David Jacobs

Later career Between January 1985 and December 1991, Jacobs presented a daily lunchtime programme on Radio 2 of what he characterised as "our kind of music", much of it popular tunes from musical theatre. Jacobs subsequently presented a weekly programme following a similar format, for a time on Saturday evening and later on Fridays, although the show finished airing in early 1999. He also presented Radio 2's long-running Sunday programme Melodies for You from 1974 to 1984.

By now one of the station's oldest presenters, he hosted a Sunday late-night easy listening show from 1998 until 2013, The David Jacobs Collection, showcasing songs from Hollywood, Broadway and Tin Pan Alley and continuing the "our kind of music" theme. The programme regularly featured recordings by Matt Monro, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Vic Damone and Robert Preston among others and its signature tune was an instrumental version of Cole Porter's "I Love You, Samantha" from High Society.

On television, Jacobs was a regular Dictionary Corner guest on Channel 4's popular quiz show Countdown between 1993 and 2001, making 62 guest appearances in all on the programme.

In a revival of the 1950s show Journey into Space, he played the lead role of Jet Morgan in Frozen in Time on BBC Radio 4 on 12 April 2008, and he played The Host in The Host on BBC Radio 4 on 27 June 2009.

DJs Stuart Maconie and Mark Radcliffe recruited Jacobs in 2008 to introduce album tracks from Cream on their weekday evening Radio 2 show under the rubric "Jacobs's Cream Crackers", an allusion to a brand of biscuit. In 2010, he provided soundbites for Chris Evans's breakfast show, and chose a record each Thursday. This followed the success of his choice of Maurice Chevalier's I'm Gonna Shine Today as a song to play on the programme.

During the first half of 2012, while Jacobs was recovering from two major operations, he continued to be heard each Sunday on BBC Radio 2, which broadcast repeats of The David Jacobs Collection and Frank Sinatra: Voice of the Century, presented by Jacobs in 1998. He returned to his regular Sunday night slot with The David Jacobs Collection on 8 July 2012.

On 22 July 2013 Jacobs announced that he was stepping down as presenter of his Radio 2 show, citing ill health. His last show was broadcast on 4 August 2013. He said, "I will not stop collecting but my sadness will be that I cannot share them with all my loyal listeners. But rest assured, I will be back from time to time." He was replaced in this slot by Don Black.

He had been involved since its inception in Kingston's Rose Theatre, of which he was life president. He was vice-patron of the charity Advance Centre for the Scotson Technique, and patron of the Disabled Photographers' Society. Jacobs was also a lifelong friend of Dame Vera Lynn and was Vice President of her charity, The Dame Vera Lynn Trust for Children with Cerebral Palsy. He was also involved in the Celebrities Guild, which Michael Freedland described as "a kind of Jewish Variety Club", and regularly spoke at "ordinary suburban synagogues".

Personal life In 1949 Jacobs married Patricia Bradlaw, with whom he had three daughters and a son, but their marriage collapsed in 1969,