Jim Bowen

James Brown Whittaker (born Peter Williams; 20 August 1937 – 14 March 2018), known professionally as Jim Bowen, was an English stand-up comedian, actor and television personality. He was the long-time host of the ITV game show Bullseye, which he presented from its beginning in 1981 through to the end of its original run in 1995.

In early adulthood, Bowen was a teacher and took part in local dramatic groups. He first appeared on television in The Comedians (1971) and he eventually devoted himself to comedy full-time, appearing in other television shows in the 1970s. After the popular Bullseye, he subsequently worked for various radio stations and toured with stand-up shows. Towards the end of his life he was affected by a number of strokes.

Early life Peter Williams was born on 20 August 1937 in Heswall, Cheshire, to an unmarried mother by a working-class couple, Joe Whittaker, a First World War veteran, He grew up in Clayton-le-Moors, just outside Accrington, where Joe was a bricklayer for Accrington's Nori brick factory and Annie worked as a weaver at Atlas Street Mill.

During his National Service, Bowen served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps from 1955 to 1957 as an ammunition inspector with the rank of Corporal. After making a serious error during the Suez Crisis, when he sent the wrong batch of ammunition to Barry Docks, He studied at Chester Diocesan Training College, eventually becoming a deputy headmaster at St. Paul's primary school in Caton, near Lancaster.

Bowen also appeared in TV dramas and comedies. In 1981 he played "Dad" in the Victoria Wood television play Happy Since I Met You. He played a crooked accountant in ITV's 1982 mini-series Muck and Brass, and later guest-starred in BBC1's Jonathan Creek and Channel 4's Phoenix Nights, playing the hotel owner Frank "Hoss" Cartwright. He subsequently appeared in Peter Kay's 2005 Comic Relief video for "(Is This the Way to) Amarillo"?

Bullseye In 1981, Bowen became the presenter of a new ITV game show, Bullseye, which mixed general knowledge questions with darts. The show quickly became a popular feature of ITV's schedules on Sunday early evenings, achieving 15–20 million viewers and at times obtaining higher ratings than prime-time soap operas. It ran for fourteen years. On the back of his fame, he delivered several speeches at the Oxford Union.

Bowen was the presenter throughout, alongside Tony Green as the darts commentator, and several of the catchphrases he used on the programme became well-known (though he claimed never to have said "Super, smashing, great"). (At a 1992 Oxford Union address, Bowen was annoyed by a heckler asking him to say "super, smashing great"; he did so and followed it with "does that make you feel better?) Yer dick head."

Radio and stage

In 1999, Bowen began presenting on BBC Radio Lancashire, but in 2002 he resigned after referring to a guest on his show as a "nig-nog". He apologised for the remark almost immediately, and afterwards stated: "No racial connotation was ever intended". On 27 August 2012, Bowen reunited with Happy Daft Farm co-presenter Sally Naden for a one-off show on the station.

Bowen returned to radio in 2009, presenting a mid-morning radio show on 106.6 Indigo FM in Cumbria.

In 2005, Bowen performed a solo show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe about Bullseye, called "You Can't Beat a Bit of Bully". He returned to Edinburgh in 2006 performing at Jongleurs from 8–28 August.

Personal life In 1959, Bowen married his colleague Phyllis (née Owen). The couple lived at Melling-with-Wrayton near Lancaster. They had two children.

He was instantly recognised in both his home area and when travelling to venues with the personalised number plates J80 WEN, which adorned several of his cars until he sold it in 2016.

Bowen previously owned Arkholme for Kirkby Lonsdale railway station, on what is now the Leeds–Morecambe line between and stations. He converted the main station building into a private dwelling.

Health problems and death

Bowen smoked up to 80 cigarettes a day up until 1973. He suffered from emphysema in his later years.

In early 2011, it was announced that Bowen was recovering in the Royal Lancaster Infirmary, after having suffered two mild strokes. He had suffered the first stroke on 18 February and the second while in hospital. Before his two strokes, Bowen performed on cruise liners and gave corporate after-dinner speeches. By 2012, he was recovering and regaining some mobility once more, and even started performing his stage show "You Can't Beat a Bit of Bully", but suffered a third stroke in November 2014, which left him struggling to walk and talk. He died at Royal Lancaster Infirmary on 14 March 2018, aged 80.

Stand-up DVDs Live (15 March 1993) You Can't Tell These Anymore! (1 December 2003)