Larry Grayson

Larry Grayson (31 August 1923 – 7 January 1995), born William Sulley White, was an English comedian and television presenter. He hosted the BBC's Saturday night, peak-time, game show The Generation Game in the 1970s and early 1980s, employing his high camp and English music hall humour.

His camp stand-up act consisted mainly of anecdotes about a cast of imaginary friends; including Everard, Apricot Lil and Slack Alice. A museum in his home town of Nuneaton displays his life and work and a memorial has been established. Grayson was born William Sulley White in Banbury, Oxfordshire, in 1923. His parents were unmarried and he never met his father. When Grayson was ten days old, his mother, Ethel White, arranged for him to be fostered by Alice and Jim Hammonds in Nuneaton, Warwickshire. He had two foster sisters, Flo and Mary. His foster mother Alice died when he was six years old, and he was brought up by his elder foster sister, Flo, with whom he lived for much of his life. It has been reported that his birth mother stayed in touch with the family and was known to Grayson as "Aunt Ethel", until he discovered her true identity when he was eight years old. Larry was never formally adopted.Grayson's sexuality was the subject of much speculation, and while he never publicly came out as gay his unpublished memoirs do discuss his sexuality. He recounted how his "one true love" had been his best friend from school days, Tom Proctor, who was killed at the age of 21 at the Battle of Monte Cassino during the Second World War. Grayson states that he never got over this loss, and he is not known to have had any other significant relationships (albeit one biographer recalls there was "a brief smokescreen" when he was said to be engaged to Crossroads actress Noele Gordon).Homosexual acts between men were illegal in England and Wales until the 1967 Sexual Offences Act (when Grayson was 44), and even after that coming out as gay would have damaged his television career. During his life Grayson was targeted by gay rights campaigners – who picketed his shows calling for him to be open about his sexuality, while the Gay Liberation Front also protested against his stereotypical camp portrayals of gay men for comedic purposes. Grayson's biographer, Tony Nicholson, observes that "many gay people acknowledge how important his contribution to camp culture was, and how his mass popularity did perhaps help spearhead greater acceptance of the LGBT community".