with Kendall being the very first). Dougall presented general BBC news reports and the Newsroom programme during the 1960s and was awarded the MBE in 1965, receiving his honour on the same day as The Beatles. He was the first person to present the long-running BBC Nine O'Clock News in 1970, continuing in this role until his retirement from the newsroom in 1973.
[edit] Post-retirement
Like Peter Woods, Richard Baker and Kenneth Kendall, Dougall was considered an archetypal newsreader and frequently appeared as himself in comedy programmes of the 1970s and early 1980s, including The Goodies and Yes Minister. He also presented seven series of Channel 4's over-60s programme, Years Ahead over four years and appeared in an advertising campaign for the jewellers Prestons of Bolton during the 1980s.
Dougall was also known for his love of animals and birds and he was president of the RSPB for a five-year period. He wrote several books about birds in the 1970s and an autobiography, In and Out of the Box, in 1973, a witty account of life in the Reithian BBC, which he had joined as its youngest staff announcer on his 21st birthday in 1934, and beyond. He lived in Walberswick in Suffolk though his main home for many years was in Hampstead in London.
[edit] Family
Dougall's granddaughter Rose is a singer/songwriter, formerly with Brighton band The Pipettes. Dougall's grandson Tom Dougall is a guitarist with Brighton band Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong.
[edit] Bibliography
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This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
- In and out of the box (1973) ISBN 000272703x
- Now for the good news (1976) ISBN 0264663799
- A Celebration of Birds, Collins and Harvill Press (1978) ISBN 0002621134
- The Ladybird Book Of British Birds
- Basil Ede's Birds, Severn House (1980) ISBN 0727820052
- foreword by The Duke of Edinburgh
- Birdwatch Round Britain with Herbert Axell, Collins and Harvill (1982) ISBN 0002622564
- foreword by Ian Prestt
[edit] Contributions
- An Introduction To Bird and Wildlife Photography In Still and Movie, Marchington, John and Clay, Anthony, Faber & Faber (1974) - Foreword.
[edit] Sources
- Barker, Dennis (1999-12-20). "Obituary: Robert Dougall". Guardian Unlimited Archive (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3943507,00.html. Retrieved 2006-06-17.
- Miall, Leonard (1999). "Obituary: Robert Dougall". The Independent, 21 December 1999. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/obituary-robert-dougall-1133861.html. Retrieved 2010-10-12.
