Jim Bowen
Born	August 20, 1937 (1937-08-20) (age 70) Heswall, Cheshire, England
Occupation	Stand-up comedian, TV Personality

Jim Bowen born Peter Williams (upon adoption his name was changed to James Whittaker and upon marriage to Jim Bowen) in Heswall, Cheshire, England on August 20, 1937 is an English stand-up comedian and TV personality. He is best known as the host of the ITV gameshow Bullseye which ran for 14 years was watched by over 12 million viewers. If you hold the copyright to an image (e. ... is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... , Heswall is a town on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. ... For other uses, see Cheshire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... , Heswall is a town on the Wirral Peninsula, Merseyside, England. ... For other uses, see Cheshire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... is the 232nd day of the year (233rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... The single word gameshow is an evolution from game show. Just as flashlight and screwdriver became a single word through usage, gameshow has also become commonly used as a single word. ... Bullseye is a British television programme. ...

Early life and career

Bowen was educated at Accrington Grammar School, Lancashire and Chester Diocesan Training College. Jim spent a stint as a dustman after leaving school. ^[1] , Accrington[1] is an industrial town and is the major settlement in the Hyndburn district of Lancashire; situated in North West England. ... Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England, bounded to the west by the Irish Sea. ... The University of Chester is a university based in the city of Chester in the United Kingdom. ...

He was then a teacher at schools in Lancashire and became deputy headmaster of Caton Primary School near Lancaster. The Parish of Caton-with-Littledale is situated near the River Lune less than 10 minutes from the M6 motorway on the A683 Kirkby Lonsdale road. ... For other uses, see Lancaster. ...

While teaching he became involved with the local dramatic society which kindled his interest in show business. In the 1960s he worked as a ‘stand-up’ comedian on a part-time basis on the northern club circuit. The advent of Granada TV’s The Comedians gave Jim the opportunity to appear on national television which prompted him to leave teaching. Television opportunities followed and Jim made appearances on Granada’s Wheeltappers and Shunters’ Social Club alongside Thames Television’s late-night chat show ‘Take Two’. NOTE: This article does not refer to the Graham Greene novel The Comedians. The Comedians is a British television show from the 1970s (later reprised in the 1980s) which gave a stage to nightclub and working mens club comedians of the era, including Stan Boardman, Frank Carson, and Bernard...

Television

Central Television's Up For the Cup and Starburst featured Jim together with Summertime Special and Noel’s House Party. (He was “Gotcha’d” by Noel as part of his Saturday night programme). Many other guest appearances followed including “Celebrity Squares”, “Pebble Mill”,” Family Fortunes”, “Des O’Connor Tonight” and numerous Christmas television specials. Bowen has also played in situation comedy and straight roles, including “Foxy Lady” with Diane Keen, 1981's Happy Since I Met You with Julie Walters and (written by Victoria Wood) and several cameo roles in Last of the Summer Wine. He played a major character as a crooked accountant in Central Television’s prestigious 1980s six part film drama “Muck and Brass” starring Mel Smith. He was very familiar to northern audiences as “Alf”, the long-suffering barman in 14 very successful commercials for Tetley Bitter. In 1986 he was the subject of “This is Your Life” with Eammon Andrews, and in 1988 Sarah Kennedy caught him by surprise as she revealed his schooldays in Central TV’s “Classmates”. Central TV logo, 1985_1998 Central Independent Television, or to give it its familiar name, Central Television or Central, is a British Independent Television company that took over from ATV on 1 January 1982. ... In astronomy, starburst is a generic term to describe a region of space with a much higher than normal star formation. ... Noel Ernest Edmonds (born 22 December 1948 in Ilford, Essex) is a British television presenter, DJ, executive who made his name on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He is more recently known as the presenter of the television gameshow Deal or No Deal. ... Born on July 29, 1946, Diane Keen was a regular on TV screens during the 1970s, starring in sitcoms such as The Cuckoo Waltz and The Sandbaggers. ... Julia Mary Walters, OBE (born February 22, 1950) is an English Golden Globe-winning actress. ... Victoria Wood OBE is a BAFTA award winning English comedian, actor, singer and writer born 19 May 1953 in Prestwich Village, Greater Manchester . ... Last of the Summer Wine (Originally The Last of the Summer Wine in the pilot episode), is a BBC sitcom written by Roy Clarke. ...

More recently Jim appeared in “Jonathan Creek” with Alan Davies, “The Grimleys” alongside Brian Conley and as ‘Hoss Cartwright’ in the second series of “Phoenix Nights” starring Peter Kay as well as the music video for "Is This the Way to Amarillo?" with Kay and singer, Tony Christie. Sarah Lancashire cast Bowen as ‘Norman’ in “The Bingo Hall”, one of 6 afternoon dramas for BBC 2 in October 2004. Bowen recently appeared as a guest on ITV's "The Mint". 2006 has seen a resurgence of interest in ‘Bullseye’ as it is shown four times daily on ‘Challenge TV’. This has resulted in numerous guest appearances on BBC 2’s “Weakest Link” in which he appeared 4 times (twice a winner!) , ‘Des & Mel’, ‘Richard & Judy’ and 'This Morning' with Phil & Fern. A snippet of general information on Jim; He is a Governor of 11 Pacific islands, including the Hawaiian islands. One, more rarely known, fact is that he owns a rather extensive collection of millitary jackets from the 17th century; including an expensive camoflauge esq. jacket worn by General Blessed in the battle for Basra city centre in 1608. Alan Davies (born 6 March 1966) is an English comedian and actor best known for starring as Jonathan Creek on the popular TV mystery series of the same name. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ... (Is This the Way to) Amarillo is a song written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, referring to Amarillo, Texas. ... Tony Christie (born Antony Fitzgerald; April 25, 1943) is an English male singer from Conisbrough, South Yorkshire. ...

Radio

From 1999 to 2002 Jim worked for BBC Radio Lancashire, presenting and creating a hugely popular live morning magazine programme. In 2002, Bowen used the outdated term "nig-nog" on his BBC radio show The Happy Daft Farm. Although an old Lancashire term for "silly person", many people deemed the remark to be racially offensive and he handed in his notice the same day, remarking that the incident would probably spell the end of his showbusiness career. BBC Radio Lancashire is the BBC Local Radio service for the English county of Lancashire. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ...

One-man Show

He performed a solo show at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe about Bullseye, called "You Can't Beat a Bit of Bully." He returned to Edinburgh in the summer of 2006 performing at ‘Jongleurs’ from August 8th to 28th. He now takes this package around smaller theatres where he often indulges his audience with two hours of banter and a effigy of Tony Green. Categories: Festival stubs | Edinburgh ...

Writing

Bowen's autobiography “From a Bundle of Rags” was published in 1992 in hardback and went to paperback the following year. Ten years later he wrote an updated version of his life entitled “Right Place, Right Time”. Jim currently acts as 'agony uncle' for the University of Central Lancashire's Students' Union newspaper Pluto, which he started doing in September 2005. The University of Central Lancashire (or UCLan) is a university based in Preston, UK, which until January 2007 had additional campuses in Carlisle and Penrith. ...

After Dinner Speaking

The popularity of Bullseye led to Bowen attaining ‘cult’ status among university students. This led to regular appearances at both the Oxford and Cambridge Unions. Bowen's after dinner speeches highlight the frailties and shortcomings of show business and its trappings.

Music

Since his early years he has been an avid jazz fan and is probably the most frustrated trumpet player in the world. This has led to almost two decades cruising on QE2 with “The Hot Rhythm Orchestra” several times a year.

Jim Bowen's Bullseye Catchphrases and common phrases

• "Are you asking me or telling me?"
• "Super, smashing, great"
• "All for the throw of a dart!"
• "Let's have a look at what you could've won!"
• "It'll take me two minutes to count this money out, see you in a couple of minutes"
• "Take your time"
• "Let's check it with bully"
• "(Faces, Places, Books, Showbiz, History, Words, Affairs) we'd like"
• "You can't beat a bit of bully!"
• "Wouldn't be the same without a bit of bully on Sunday would it"
• "Sunday wouldn't be Sunday without a bit of bully"
• "Thanks for joining us down here at central"
• "What happened to your legs?"
• "Like a Frogakapump ya cant go back"
• "you got your £2 here but itll take me the commercial break to count it out."
• "Remember lads, if you fail to reach a hundred, you go home with sweet BFH, Bus Fare Home"

Trivia

• His wife's maiden name was Owen. For his stage name, he took Owen and added the B from the first letter of his middle name (Bowen).
• Jim lives in north Lancashire in a house named 'Gable House' named after Hollywood actor Clark Gable^{[citation needed]}
• Jim was the original choice to present the quiz show SUDO-Q but turned it down due to commitments with his You Can't Beat a Bit of Bully show.

SUDO-Q is BBC quiz show based on a mix of the number puzzle Sudoku and general knowledge questions. ... Bullseye is a British television programme. ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1995 (MCMXCV) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... Dave Spikey (born David Bramwell, September 1950 in Bolton, Lancashire) is an English comedian based in Chorley, Lancashire. ...

External links

• The Jim Bowen official website
• An unofficial Jim Bowen fansite
• News report about the nignog incident

References