Stuart Wagstaff

Stuart Wagstaff (13 February 192510 March 2015) was an English-born entertainer who was active in all genres of the industry in both his native United Kingdom and Australia and New Zealand including theatre, television and film, and music and stage management, over a career spanning over 60 years.

Wagstaff was well known to television audiences as The Beast on talk show Beauty and the Beast and his regular appearances on Blankety Blanks alongside Ugly Dave Gray, Carol Raye, Noelene Brown, and others.

Early life Wagstaff was born in Great Durnford, Wiltshire, England, and grew up on a farm with his parents and two older sisters. His father was very strict and emotionally abusive and he received little affection from his mother. His mother, however, frequently took him and his sisters to see plays and pantomime, generating an early interest in the arts.

Wagstaff later moved to the Nine Network to become one of the regular hosts of In Melbourne Tonight. During the following three years he hosted several shows on the Nine Network, including The Sound of Music and a regular late night interview show.

Impact of smoking advertising on his career Wagstaff's suave style led to his advertising Benson & Hedges, a brand of British cigarettes, with the tagline "When only the best will do ... and isn't that all the time?". In a 2003 interview published in The Age, journalist Chris Beck commented:

The Non Smokers' Movement of Australia website (issue 18, May–June 1997) wrote in "Smoking Frontman Expresses Late Regrets":

Later career and death After a three-year stint in Hollywood, working in film and television, Wagstaff returned to Australia in 1975 and was immediately kept busy with TV appearances all over the country, including being a regular panellist on Channel 9's Celebrity Squares, then two years as permanent panellist on the 0-10 Network's Blankety Blanks, plus seven seasons as the host/presenter on the ABC's Stuart Wagstaff's World Playhouse.

Besides television, Wagstaff remained active in his first love, the theatre. In late 1979 he appeared again as Professor Higgins in My Fair Lady and a successful national tour followed in which he was also a co-producer. About this time he also produced Sydney and Melbourne seasons of the American stage comedy Father's Day. In 1981 he toured as the narrator in the successful Rocky Horror Show starring Daniel Abineri, and repeated this with a second tour a few years later which featured Russell Crowe. In 1982 Wagstaff appeared in a leading role in the play Noises Off which had a successful national tour. In 1983 he played the lead in Blithe Spirit at Marian Street Theatre in Sydney and then went on to host the Midday Movie and Friday Night Movies on the Seven Network for two years.

Wagstaff's television guest roles in the 1990s included appearances in G.P., Rafferty's Rules, A Country Practice and All Saints. He often appeared on The Midday Show and Good Morning Australia, and continued to appear on the Perth Telethon. The late 1980s and the 1990s saw him on stage with Sydney seasons and subsequent tours of Noises Off, Black Comedy, The Winslow Boy, Lend Me A Tenor and Gershwin's musical Crazy For You. He also appeared in the role of Old Cookson in the theatrical production of Pan at the Capitol Theatre, Sydney. Cameron Mackintosh's production of Oliver!, had Wagstaff returning to the stage in the role of Mr. Brownlow.

Wagstaff died from complications associated with pulmonary fibrosis, aged 90, on 10 March 2015.

Honours On 26 January 1998, Wagstaff was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for service to the community, particularly through the Channel Seven Perth Telethon by raising funds for charities that support children's medical research.

In March 2023, Wagstaff was commemorated with a new street name 'Wagstaff Way' in the residential subdivision of the former TVW studios site in Dianella, Western Australia due to his direct personal contribution to the Channel 7 Perth Telethon. The new road was completed and open in August 2023.

Filmography

Film A Night to Remember (1958) as Titanic Steward (uncredited) Seagulls Over Sorrento (1960, TV movie) Concord of Sweet Sounds (1963, TV play) as Alexander Croyston Sunstruck (1972) as Announcer For Pete's Sake (1974) - Man in Chandelier Store (aka July Pork Bellies) Is There Anybody There? (1975, TV movie) as Lars Dickinson All at Sea (1977, TV movie) as Mr. Arthur Pickering Bit Part (1978, TV movie) as Bernard The Journalist (1979) as Courtney Lewers

Television Whiplash (1961) as Jimmy Quicksilver (3 episodes) The Hungry Ones (1963) Studio A (1964) as Host The Wagstaff Report (1965) as Presenter Homicide (1966) as Stanley Copeland (episode: "Death Us Do Part") Beauty and the Beast (1966-68) as Presenter ('The Beast') Tonight Show (1968) as Host In Melbourne Tonight (1970) as Host The Partridge Family (1973) as Head Waiter (episode: "The Last of Howard") Temperatures Rising (1974) as Thornton (episode: "Healer Man") Celebrity Squares (1975) as Panellist Name That Tune (1975) as Himself Blankety Blanks (1977) as Panelist The Dick Emery Show in Australia (1977) as Various Characters Stuart Wagstaff's World Playhouse (1977-83) as Presenter G.P. (1990s) as guest role Rafferty's Rules (1990s) as guest role A Country Practice (1990s) as guest role The Midday Show (1990s) as regular guest Good Morning Australia (1990s) as regular guest Channel Seven Perth Telethon (1968- 2009) as regular guest All Saints (1998) as Reg Howard (episode: "Revelations") Bullpitt! (1998) as Tyrone Wilde (episode: "One Hump or Two?") Graham Kennedy: Farewell to the King (2005) as himself