Robert Robinson

Robert Robinson (born December 17, 1927, Liverpool, England—died August 12, 2011, London) was a British journalist and broadcaster known for his intelligence and acerbic wit as the host of a wide variety of often simultaneous television and radio programs.

After graduating from Exeter College, Oxford, Robinson began his career in the print media and was film critic for the London Sunday Graphic and a columnist for the Sunday Chronicle. He made his first television appearance in 1959 reviewing current cinema for the program Picture Parade. In 1962 he became the gossip columnist for The Sunday Times while continuing to work in television as the host of Points of View (1961–65, 1969–71). Robinson became a popular personality on television, and he began to accumulate jobs in that medium and on radio, many of which ran concurrently. His notable programs include Call My Bluff (1967–88), a panel game show; Ask the Family (1967–84), a lighthearted quiz between members of two families; Stop the Week (1974–92), a diverting and intelligent radio chat show; and Brain of Britain (1973–2008), a radio quiz show. He also hosted The Book Programme (1973–80), which included reviews and interviews with authors (most notably the last interview given by novelist Vladimir Nabokov), and a series of popular TV travelogues.

In addition, Robinson wrote novels, notably Landscape with Dead Dons (1956), The Conspiracy (1968), and Bad Dreams (1989); volumes of essays; and a memoir, Skip All That (1996).