Harding, Gilbert Charles |
| TELEVISION PERSONALITY (ENGLAND) |
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BORN 5 Jun 1907, Hereford, Herefordshire - DIED 16 Nov 1960, London CAUSE OF DEATH asthma attack GRAVE LOCATION London: St Mary's Cemetery, Harrow Road, Kensal Green (Grave no. 1005) |
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Gilbert Charles Harding was notorious as the television personality that was 'the rudest man in Britain'. After his father was killed his mother placed him in an orphanage. He studied at Queens' College, Cambridge. He worked as a policeman and as a correpsondent for The Times in Cyprus before he started working for the BBC in 1936. He was frequently in the panel of 'What's My Line?' and often gave people he considered fools a hard time. In private life he often insulted people, but his friends described him as generous and he often helped people in need. In 1960 he burst into tears on the live show 'Face to Face' after John Freeman asked him if he had ever been into the presence of a dead person. Harding nodded and tears came into his eyes. Freeman wasn't aware that he had recently witnessed his mother's death. Some thought that Freeman tried to expose Harding's homosexuality and he apologized in public for his questions. A few weeks later Harding died of an attack of asthma. |
| Images |
 The grave of Gilbert Charles Harding at Brookwood Cemetery, Woking. Picture by Androom (25 Jun 2009) |
Sources • Gilbert Harding - Wikipedia (EN) |
